A year 2024 marked by a major novelty for Brabançon. “We moved into the premier EWC category, reminds Loris. It was a project that had been on the mind of my French 3D team Maxxess Nevers for several years. In 2024, the team finally found the budget to invest in a new Kawasaki and replace the Stock version which was aging.” Facing the Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and BMW factory teams, the objective is clear for Cresson and his teammates. “We are aiming for first place among the private teams while beating the best motorcycle entered in the stock category, he continues. The first part of the mission has already been accomplished since we occupied this place during the 24 hours of Le Mans motorcycle and finished in eighth position in the general classification. We are clearly confident for the 8 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps which will be the next round on the calendar.”
After a disastrous 2023 edition, the Spa race went from 24 to 8 hours this year. According to Loris, the reconstruction will take time. “There were lots of people in 2022 but it was very complicated in 2023. Without wanting to be gossipy, not everything was done to convince spectators to come and stay. By spending 8 hours on Saturday alone, we should have a few more people. But I think we will have to wait a few more editions for this to really be an unmissable event on the calendar. For its part, Warner Bros, which promotes the championship, is doing a lot of work to ensure that each round of the calendar attracts people over the entire weekend. We see it in particular at the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycles but also at the Bol d’Or and at Suzuka where there is a crazy crowd.”
Marquez must lose all the bad habits acquired with the Honda.
Loris also took the opportunity to take stock of the start of the MotoGP season. “The championship is very interesting and we see that the top players are in difficulty. There's a lot of hype surrounding Pedro Acosta at the moment but personally, I'm not surprised that he's shining like this when we all know what he's accomplished in the lower categories. Afterwards, and this is the salt of the modern world, you quickly go from zero to hero, and vice versa, via social networks. The return of Marc Marquez is also interesting because he has to lose all the bad habits acquired with the Honda to adapt to the Ducati which is not that easy to handle.”
Furthermore, Cresson believes that we should still hear about Barry Baltus this season in Moto2. “He played a good game with the tires. The other teams have reacted since Losail but I think we will see him again in the Top 5, or even on the podium this year. As long as he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself.”
