I look forward to the Lille (Bercy) Supercross each year for a number of reasons: the tight, intense racing, hanging out, getting the feel of what it’s like to be a smoker, etc. But one more reason is the chance to catch up to the man, the myth, the legend—Jean-Michel Bayle. JMB probably gets tired of me asking him more questions about when he raced in America, won three titles, and took off for road-racing, but this year I actually had a real reason to talk to him: Bayle’s got a new job. As a riding coach/liaison with HRC for the Martin Factory Honda team, Jean-Michel will be going back on the road to the GPs once again. In between signing autographs for fans, he gave me a few minutes and now I present to you with JMB.
(By the way, if you want to hear about his career from JMB himself, take a listen to this old Racer X Podcast I did with him. We also called up his rival from back then, Jeff Stanton, to swap stories.)
Racer X: As a guy that helped build Bercy into what it was, what do you think of the change to Lille this year?
Jean Michel Bayle: It’s very different. We are used to the supercross in Paris in Bercy. The spirit is very different here—a different stadium, much bigger, further from Paris, different atmosphere. It’s difficult to say what is better, but it’s different. But I think it’s still a lot of people, still a nice race. I think it’s also going to get better and better over the years. I think for the first one there was a lot of people already. Yesterday [Saturday night] was full—22,000 people. So it’s already good, because if you want to keep the race on, we need a lot of people. I think it’s not bad.
It’s hard to replicate that tight arena and having the fans right on top of you.
Yeah, it’s different. The stadium is so big it’s difficult to have people. For sure it’s different.
Eli Tomac killed it last night and was the best rider. What do you think of that?
Just looks like he’s ready for January. It’s great. I think they did a good job in testing, so he’s happy with the suspension and with the bike. The bike doesn’t have everything from what he will have next year, but he’s already at a good level, so I think he’s quite happy and he won’t have many people in front of him. But, for sure, it will be different in January because there’s a lot more competition than here, but it’s nice to see him at this level already.
Hey, you have a new job now. Talk about a little bit what you’re doing next year.
A lot of work for the Honda HRC MX1 team for the World Championship. It’s a new job, working for HRC, the sports side of the team. Rider coaching, testing, all on the sporting side. It’s great. I’m happy.
It’s a lot of travel; you’re back on the road. Why now?
I always wanted to do something but never found a good opportunity. Honda wanted to be back very strong in the World Championship. Gautier Paulin wants to win the world championship, so I think it was a good time for him to move from Kawasaki to Honda. I think it was necessary for me to help him and to help Honda also. Good opportunity, good team, good momentum, so I’m very happy.
In America, we saw Trey Canard switch from Showa to KYB, and he was a new rider. We just talked about Eli and he switched suspension components. Is that something that could be coming down for Martin Honda guys, a little more open-minded suspension-wise?
Yes, it’s open. We already tried it. No problem. It’s the rider’s choice. We take the best material available, so right now Gautier likes Showa. Motocross outdoors is very different than supercross. Gautier is very happy with the Showa, and he thinks he can go to a very high level with it.
Trey was getting third, fourth, fifth in the US, and he puts that suspension on and he wins the very next race and some others. Both are air systems with a little different way of going about it. Has the change worked on the bike, or is it more mental for the racer?
You said everything. I think first we have to speak technically. I think the Showa, from my point of view, is better than the KYB but a little bit more complicated also. I think it’s a lot more difficult to find the right setting. Then, if you find the right setting, it’s better than the KYB. But I think for supercross you do not get so much practice time on the track. It’s difficult to find the perfect setting. I think it’s a little easier for a rider to go with something that is a little bit less comfortable, a little bit less high-level but all the same. I think for supercross, this may be a little bit better.
Ryan Villopoto is sort of “pulling a JMB,” where he’s a champion in America going to Europe, just like you were a champion in Europe going to America. What do you think of his decision?
It’s very cool for everybody. I like racing and I like challenge. For me nothing more boring than a pilot that will win ten times in a row the championship and never try to do something better. I think for him it is great. It’s great for the sport, and it’s great for you guys. We know what he did in supercross; we know what he’s able to do. I’m happy to see him coming to the World Championship. I just hope it will be good racing. I wish we’re [Honda] going to win, because we like racing and winning, but actually I’m happy to have him coming because it’s great.
What advice would you give him if he called you up?
I’m working for a different team, so I’m not going to give so much advice [Laughs]. But I just think he has to…it’s two different worlds. We can say that if he dominates one side, it will be different on the other side. He’s got to prove himself again. That’s what is difficult, is you have to start again from the bottom—well maybe not the bottom—but you have to go a little bit more down from where you were. You have to work up again. I think this is a difficult part. It was the same for me when I was racing in Europe. I was dominating everything. I went to America, and it’s like a different world. Everything is new. You don’t feel like a baby, but you feel like you need to learn a lot of things. Sometimes you’ll be really uncomfortable because you’re used to dominating and being comfortable. But I think he will be able to do it.
What if he goes road racing next? You can help him.
[Laughs] He can try. I like motorcycles, all motorcycle sports. I like people who have a challenge. This is life. You have to do what you have to do and you have to prove to yourself what you have to prove to yourself.
JMB, you so could have won the 1993 title.
Yeah, but for my life, you have to do what you like to do. I’m happy to see him coming to motocross and if he goes to road race, great, I’ll help him.
You have to be pretty proud of the French MXoN team that won that race for the second time ever. Did you have any problems with the team selection beforehand?
No. Like you said, it’s a team selection. You have the choice sometimes to take individual people and to hope they’re going to do a very good result. Sometimes you have to say, “Okay, maybe I take a different rider.” But maybe the team will have a good spirit, and sometimes it works out. So it’s difficult to find the good solution, but I think they did it. They put a lot of hope on Gautier [Paulin], and he did great because he scored only 2 points [winning both motos]. They were just hoping the people behind were able to stay with him a little bit.
Can Gautier win the world title next year? He’s sure got the speed, a little more consistency needed. Do you see it in him?
That’s why we work together. I believe in him. I believe in his ability to do it. His riding ability is no problem. For sure he needs consistency but we are working on it.
Ok, last question: What are your memories of a young Davey Coombs in America?
He picked me up at the airport in ’87, my first trip to America for the 125 Grand Prix in Steel City. He picked me up at the airport with his sister. For me it was the first time I had been in a America, and I was like, “Wow!” I think I was in his sister’s car and watching, I was thinking about, this is a great race—“Just wow!” I will always remember because for me my dream was to race in America, but the first time I discovered the American world was right there. I was just looking out the window at all the different things that America had to offer.
