Schatz: “We must always adapt, and we will adapt”

How is this period going, for you and for the team?

As early as last weekend, even before the government made its decision, I had made the decision to suspend the team's activity for two weeks because I saw that the demonstrations were being canceled one after the other and that the The trend was that the circuits were going to close their doors. So, I didn't ask myself any questions, we were all going to be in the same boat. Above all, I think that the only solution, for everyone, was to stop for two weeks and not deviate from it so that the economy resumes as quickly as possible.

At the partnership and pilot level, do you already see repercussions? 

Currently, it's not the priority in people's minds, so I'm keeping a little quiet but there will obviously be a repercussion. Its importance will depend on the duration; if it is only one month, the impact will be relatively light on the motorsport sector in general and the health of the company in particular. On the other hand, and as is likely, if we have two to three months, the economy in general will be impacted. And we, in our sector, are more at the end of the chain, we are not in the “priority” services of the economy. 

Remind us of the programs in which you were involved…

As a driver, I'm going back to Michelin Le Mans Cup, in LM P3. The team is entered in FFSA GT4, in the Ultimate Cup Series Endurance and in the French Mountain Championship, with around ten cars in several categories.

If the calendars are condensed to just the second semester, how will it work logistically?

It will be tight, not only logistically, but also humanly. I have a structure that is calibrated to be present in two championships in parallel, the circuit and the Mountain. When there are clashes of dates on circuits (like the weekend of September 12-13, editor's note), I am a little undersized. If all the championships clash, we will have to find solutions, which will involve the rental of equipment. Then there is the human factor. This winter, I took the initiative to grow my business by taking on more full-time work compared to freelancers. I have four people under my responsibility. It was a risk, and maybe it wasn’t the best year to take it! So I don't have a lot of freelancers on hand to fill the staff. But in motorsport, you always have to adapt, and you will adapt.

From a personal point of view, how do you spend your days?

I'm doing what I usually never have time to do, which is to say a lot of administration. I spent my week carefully calibrating my forecasts, updating the paperwork... On a physical level, I do the jogging that we are allowed to do. Muscle strengthening will be less optimal than usual!