The Prospect
By TMX Archives on 15th Jun 06
At the tender age of just 17, Christophe Pourcel is a very real candidate for the '06 MX2 world title - no wonder the French MX press are calling him the 'nouveau Bayle'...
Christophe Pourcel may come across as a shy teenager but the young Frenchman is arguably the fastest 17-year-old on the planet and a genuine candidate for this year's MX2 world crown.
"For sure I like to have fun just like anyone my age but I guess, compared with many other teenagers, I'm a quiet person. But I am very focused on my job and determined to succeed. I do go out but I also like to be alone and I spend a lot of time on the internet.
"My sport and my preparation takes up most of my time and I just like to turn off when I get the chance. I listen to most things they play on the radio but Offspring and Sum 41 are my favourite groups. And I spend a lot of time on the internet chatting with my friends back home in France."
Just like an ever increasing number of professionals the Pourcel family have now established their base in Belgium for eight months of the year and that's a long way from the family home at Chateauneuf, a 30-minute drive from Marseilles in the south eastern corner of France.
Last year was essentially Christophe's rookie year in the GPs, although he'd already had a couple of impressive debut rides in '04 - highlighted by a 12th in Czecho - when his European championship commitments allowed.
The record books would suggest a rocky start to '05 with a zero pay-day at Zolder but statistics can often mislead and those present will remember that Christophe actually led the second moto before bogging the KX250F and struggling to restart it. In the following GPs in Spain and Portugal the fragile-looking teenager posted top 10 finishes and some wobbly rides through May - "when Sebastien got hurt and I was on my own the team was struggling a little with bike set-up" - were soon forgotten with the first of three podiums at the Matchams GP.
And that charge to second, right on Andrew McFarlane's rear wheel, came in race two - a rare achievement for a 16-year-old and a tribute to his fitness. It's an aspect of the sport that many teenagers neglect but, as Christophe's already explained, the life of a professional motocrosser is not one of weekend racing and weekday parties.
"During the winter I ride four days a week but once the season starts again I think it is important to recuperate after a weekend's racing and I only practice one day a week. But I do physical training every day - I have a programme, mainly cycling and running with some swimming too."
British fans again saw Christophe at his best last summer when he chased home David Philippaerts in race two for second at Gore Basin. But the absolute highlight of the season was his maiden GP moto win at Loket where he ran the wheels off champion-to-be Tony Cairoli for a famous win. And the Sicilian wasn't slow to applaud the performance - "I wasn't riding for the points. Christophe was just too fast for me and I couldn't catch him."
The '06 season started well for Christophe with a decisive victory over the entire KTM team at Pernes and a successful start to his defence of the French national crown. "I enjoyed the second race at Pernes much more than the first. I had holeshot the first and could run away but I had to fight my way through to second and the battle with Tyla was fun - I was able to watch his lines and compare them to mine.
"In the end I didn't quite manage to pass him but it was good training to see how I might be able to pass one of my major rivals sometime during the season. And perhaps that could be decisive for the title!
"Tyla's style looked more hectic but I don't think he was nervous. I think it is simply his style while my riding style has always been more flowing and I manage to stay cool even in such circumstances. I hope that also works in my favour."
The most pleasing aspect of race one was that holeshot. "I made so many bad starts last year that I got plenty of practice at battling through the pack so it is not a problem. But an important part of Cairoli's success last year was the starts so we focused very hard during the winter to get a bike set-up which will allow us to make good starts.
"Jan De Groot allowed us to try some material from him but I prefer our engine. It is not so aggressive as the factory engine and I find it much easier to use the power all through the range. But we have not only worked on the bike, I have also tried to improve my concentration when practising starts and I am not moving around on the bike as much as I did in the past."
But starts are only one aspect of the game and Christophe brings up his fighting spirit when asked what he feels are his main strengths. "I think I fight to the limit and never give up. I am even more determined when I get on my bike than when I am preparing."
Two years ago big brother Sebastien told DBR that while he was the grafter, his kid brother the one with raw talent. Christophe disagrees. "I don't think I am more naturally talented than Sebastien. I have to work too but perhaps it looks easier because I am able to learn from Sebastien's mistakes. When he has made a mistake in his career I was able to learn from it."
The quiet, deep-thinking teenager has a plan of attack for his world title challenge. "The main thing will be to stay cool at the beginning and not do anything silly. Anyone who wants to be champion will have to make big points on every race because there are five or six riders capable of winning the title so whoever wins will be the one who doesn't get hurt and who scores big every week. I know that sometimes I will have to be satisfied with second place because 22 is better than nothing. It will be important not to make mistakes.
"I don't really have any rider I enjoy racing against most, perhaps De Reuver. He can be so fast and that is a real challenge."
And what about Sebastien, now getting back to his best after an injury-torn '05? "When we are on the track Sebastien is just another rival. I have to beat him too if I want to win and it makes no difference that he is my brother. I am not a physical rider anyway, I like to beat my rivals through speed and skill but I am not afraid of contact. If it comes to that I am sure I can give as good as I get."
The French MX press quite naturally plays on Christophe's youth but it doesn't distract him from his mission. "I don't feel any pressure because I am the youngest of the title candidates. But that is just the way I am. The French press likes to call me the 'nouveau Bayle' but I don't let that worry me either. I am Christophe Pourcel!"
Team tactics
The GPKR story
Christophe's GPKR team (the initials stand for Gepa Pourcel Kawasaki Racing) is a joint effort between his father Roger and major Belgian Kawasaki dealership Gepa owned by Patrick Gelade.
"We have a dealership for just about everything in the Kawasaki range - street bikes and off-road bikes, also watercrafts, ATV and so on," explains Patrick. "I have been in racing for 27 years - first car racing, then just one year after I started Gepa we already had a team in street bikes, Superbikes, Endurance.
"We also did watercraft races all over Europe and then when my son Alexander started riding I got into motocross. Unfortunately, Alexander died in 2004 after a crash racing and I cancelled all of my race activities."
But one year later Patrick's interest was aroused once more. "Roger Pourcel came to my shop to pick up spare parts for their bikes. The TSM team with Christian Bayle was not so well structured and they were short of parts virtually every week. Roger came in several times, I saw the kids riding too and they were looking for a place to have their workshop and we came to agreement for them to work at my place.
"I don't want to talk too much about the problems with Christian Bayle. I think the problem was that the budget was simply not strong enough to run a world championship team.
"Luckily for me I have developed good contacts with a lot of good partners over the course of 27 years and it is significant that 90 per cent of our partners and sponsors from last year wanted to continue with us and are confident in both the Pourcel family and Gepa so I don't have to put finance in.
"We have good bikes, good sponsors, good mechanics, good riders and we all know each other and get on. Thanks to Jan De Groot we have direct support from the factory so all of the budget for bikes and parts is covered by Kawasaki Europe through Kawasaki Benelux.
"Roger Pourcel and myself have established the company together, in the first place to allow the kids to carry on riding together in a family atmosphere. But we have felt from the outset that it's a long-term venture and when it is time for Sebastien and Christophe to move on then we will carry on with other riders.
"We know they will leave one day - probably for the US - but the structure is there for the team to continue after they leave. The boys would like to go to America within the same team but that may prove difficult. Already this winter Christophe had a very good offer to go to the States but the team in question only wanted him - it may well be that they will have to go their own ways."