Eric Geboers about the new season
Team manager, PR man and consultant, Eric Geboers is Teka-Suzuki's devil-in-chief. Geboers is in a good mood when we speak to him. Even more than usual. Because the preparations for the new GP season are going smoothly. Or maybe because Eric is a pre-season guy himself. 'The original Kid' won the legendary beach race of Le Touquet three times during this period of the year. MXMag visited Geboers just before Mantova.
A new season always brings a lot of extra work for everyone involved in a GP team. Are there any new technological developments at Suzuki that you need to incorporate?
Eric Geboers: "No, in that respect there is no additional tax for the workloads of the team. Suzuki traditionally works on a three-year cycle for its motocross bikes. Then there will be major changes. This year we are in the third year of such a cycle for the Suzuki RMZ450. Then you can of course fall back on automatisms. Because such an introductory year with novelties is also more budgetary, we are now looking together with Suzuki to extend the current cycle to four years. In any case, it is an opportunity to save.”
Will the noise standards become stricter in 2010?
Geboers: "That's right, technically that is the most drastic change this year. The method of measuring is also different and that means that the motors must be quieter. In principle, this also has an impact on the power, but we have been able to compensate for that nicely. With fewer decibels we are still as powerful as last year. That also means that without that rule change we would have gained a lot of power this year! Anyway, it is an important rule for the sport and everyone is equal before the law.”
Does Suzuki's MX2 World Championship program mean extra work for the team?
Eric Geboers: “Actually, the way of working is the same for MX1 as for MX2. The only difference is that in the MX1 we take care of the entire process. We do all the testing ourselves, and we determine the choice of technology. For the MX2, the final selection is made by Roger Decoster in the US. Because we were new to MX2 at the time and given the limited budget in Europe, it was a logical decision to enlist the help of Suzuki America. They have a lot of experience in the Lites over there and they have built up a nice track record. For us in Europe it is now the third year with the Suzuki RMZ250, so it is no longer completely new. In the MX2, Suzuki is starting this season with such a new cycle because the engine also received fuel injection. "
With Clément Desalle, Teka-Suzuki brought in a driver who was already familiar with the house and with Suzuki. How is his adjustment going?
Eric Geboers: “Very good, both technically and humanly. The adjustment actually goes perfectly. Clément indeed already has some experience on Suzuki, but of course there was a year of Honda in between. Which he also carries with him certain automatisms. So the advantage of having ridden Suzuki in the past is not that great. But that was also an interesting thing for us, to hear what they do at Honda or where they are! And just because we already knew each other before, that doesn't guarantee a smooth integration into a factory team. Because that remains new for him. It always remains to be seen how a driver will deal with this. In Desalle's case, everything is going well. It is also positive to see that he is not modest towards the team. He knows what he wants from his material and he continues to insist on that. We would also have liked to have Clément there last year and two years ago. Now it has become a reality.”
I have the impression that Steve Ramon is very eager, 2010 seems like a new start for him?
Eric Geboers: “That is true. Steve has found renewed motivation and is looking forward to the new season. On the other hand, he also knows that this is his last season(s) at the top. Then there is no time to doubt.”
The Suzuki transfers for 2010 were quite complicated. First, both Ramon and De Dycker were told that their agreement would not be extended. At the end of the ride, Ramon was still able to stay. To some people this came across as if a contract extension for Steve had actually been decided earlier. What do you think about that?
Eric Geboers: “Once we informed both drivers that their contracts would not be extended, even we knew nothing more! It was therefore natural to inform Ken De Dycker and Steve Ramon. Because of course we didn't want to put anything in the way of their future. In fact, the non-extension of those agreements and the contract negotiations for 2010 were completely unrelated. That was purely a matter of budgets. I understand that something like this is difficult for the outside world or supporters to understand. At that time it was already clear that whoever would be the second driver would sign a one-year contract. After all, we already have an engagement with Desalle until 2011. And in the MX2, Suzuki has already signed the goose with the golden eggs, so to speak, with Ken Roczen. If he continues to develop as he is doing now, there is even a chance that he will already be competing in MX2011 in 1! As a factory team, you now have to take all those factors and financial considerations into account.”
Plain language, thank you for your time Eric.
Eric Geboers: "Don't mention it."
Photos credit: CDS, Ray Archer, Ortema
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