“For the first time this season, we’re really happy this Friday, as Valentin Debise finished first in the free practice sessions held here at Magny-Cours. These sessions are very important because tomorrow, Saturday, we’ll go straight into qualifying.
Valentin was P1 this morning in FP1, then P2 this afternoon in FP2, because he tried a set-up that was perhaps less well suited, but he remains the best rider of the day in the Supersport category.
It’s great to see the Yamaha GMT94 up front before the start of qualifying on Saturday.
As far as Johan Gimbert is concerned, the whole team is unanimous in saying that he’s making progress with every outing. Remember that his first race, on the GMT Yamaha R6, was Misano as a replacement for Valentin Debise. We then carried out three days of testing from August 17 to 20, here at Nevers Magny-Cours, in order to prepare for this major French event, the 9th round of the WSBK Supersport championship.
At the end of FP2 this evening, Johan is P15, but what’s interesting is the 1.135-second gap to the leader for this young 18-year-old.
The other thing that appeals to our team is that, day after day in testing or in the race, as at Misano, his attitude shows a maturity that is rare for such a young rider (18). He’s got all the attitude of a rider who can get annoyed, who’s got the desire, but who also has some very interesting reflections, like those revealed just now on the Paddock Show:
“Me one day I want to win so what I’d like is to be as close as possible to first! “
All this to say that in competition, it’s important to analyze the driver, the situation and the moment. Tomorrow, 6th for Valentin wouldn’t be really extraordinary, but 12th for Johan ( Wild Card ) would be a real performance.
Let’s put things into perspective, because tonight Valentin is 1st and Johan is doing well.
Where we’re a little more disappointed is that we’ve had three days of testing here with Lorenzo Baldassarri and the progress he’s expecting isn’t there! He’s still 18th, and the gap to the leader is still the same ( 1.383 ). But we’re all behind him, with the whole armada of Superbike engineers on hand to give him confidence. He knows that his Yamaha R1 is the same as Razgatlioglu’s ( P4 ), but he’s still struggling. We helped him in FP1 ( P13 ) by fitting a qualifying tire.
We’ll see tomorrow, because he’s someone who never gives up. He won 5 Grands Prix and was runner-up in the Supersport World Championship.
We’re still hoping that his situation will be resolved before Sunday evening.
Christophe Guyot: “A huge THANK YOU to Magny-Cours and Dorna! “
“I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to the Nevers Magny circuit. I’d like to thank the whole team of Romain Daguenet, sales manager, who has been supporting us for a long time now, as well as the GMT 94 supporters. Thank you for the attention paid to the public, with, for example, this morning’s earlier opening time for the gangway to enable people to get into the paddock more quickly. They are all dedicated.
We’d also like to thank Dorna, the championship promoter, because we have 3 drivers and 3 boxes. We have the support and backing we need to ensure that our public is welcomed in the best possible conditions.
They know that several thousand spectators come to see us, because we’re a French team with 2 French drivers in the World Championship. Dorna is well aware that we arouse enthusiasm in France. Johan Gimbert is the Wild Card rider because he leads the French championship, and we have a commitment from our partners and the French Motorcycling Federation, who support us. We can feel the enthusiasm and fervor on the part of the organizers and promoters.
I’d also like to thank Gilles Vitry, a photographer and coordinator extraordinaire, and a contributor to Autonewsinfo, who came to live at the very heart of GMT 94 to capture the respect shown by all the members, as well as the mechanics, towards “their drivers”.
We allowed over 300 people into the Yamaha GMT94 boxes today. There will be many more this weekend. Thank you to the whole GMT 94 team, volunteers well known to fans since endurance racing. I’m thinking of Audrey,Jules,Hugo, Greg, Éric, and so many others who are there to welcome people who have come to support GMT 94. “
CHRISTOPHE GUYOT: “SEE YOU SATURDAY AT 6:00 PM IN FRONT OF THE PADDOCK SHOW!”
“I look forward to seeing all our supporters in front of the Paddock Show on Saturday, as those lucky enough to be drawn will win a number of prizes, including Valentin Debise’s wetsuit worn during his first Wild Card here. Another prize: a trip for 2 to Spain, to Jerez De La Frontera, to attend the final of the World Championship.
