Having dealt with all the best names in the sport from American’s David Bailey, Ricky Johnson, Johnny O’Mara, J.M.Bayle, Jeff Stanton, Jeff Ward, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart to International hero’s Christophe Pourcel, Grant Langston, Mickael Pichon, Stefan Everts, David Vuillemin, Chad Reed, and he still gets a kick out of inviting the best riders possible to Bercy. He’s tried to get Ryan Dungey, Trey Canard, Ken Roczen and Jeffrey Herlings for 2010, but due to injuries or contract negotiations these guys were no possible, but what he does has is one of the best fields Bercy has seen in the last decade.

While talking to Xavier for this interview he was also dealing with Eric Peronnard for visa’s for Grant Langston, Didier Vuillemin (father of David) to organize a Supercross track for Ken De Dycker, and several other people trying to put all the bits of the Bercy puzzle into place.

MXlarge: Xavier, thanks for your time. Can you explain to me how it’s all going? Obviously Canard is out, and you had to look around for some extra riders. Ken De Dycker is in, Grant Langston, and many more. Has it been hard work?

Audouard: Geoff, it’s a lot of work, but I do this a long time and I expect this type of deal with Bercy every year.

MXlarge: Bercy seems to be all about intensity and if you don’t get into that intensity then you can get uncomfortable. I heard you talking to Mr. Vuillemin about helping find a circuit for Ken De Dycker to practice on. I think Ken might do okay

Audouard: He is driving from Belgium to the South of France, so that is a good motivation I think. The track in Bercy to different to what he can ride in the south of France, but it’s still Supercross. It is true about the technique and it is good he is busy with that. I also have a friend who has a Supercross track, so after he goes to the south of France he can then go to that track, but it’s more like an American Supercross track. He wants to try and do well, so that is good.

MXlarge: When you got the news that Canard was not coming what was your first thought?

Audouard: I have been there before and done this for many years and I think this happens so often. What one has to realize is that Canard and even Roczen were two of the first to sign for this event. I remember seeing you in Valkenswaard and I was already working in that Roczen thing. Canard was the first American I signed even before he started doing well in Motocross. The first guys you deal with are always going to have things going on in their series. It’s been like five months since I signed them and with all the racing and resting those guys have been through a lot of stuff. It’s not injuries or stuff, but contracts, like Ken signing with KTM. I signed the guys I wanted the most early, but the chances of something happening to them are much bigger than a Ken De Dycker who I signed just last week, and Bercy is now a week away. I was bummed out obviously, I thought my god, I was so excited to present Trey in Bercy and also because I signed him before he has that second part of the season. I was watching him and thinking wow, I got this guy for Bercy. I understand also that he has had a really intense second part of the season, demanding for his mind and body and I’ve seen it happen before in the sport once you accomplish what he did, like the AMA title and the MX des Nations, then he rests and his body is like really tired. Then he think wow I need to go to France for that trip I committed to and then they do a blood test in America and they think this isn’t good. So they thought it wasn’t good to go to Paris. I mean imagine it is only six weeks after Bercy and then they have Anaheim I, imagine if the trip to Europe makes his health even worse. I understand, it’s a pity for us and our crowd.

MXlarge: It’s still a great field, Musquin, Cairoli, Langston, Barcia, De Dycker, Byrne, Paulin, and so many more. What is for you the perfect outcome of the weekend?

Audouard: Let me tell you first, yes we have bummer news about Trey being scratched from the event, but look at the list, Grant Langston, his last race in Bercy a former winner here, he might surprise us, you know Grant he is an animal, he is one of the biggest names in the sport, he has won everything, in Grand Prix’s, AMA Supercross, AMA Motocross, he’s won in Bercy, he’s won everywhere. We have Michael Byrne, he is a strong Supercross guy, we signed Ryan Morais who has had many AMA Supercross podiums in the Lite class, and we have Blake Wharton who won a Supercross main this year. We have of course Marvin Musquin, Gautier Paulin and many more French riders. We will have 16 guys on the gate now instead of just 14.

MXlarge: The ideal situation would be Marvin winning for the French crowd?

Audouard: Sorry I lost myself a little in your previous question, but I can’t say that. I do the contracts for Bercy, it’s been 30 years like that, but the only thing I know for sure is I will sign the contract for the guy who is going to win and also for the guy who is going to get last place. We just want a good show, but once the show is organizes it’s not up to me, but these guys who are racing. Whoever wins is the winner and the guy who deserves to win and if it’s Marvin that would be great, great for the French crowd. He will be on a 250 and there is some strong competition on the 450’s. I have no idea what he can do, will he be as good as last year, and I think he will be as good as last year. If you have a Superstar like Bubba last year, you will always have other guys who are strong, like Justin Brayton last year.

MXlarge: Will you have the same format this year as last year, with that part of the program where you have the riders doing a lap alone and timing that, that was really interesting, but also the tennis match where the last rider drops out until only two left.

Audouard: Yes, the same format, I think it’s a format that works for Bercy and it’s a format for the fans. I have pressure from people, even inside my camp, they prefer the heat races. Even when we had Grant he asked what the format would be, because he was worried he wasn’t in good shape and he didn’t want to get burnt out. Last time he came we had two moto format and the elimination race (tennis match) and it was pretty exhausting for three nights. Bercy is a unique format and it’s very demanding. I am not babysitting those guys or anything, but what these guys can do for three nights is a big effort. The fast lap is perfect is good for like 45 second you watch one guy on the track and if you are a true fan you will like watching them and checking the time as they come out of the tunnel and see if they are quicker in that part of the track, it’s really entertaining and I like it.

MXlarge: What about the legends thing with all the French riders?

Audouard: That is more like an exhibition, it started with Mickael Pichon asking me why Bercy don’t do something so the older guys can ride the track once more. I told him I would try and put a package together and what I wanted to do this year I wanted to give the ticket buyer the bigger experience, bigger than in previous years. The stadium is small, and sponsorship is difficult. The last ten years the pressure has been increasing for the customers to make a higher ticket price. This show is paid for by the fans, if we don’t have the fans it is over. Instead of arriving at 8pm and leaving at 23pm, please come at 14pm and for no extra cost you can come into the stadium and watch timed practice and enjoy that and then we will open the outside pit to ticket holders and we will have a large tent with all the legends inside. We have a big poster made in MX magazine, which is a 16 page poster with all the legends on it racing at Bercy in their prime. So you can get in line, get your poster and meet all the top French riders (apart from Christophe Pourcel) from the past, guys like Bayle, Pichon, Vuillemin, Vimond , Bolley, Tortelli.