There was plenty of expectation when Randy de Puniet returned to racing at the start of the 2015 WorldSBK season. Having spent well over a decade in Grand Prix racing, the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki rider was all set for an enjoyable year, although events so far have not panned out as anticipated. He explains all to WorldSBK.com.

Randy, what’s your assessment of your rookie season in WorldSBK so far?
This season has been very difficult from the start and up to Misano. I injured myself during the test just before the opening round at Phillip Island, when I had the best lap time. I had found a good rhythm, I was feeling good on the bike and I was confident. Unfortunately, I paid a high price for my mistake, just before the beginning of the season. I still managed to finish in seventh place in Race 1. During Race 2, I was ninth but then I got hit by Leon Camier.

I worked as much as possible before heading to Thailand. I was not 100% fit but I was getting closer. We suffered from braking problems the whole weekend and had an engine breakage. From there on in we decided, with the team, to change the electronics in order to work with the Magneti Marelli system. We’ve been struggling ever since. It’s very difficult for me because I have to adapt to a new class and, because of the problems we’re having, I can’t lap as much as I’d like to. We found a few positives during the test after the Portimao round but it wasn’t enough for us to be competitive at Misano.

So your main problems have all been related to the new electronics?
Exactly. I can’t do as many laps as I’d wish, I can’t adapt myself to the class and all those issues aren’t helping us. We’ve had quite a few setbacks since the beginning of the season. Every weekend, we’re hoping that we can improve, but that’s not the case and it is starting to get a little bit frustrating.

How is it going with the development work for the electronics?
We are the only two riders working on its development. Glen Richards, who used to race in BSB, is helping us by preparing some of the work, but he spends very little time on track. I know what I’m talking about because I spent a year and a half working on the Magneti Marelli unit for the Suzuki GSX-RR (the prototype entered by Suzuki in MotoGP for the return of the marque in the series in 2015). We did hundreds of laps and spent hours riding to finally have something that was working properly for the beginning of the 2015 season. That’s why I can tell you that, starting to work on a new electronic system mid-season, without any solid basis and with two riders and only race weekends available to work on-track, is very difficult. We’re making some progress but not fast enough compared to the other manufacturers.

How’s your relationship with team-mate Alex Lowes?
We’re in a difficult situation and we’re trying to improve the bike, giving the team as much useful information as we can, without withholding anything from any of the two sides. He’s a very good Superbike rider, still at the beginning of his career and able to ride at front. When our bike is working properly, we’ll see which of the two will be ahead.

What are your hopes for the next part of the season?
I really hope we can improve and have a bike with which we’ll be able to work session after session. Right now, we can’t have any specific goal aside from doing our best at every weekend.

You’re also working with Suzuki on the development of the MotoGP bike. What’s your exact role with them?
To put it very simply, my mission is to develop the Suzuki for the Michelin tyres in MotoGP next year. Unfortunately, there are only three test sessions. The third one will be at Silverstone, just after the Grand Prix there (at the end of August). At the beginning of the season, we did our first laps with the Michelin tyres at Sepang and we had some troubles. Everything went better at Le Mans; we had a very positive day, especially for me. After Silverstone, our testing programme will be over unless they have other sessions, but nothing has been planned so far.

The Suzuki MotoGP bike has been producing quite a few good results lately - is this something you can be proud of?
It’s a pleasure to see the bike running at the front. Between our tests at Sepang and at Le Mans, I have been able to see how the electronics have evolved. The team is doing some great work. All the work had been done before and, with two top riders such as Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro, they can collect a lot of data. Since Barcelona, they’ve had a more powerful engine. They still lack a bit of power, but they’re catching up. The main weak point remaining is race performance. The team has to improve the way the electronics work with the engine in order to run at the same level as the others, but being fast during qualifying is already a very good sign, especially when nobody expected anything from that bike so early in the season.

Is there a possibility for you to race as a wildcard in MotoGP this year?
There’s absolutely no plan to do so.

Have you already started to think about next year?
I think about a lot of things, but I don’t have any serious plans yet. I have something that’s building up, but it is still too early to talk about it. What I do know is that I want my racing to be a pleasure and that, right now in World Superbike, it is not. Whether it be in Superbike or elsewhere, I want to enjoy riding again. For now, I will try to end the season as well as I can because it is not an easy situation to go through.