Portraits – Meet Maxime Berger, WSBK 2011 rider –

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Meet Maxime Berger, WSBK 2011 driver

Portraits - Meet Maxime Berger, WSBK 2011 rider -

Entered in the World Superbike within the private Ducati Supersonic team, Maxime Berger has had a very promising first season. On his way to the Nurburgring event this weekend, the Dijon driver took the time to answer us. Portrait !

To get to know the French representatives at the highest level of motorcycle racing better, Site offers you the MNC questionnaires addressed to French riders and their teams..

After Sylvain Guintoli (read), it is the turn of the second French rider of the World Superbike, Maxime Berger, to be listed by the Motorcycle Journal du Net! On the way to the Nurburgring, where the German round of the WSBK is taking place this weekend, Maxime was kind enough to answer our series of questions..

News from the front

  • Site: First of all, what is your record of
    Maxime Berger : It went pretty well, I’m making it into the Top 10 for the first time and I’m doing very well in testing. And for the first time this year I was driving a brand new engine.

  • Your goal for the Nurburgring ?
    I would like to do a Top 10 again and enter the 3rd row of the starting grid. But it’s not easy … For that you have to keep the two qualifying gums for the last two Superpole sessions and this is not always feasible.

Maxime Berger technical sheet

  • Last name : Shepherd

  • First name : Maxime

  • Date of Birth : June 27, 1989

  • Place of birth : Dijon (21)

  • Current domicile : Chamblanc (21)

  • Family situation : Single

  • Cut : 1.82 m

  • Weight : 74 kg

Personal Info

  • Right or left handed ?
    Right handed.

  • Studies, diplomas ?
    College diploma. I did an auto mechanic year and an agricultural year … But rather six months in fact, because of the races.

  • Odd jobs ?
    I worked a year and a half part-time as a laborer, it was in 2009.

  • Current occupation ?
    Motorcycle rider, but above all it’s a passion.

  • The quality that we recognize most often ?
    Nice, too nice! I’m the good guy who has to learn how to yell every now and then…

  • Your main fault ?
    You could say nice too … I was very messy, but I’m taking care of myself, it’s getting better and better !

  • Your hobbies ?
    Carp fishing! Small frying too, but especially carp. I fish whenever I have a moment. My best shots? More than 15 kg in river and a little less than 20 kg in lake.

  • Vehicles currently in your garage ?
    A mountain bike, a bike and a motocross bike. No road bike or car.

  • And in the garage of your dreams ?
    A Supermotard and a nice Goldwing, a nice 4×4 for fishing and a good sporty car, which I would change every three years !

Career

  • Your youthful idol ?
    Sebastien loeb.

  • First experience on a motorized two-wheeler ?
    I was two and a half, it was on a QR 50.

  • First motorcycle race ?
    At the age of eight, at Le Mans, on the track of the White House on an XR 70.

  • First victory ?
    The same year, although it was not strictly speaking "races". There was an educational ranking and I had won the championship.

  • Greatest victory ?
    My double at Brands Hatch in Superstock 600 in 2007. The Silverstone round had been canceled and we had therefore exceptionally competed in two races that weekend … I won both !

  • Greatest defeat ?
    In Superstock 1000 in Brno in 2009 against Xavier Simeon: I fell in the very last corners! A hell of a fall, on top of that…

  • Best track memory ?
    In the company of my friend Patrick McDougal, during my first year in Superstock 600. We used to ride together, to slip the hand during the tests, to make small signs. It was "coolos". I keep very good memories.

  • Best memory in the paddocks ?
    It’s this year, because I rub shoulders with all the greats of the World Superbike! I see Checa, I cross Biaggi, Corser, Haga, etc. I am a real privileged !

  • Best memory off the track ?
    When I’m fishing, at 3 a.m., in my underwear in the fleet, it freezes, and the detectors panic and yell, the reel goes off: it’s like starting a race, there is the same adrenaline rush! We get on the zodiac, in the middle of the river, the current takes you and the fish pulls you … Oh dear, that’s good !

  • Preferred circuit ?
    Brands Hatch. It’s a shame he is no longer on the program because in Superbike, things must have stirred !

  • Favorite Motorcycle ?
    The 450 CRF supermoto !

  • Motorcycle that marked you the most ?
    The 1198, its engine and the preparation for the Superbike.

  • A favorite race number ?
    The 21 (that Maxime could not take because this number carried by Bayliss has been withdrawn, Editor’s note). This is the number of my department and I like to represent it: the Côte d’Or in force !

Piloting

  • Your strong points in piloting ?
    Braking, I’m comfortable on hard braking.

  • Your weak points ?
    When the bike goes, I’m not too bad. I have no big weak point.

  • Your daily training ?
    I play sports, a bit of everything. I like swimming, running, cycling … and snow scooters, that’s good too !

  • Your entourage during race weekends ?
    My father. Afterwards, I have the whole Supersonic team around me too.

WSBK 2011

  • Your personal goal ?
    Overall, the year went well. I was able to achieve a Top 10 and score points on all the races completed. I have to keep going to find a handlebar next year. For the moment I do not yet know what 2012 has in store for me, it will start to settle in Germany precisely.

  • Your opinion on Aprilia ?
    It’s a motorcycle made for Biaggi. His size, his performance, everything seems to be tailor-made for him! Looks like a derivative of a MotoGP, it is one of the most beautiful motorcycles on the plateau.

  • BMW ?
    Not bad. The S1000RR is a nice, clean, well-framed bike that looks balanced. From a manufacturer like BMW, it’s a good job.

  • Honda ?
    They lack a good evolution. The Honda has not moved for a few years and it shows in the results.

  • Kawasaki ?
    It’s a good motorcycle. I cannot say the opposite, my father was driving on Kawa! It seems difficult to ride, it looks like a real man’s motorcycle.

  • Suzuki ?
    She looks good, she is pretty and the results are there. But she also deserves to evolve.

  • Yamaha ?
    It’s a beautiful machine that makes quite a noise on the edge of the track! She is very efficient.

  • And your Ducati ?
    I have fun on it! My 1198 is not an official motorcycle, but it is okay. Faced with 4-cylinders it lacks horsepower, but it has a lot of torque. To pass it on the ground, we therefore need a high-performance chassis. In the end, all the motorcycles on the WSBK plateau are very beautiful !

  • What do you think of Pirelli ?
    Actually I only know these tires so they are perfect for me. I have always driven a single-brand. I have nothing to complain about … except in Australia at the start of this season, where the soft tire eventually tore.

  • What will your life be like in 10 years ?
    It will be all beautiful, all pink ?! Maybe fishing … or on a podium, who knows? I would like to become world champion. The future will tell !

Interview by Matthieu BRETILLE

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