Ponsson aiming for 'regular top ten' WorldSBK results in 2022

Christophe Ponsson has set his sights on regular top ten WorldSBK results in 2022 following ‘nice improvements’ made during last week’s Portimao test.  

Ponsson, who finished last season in 20th place (36 points), returns to the series aboard Yamaha R1 machinery with the Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha team for what will be his third season in the top class. 

The French rider joined fellow Yamaha riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli for last week’s two day Portimao test, which was also his first track action since the 2021 season finale in Mandalika. 

After finishing eighth out of nine riders - rookie Luca Bernardi was last - Ponsson told WorldSBK.com: "I’m really happy with this test, as it’s the first one back since the winter. We made some nice improvements on the bike, and I can feel it from the beginning and that was a good thing. 

"I felt good on the bike from the beginning, and I also improved over the winter. I’m ready for the next one. I’m not looking at the fast guys, only looking at myself. I went one second quicker than during the race weekend last year and this is a good thing. 

"It’s not like a race weekend where you’ve got the other guys on track pushing you on, so it’s super positive for us. 

"Everything we were trying was positive too, so we are looking forward to seeing the improvements at the next track."

While Ponsson’s true test will come at the beginning of April when every WorldSBK rider/team will be on track together (official Dorna supported test), the 26 year-old is nonetheless aiming to become a more regular top ten finisher this season. 

If that’s to happen, Ponsson will need to out-perform several riders on more ‘advanced’ packages, including factory riders. 

While not impossible as satellite riders Axel Bassani and Garrett Gerloff have been consistent top ten finishers over the last two seasons, Ponsson is yet to show the same level of performance as those two riders.

Speaking about his goals for 2022, Ponsson continued: "The goal is to be in the top ten as much as possible. We did it sometimes last year, but we want it to be more regular. 

"It’ll be difficult, as there’s a lot of official bikes with some super-fast riders on them, but we improved a lot in the second half of last season. 

"After what we improved on the bike in this test and my feeling on the bike, we can hope to be a bit more regular around the top ten, between eighth and eleventh and be more consistent."