Steiner said Carmelo and Carlos Ezpeleta made it clear he couldn’t mess it up before green-lighting the transaction, which he jokingly translated as being told not to ‘f**k it up’.”
“I would like to thank Mr Carmelo Ezpeleta and Carlos Ezpeleta,” he said. “They actually told me, if we let you in, [in] my words, ‘don’t f**k it up, basically’. That’s what I have to look out [for] now with Richard, that we don’t get it wrong.
“But I had to promise that to Carmelo and Carlos that we continue what is there because MotoGP is a great sport.
“We need to make sure that we continue the good story and we make MotoGP what it deserves, being big and getting bigger, and we will try to help to do that.”
Poncharal revealed that several parties had shown interest in acquiring the team he founded back in 1990, but he felt Steiner was the best candidate to lead it into the future.
“At some stage, you need to pass the baton,” he said. “So, I’ve been thinking for quite a while how to do it, who to do it with.
“We met a few people, especially since Liberty Media came, and is now running together with Dorna the championship.
“There were, of course, more interest, more people talking and asking you what you are planning, and the winner is Guenther Steiner.
“I have to say that in the beginning, I was a bit scared of it because if you look at him, you think he’s gonna punch you. So I was a bit scared to talk and meet him.
“But honestly, I found a very human person. I’ve found somebody who is very much listening to what you want, who cares about you and what you’ve done.
“I think we are not exactly the same but we still have a lot of things in common. So therefore you know I decided to transfer and to sign a protocol with Guenther.”
While Poncharal acknowledged that Liberty’s entry into MotoGP raised outside interest in Tech3, Steiner insisted the American company’s involvement was immaterial to his own ambition of running a team.
Steiner and Coleman will formally assume control next year, but both intend to rely on Poncharal’s experience as they settle into the paddock. For Steiner, the challenge evokes memories of his move to NASCAR in 2006, when he was tasked with establishing Red Bull’s Cup Series operation.
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