WSBK – Superbike break: Christophe Ponsson’s assessment –

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Superbike break: Christophe Ponsson’s assessment

WSBK - Superbike break: Christophe Ponsson's assessment -

While the 2015 World Superbike marks a month-long hiatus following the cancellation of the Moscow event, Site took the opportunity to question the French riders on their mid-season record. Interview with Christophe Ponsson, youngest of the WSBK !

Site: First question, obvious but crucial: how are you ?
Christophe Ponsson: I’m better thank you! It took a while to recover from an injury to my right leg following my heavy fall from, where an adductor and tendon were affected.

MNC: You’ve been riding WSBK for six months. What is your opinion on this championship, its regulations, its races (two per Sunday!), Its drivers ?
C. P.: Regarding the championship, I think the regulations offer more possibilities for small teams who do not have the same means as the officials, whether budget or material. It brings everyone together, the gaps are often very tight! There is a beautiful field with pilots who have a lot of experience. Having said that, it’s good for a rookie like me to give me steps. I like the two-race format on Sunday, on the other hand you have to be very well prepared physically because there is very little recovery time between the two races … and very little time to eat. !

MNC: What do you think of Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki’s dominance this year? ?
C. P.: Jonathan is just perfect this year, it’s really beautiful to see from the inside. He makes no mistakes, he is very fast, he is very good at the pace of the race, he keeps his tires the best for the end of the race. He is the very example of the rider who puts everything on the bike end to end and it is quite impressive. On top of that, Jonathan is a really cool guy outside the paddock! For Kawasaki, they have been at the forefront of this category for a while now. With two good pilots, it gives 1 and 2 in the championship and it can last a very long time … The Ducatis are also very good, but their two pilots lack consistency: Davies and Giugliano are able to win too, but they are may have to get into more difficulty to keep pace with the Kawa.

MNC: You are currently 26th in the championship, with 7 points and three 14th places as the best result. What is your personal assessment of this first half of the season ?
C. P.: My personal assessment of this first half of the season is positive. I learn a lot every weekend! Although I was hampered a few times in my progress at the start of the season, I managed to adapt well to this category after a nightmare (also read our, Editor’s note). I get closer to the leaders every weekend, I started the championship in 3.5 seconds from the best time and I managed to get this gap down to 1.5 seconds in FP3 and 1.8 to. It’s really not easy to gain 1.5 to 2.0 s on yourself, I worked a lot with the help of Fabien Foret and I’m happy with our progress in so few races.

MNC: You started the year at Grillini, then you moved to Pedercini. How do you manage a change of team during the year ?
C. P.: The change of team in the middle of the season was not easy … We had to put a lot of things in place and we are barely in a stable situation with the team since. It’s like a new mid-season championship. Everything is going well with the Pedercini team and I am very happy to be part of it, I can only continue my progress.

MNC: You stayed on a Kawasaki but were the bikes similar? Are you satisfied with your machine today ?
C. P.: The motorcycles were not really the same, for example I switched to electronics in 2015 when I arrived at Pedercini. The structure is different, it is much more professional and for a young person like me, it is very important to be well surrounded..

MNC: Do you have enough engines left to end the season on top? ?
C. P.: Yes, we will manage to finish the season without worries.

MNC: What points will you be working on during the second half of the season ?
C. P.: I have a lot to do with my way of stopping the bike entering a corner and turning it around as quickly as possible. It is therefore on my driving that I must continue to work mainly. Managing electronics is still something new for me, I need more kilometers to know how to use it to its fullest.

MNC: Are there any tours that you are looking forward to ?
C. P.: Yes, actually all those from the last races! Laguna-Seca is a mythical and special circuit, so I can’t wait to discover it. Malaysia too, with the humidity and the high temperature there, it’s going to be a nice weekend to experience it. I like Jerez very much and I think I can have a nice weekend. Magny-cours, of course, my home race even though I did not run more than the other drivers on this circuit. And finally, the final in Qatar, just for the night race !

MNC: What was your program before Laguna Seca ?
C. P.: I had to be patient following my heavy fall from. I was not able to resume sport as I would have liked. I couldn’t run so I prepared differently.

MNC: What was your goal at the start of the season? Has he changed ?
C. P.: At the start of the season, I didn’t know where I was going to end up … So I took the weekend as a hangout. Reducing the gaps with the leaders in the free session and then in the race was my main objective for the rest of the season. This is what was achieved as I went from 3.5s to 1.5s at best. Despite everything there is a lot of work to be done to continue to connect with leaders, but I am on the right track..

Interview by Matthieu BRETILLE – Photos DR

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