Poncharal happy despite Tech 3 rift
Added on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Poncharal happy despite Tech 3 rift
The rift between James Toseland and Colin Edwards is a positive for both riders and the team, according to Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal.
Edwards and Toseland have been at loggerheads since the middle of last season after Tech 3 bosses switched crew chiefs between the pair as the Brit’s season started to falter half-way through last year, with Edwards’ crew manager Gary Reynders moving to work with Toseland and Guy Coulon working with the American.
Edwards revealed in an online column that the change caused a rift between the pair in the team garage and following the official test in Sepang a fortnight ago, Edwards revealed that the pair haven’t spoken since.
Edwards wrote on the official Indianapolis MotoGP blog: “You should hear some of the comments being made. He got the crew chief he wanted. That was going to make all the difference in the world, and we just sit and laugh. We have a good time.”
But Tech 3 team principal Poncharal has downplayed the rift, believing that the rivalry could provide each rider with increased motivation to perform in 2009.
“I can’t say too much about what Colin has said because those are his own views, but you always know that the first person a rider wants to beat is his own team-mate. James improved a lot last year, we think he has shown last year that he could be a podium contender in his second year with Tech 3, so they will try to beat each other and this is fun.”
“If it gives extra motivation to James’ department and to Colin’s department I am absolutely happy,” confirmed the Tech 3 chief. “We will never see two riders going on holiday together because this is an individual sport. They respect each other still, OK they don’t talk anymore, but who cares? I wanted to give both of them the best support I could and that is what I have done.”
Explaining the decision to swap crew chiefs, Poncharal highlighted that the move was to assist Toseland with his pre-race preparations.
“I understood James’ point of view because Garry lives in England close to James, and he speaks better English than Guy,” added the Frenchman. “James and Garry spent a lot of time together last year traveling to and from England and James likes to talk to his crew chief in between races.
“Colin was not so happy because he thought he could have been more involved in the decision making process, but he accepted it. Since then Colin has had a dream start, as he had a great time in testing both in Jerez in November and then in Sepang with the new bike. He is very, very happy now.”
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