Eric Mahe (Loris Baz's manager) - Q&A

An exclusive interview with Loris Baz's manager, Eric Mahe, at the Misano MotoGP round.

Factory Kawasaki World Superbike rider Baz has been closely linked with the second (Open class) Aspar Honda MotoGP seat for 2015 - providing the team do not acquire a Factory RC213V and Scott Redding (Redding and the RCV are tipped to go to Marc VDS).

However recent speculation has suggested that 21-year-old Baz would be too tall for the bike...

Crash.net:
Eric, what is the situation regarding Loris Baz and the Open class Aspar Honda for 2015?

Eric Mahe:
The situation is not easy. I don't want to go into too much detail. What I can tell you is that we have a formal proposal signed for 2015.

Recently they started to speak about Loris being too tall for the bike. But we have a formal agreement and it seems that they want to reconsider it. So the situation is not easy. I can't say much more, except that I'm trying to find a solution with them and trying to convince them to respect their proposal.

Crash.net:
What is the height difference between Leon Camier, who rides the Aspar bike now, and Loris?

Eric Mahe:
The difference is 2.6 centimetres, but I want to make clear that the matter of height is not connected to the agreement we have made. Loris was the same size as he is today when we made the agreement.

Aspar have said they are scared to lose some kilometres on the straight [because of Baz's height], but Loris' project with Aspar is not to beat Marc Marquez next year. So perhaps he will lose 0.2s on the straight, but when you are tall you can compensate for this in other ways.

For me we are focusing too much on something which is not an issue for a rookie like Loris. To talk now about losing 0.2s on the straight for me is strange and I cannot understand that we are in this situation.

Even if Loris is tall, he is talented and he deserves a chance in MotoGP.

Statement from Loris Baz about his height:

Loris Baz: This matter is not crucial to my situation but my height is 1m 92cm. However my body is the same as someone approximately 1m 85cm because I have a long neck and face. So my body, arms and legs are no bigger than someone who is around 1m 85cm.