SYLVAIN GEBOERS BLOG

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Team Suzuki Press Office – January 28.


Rockstar Energy Suzuki World Motocross Team Principle Sylvain Geboers talks about preparations for the 2014 MXGP series, plus his new plans and involvement with the MX2 team.


Preparation for 2014 hasn’t been going so smoothly. Testing became a nightmare after Clement’s injury at the Motocross of Nations. The news that he required surgery and would need a long recovery time meant we could only push ahead with Kevin. We were able to fill his wishes when it came to a few modifications for engine character, based on the 2013 unit, and found a good direction. It is important to give the rider something that he feels happy with for all kinds of riding conditions and for that the test worked out pretty well. Kevin also chose to start using the Air system for the front forks. We had made some try-outs during the season but normally reverted back to the conventional spring. On this occasion at the test we had time to assure him about the performance and reliability of the equipment and he was in a good position to be able to decide for himself.

For Clement there will be no tests before the end of January but this is no reason to panic. He was already very happy with the setting and feeling of the 2013 bike. Minor changes can and will be included but knowing Clement – and we are into our fifth season together now – he will never use something for a race that he hasn’t already tested fully.

Both riders, along with the MX2 guys, will travel to Portugal again next month for the annual training camp and will be doing their physical work between December 9-22. The championship again starts early and to have the bikes in Qatar for the first Grand Prix means they need to be packed and ready to go by February 18th. This obviously limits the amount of work we can do. Even though this is the second year that the calendar opens at the beginning of March we are still not dialled-in to the time frame. I don’t think it is a major problem for a race bike that will require only minor modifications, like ours, but if there were radical new components and items to work on then it would be not possible to be set for the first Grand Prix. We would not be able to ship the amount of parts that we need and there would be just too much risk involved for the flyaways.

Clement is rehabbing well and according to the doctor and the therapist all is going OK. Of course he wants it to go quicker! He has gained enough experience in recovering from shoulder injuries so I have complete confidence that he knows how to work and what to do to be in the best shape. Clement will also go to Portugal and take part. He does not have full movement and there will be some limitations but he should be able to swim and take some benefit from the sessions.

So with Clement and Kevin onboard the team again for 2014 we are keeping a good and efficient roster together. For Clement, if he hadn’t suffered this injury then I would confidently say that we would be pushing for the title next year. Now it is a bit different. I am sure he will come back to his best but I think it is too much to ask that he will be on the same level that he ended 2013 by the time of the first round at Losail. If he can reach the level of performance that we saw in the last six-seven Grands Prix this year then he is a clear rival for Cairoli. Let’s just hope that is sooner rather than later.

As for Kevin I really believe he will be even better in 2014 and we will see him more often going for podium positions. He picked up a lot of confidence during the year. In the first half of the season he was a bit ‘up and down’ but in the second half his confidence stayed up there as we improved the bike for him. Seeing his physical level now and the way he is preparing I have great expectations.

As many will people will know, our team will be part of the new ‘MXGP’ category in 2014 but there are some changes for us in-house. Just recently I made the decision that I will take full control over the technical contribution to the MX2 team. Why? I want that the MX2 operation becomes a copy of what we currently have in MX1 where we function well, have good staff and everything runs almost to routine. Jens [Johansson] held the position for us before but I think by taking on the reins myself then I will be able to command respect and some extra response from our partners. We already have some fantastic collaborations in order to go racing and to be one of the top teams every year and I hope we can push harder and bring the MX2 up to a similar level. There are people sharing responsibilities across the teams when it comes to suspension, fuel injection and data logging and Luc Piccart will take a very hands-on role. Luc is someone we know very well and used to mechanic for Strijbos, De Dycker and also Clement. He is used to ‘the house’.

We know some people have been critical of the RM-Z250 from the set of results in 2013 and that is something I need to work on right away. We are trying very hard to get the bike ready for the start of the season and we will do our best. We have a great machine with the RM-Z450 and the objective is to work even closer with the same people and same systems to make the 250 equally impressive. Like I said we have been working with Clement for four seasons now and Kevin has many years with us in different intervals. Both have experience when it comes to set-up and development and we know them well. In MX2 we don’t have that experience and we need to learn and respond to the requests we receive. The riders are also younger with less experience and that makes it complicated. It will take more time.

Thomas Ramsbacher will continue to head the MX2 set-up as Team Manager and my contribution is to make sure everything is in place for the right job to be done. Even though MX2 is a Suzuki International Europe project I want to create more interest for MX2 in Japan; that is the goal.

A question that has popped up so far is ‘why take on the extra work?’ I know I am not getting any younger but only a couple of days ago I found myself thinking ‘I really like this’. I want the challenge of fighting again, to improve again and really take the MX2 team up. I know I cannot go on forever. For the last two years I have been taking a motorhome to more Grands Prix and that has been a big help. It means getting a bit of time off between the races and my wife accepted to come along and accompany me, which was important otherwise it would have been ‘end of story’! I need to work on finding a solution for the long-term future of the team but I love doing this job and I am fit to do this job and I will try to stay so.