 
Rally OiLibya du Maroc
2015 Cross Countries Rally Round 6
Michael Metge ready for the great adventure
It’s been a mere two months since Michael Metge joined the ranks of
Team HRC Rally and preparations for the first race are almost complete. Over
recent weeks the French rider has been through a vigorous training regime
which will allow him to debut aboard the Honda CRF450 RALLY in Morocco. Now
is training with the team in Spain.
Never a day goes by when Michael Metge isn’t – in some way or another
– dedicated to Team HRC, aware as he is of the enormity of the task at
hand, that of winning the Dakar Rally. What with all the gym workouts, the
bike training, the office work and labouring over the finer details of his
forthcoming objectives; this year there will be no holidays for Michael. The
rider, who hails from Nimes, France, was convened last month by the official
Honda team, where he was received by new team-mates Joan Barreda, Paulo
Gonçalves and Jeremías Israel who took part in a stage alongside Team HRC’s
technical staff.
– Since last June you are the new rider on the Honda CRF450 RALLY. Tell
me about your career and how you’ve got this far?
– For me, the bike is everything. Mainly, it’s a way of having fun. I’ve
been riding since I was four years old and I am lucky enough to have parents
that had a fantastic plot of land where it was easy to train. My brother and
I built a cross circuit using my dad’s bulldozer. I started with the
motocross championship, where I won the Languedoc-Roussillon, then I moved
on to enduro and rode for various teams and combined that with working for
the family business. The motorcycle was an amusement and a hobby. Gradually
I was heading towards rally, because I think that it’s in the family’s
gene. My father rode the Dakar six times and my cousin Réné was heavily
involved and ever since I was small I’ve dreamt about it too. From when I
was five or six, I wanted to accompany my dad to the Dakar with the PW50.
Three years ago I got to do my first Dakar with Yamaha thanks to a good
finish in the Sardinia Rally with a third place on the final day. The
following year I was Cyril Despres’ water-carrier. It was an honour
because in France and for me personally, Cyril is a great rally rider and to
be at his side was a real honour; I learnt a lot. I have never met anyone in
the world of motorcycling as professional as he is.
It’s the icing on the cake to be with Honda. I’ve had posters on my
wall since I was young of J.M.B., McGrath… We have always had Honda at
home which is why it is so incredible to make a step like this. With Joan,
the fastest rider, Paulo and Jeremías, I think that I’ve got a lot that I
can learn from them; they are really fast riders.
What does rally mean to you?
Rally, and the Dakar – which is the highest level of rally – is an
adventure race. I started in motocross, but I quickly moved to enduro
because I loved the naturalness, the adventure…. The Dakar is a great
adventure where you have to be very autonomous and handle yourself. It
really is the adventure that attracts me to the Dakar. Also, it’s a team
sport which requires a professional environment and that way you are able to
enjoy everything to do with the race.
How do you define yourself?
I would define myself as….. I don’t know. I don’t want to blow my own
trumpet, but…. I think I’m a great worker. I’ve got where I am without
ever being given anything. I’ve made it this far by hard work and sheer
effort. I’m perseverant and proud of myself. Plus, I try and ask myself
every day how it is possible to get better, because there can be no resting
on your laurels once you’ve got into a good team. You’ve got to force
yourself to be competitive.
Your younger brother Adrien is an official rider for Honda Brazil!
Yeah, that’s right. It’s a Honda family! It’s amazing as he competes
in enduro and rally and is currently second in the standings behind the
champion, his team-mate Azevedo. Adrien came to France a couple of weeks ago
and we trained together. I’m very proud of what he’s achieved, because
to go to Brazil wasn’t an easy decision to make.
One of your great qualities is mechanics.
Before doing rally I worked as a mechanic in Nantes in a workshop. And
before that I was in the family business in charge of the mechanics of all
the vehicles. This meant that I learnt a great deal. In fact, everything
that I did before has come in useful: bike-riding, mechanics, water-carrier….
So, if I have to help my team-mates out, I’m available.
You’ve put in a bit of mileage on the Honda CRF450 RALLY. How would
you define it?
The initial feeling that I had was that it is easy to ride, very agile, easy
to handle, light… Straight away I felt at ease on the bike. Also, I’d
have to point out the engine which is very efficient at low revs and is very
powerful at the top end too. To sum up: it’s an easy yet very effective
bike.
In the four years that you have been in the world of rally, how has
the navigation been going?
I’m going to keep working at it because I think that in rally there are
riders who navigate really well and others who just follow the tracks; I
want to be in the first group. My job will be to help Paulo and Joan, both
of whom are really good at navigating, so I will do everything to keep
learning which is really important. Last year’s Dakar wasn’t very
difficult for the navigation but I’ve got to keep pushing in that sense
because the Dakar is an adventure and the navigation is super-important. I’m
lucky enough to have been given great advice by the rest of the team. Joan
has trained me really well in Zaragoza and I will try to keep following Joan’s
inspiration.
Next races will be the Morocco Rally and the Dakar 2016 with Bolivia
and Argentina. What do you think that the Dakar 2016 will be like?
Undoubtedly it will be a very full Dakar, intense from the start. Also,
there will be a lot of technical track in the Bolivian heights. It will be
very physical as it is every year. I hope that there will be a lot of
technical stages which is my cup of tea. I believe that it’s necessary to
prepare a lot physically and be as fit as possible. Chile and Peru is not on
the route; last year there were some stages in Chile that were very simple
and not such fun to ride. I prefer Argentina and the technical tracks rather
than the boring straight ones.
|
