Demonstrating his talent since the first Grand Prix of the year at Losail, Johann opened a few pairs of eyes in Jerez by overtaking Marc Marquez, at home during the Spanish Grand Prix in front of his fans, for second place. Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi had just suffered the same fate a few moments before.
Most bikes seem comfortable on some circuits and less so on others. Your 2016 Yamaha seems competitive everywhere. Is this also your point of view and how do you explain it?
“Whether it's the 2016 Yamaha, or maybe even the new one – but I don't know, the differences are really very small, it's hard to even notice – the Yam is the most homogeneous in general , whether with a 2015, 2016 or 2017 chassis. I am delighted with what I have.
“On the other hand, if each time we base ourselves by saying “that’s a circuit favorable to Honda, that’s a circuit favorable to Yamaha”, we see that we cannot count on that because we did not announce a Yamaha circuit in Jerez, for example, but ultimately it was two Hondas which finished in the first two places. So you shouldn't rely on this kind of thing because sometimes everything can change.
In Jerez, you overtook Rossi, Vinales, Crutchlow, Iannone and Marquez at the start of the race. How could you not have been impressed by all the media noise previously created by the scratch on the paintwork of Rossi's fairing in Texas?
“Already, we hadn't touched each other with Rossi in Texas, we had been very close, but without there being any contact. Otherwise, I stayed in my world. Laurent arrived in Jerez – he had been absent in Argentina and Texas because he had to compete in other competitions – and ultimately it was him as usual who managed all the people who came to say “Ha! ", all this controversy. Me, I was in my bubble between the GP room, the box and the hospitality. I had a great weekend.
You have made it a specialty to overtake the leaders in the first laps, from the first corner of the first Grand Prix (in Qatar). Vinales in Jerez said you passed him because his tires weren't up to temperature yet. So how do you manage this warming up? And aren't you afraid of excessively wearing out your tires at the start of the race?
“It’s still hard to say. We will have to experiment more. You might think that I am too strong at the start of the race and not enough at the end of the race, so that there would be a need to shift this strength a little. But you shouldn't see it like that. I have to stay strong at the start of the race and improve at the end.
“By attacking at the start of the race, I don't think I'm using the tires more than the others. It's just that everything is fine, even when the motorcycle's tank is full. In Moto2, it was also felt when the bike had a lot of fuel, I had trouble going very fast. Whereas in MotoGP, compared to the others, I manage to quickly get into the rhythm with the bike full.
Without having problems warming up the tires at the start of the race?
" No.
You finished fourth in Jerez, less than three seconds from the podium. Coming from Moto2, there are necessarily a lot of things you discover in MotoGP. How did you adapt so quickly and so effectively?
“Already because of the Yamaha factor. The bike is really healthy and gives confidence. It is consistent on different circuits and with different driving styles. The fact that the bike has a lot of grip, front and rear, compared to the Moto2, gives even more confidence and allows you to relax and let the bike do its thing.
“Electronics also sometimes allow us to exceed limits in piloting because we know that if there really is an exaggeration, the electronics will be able to catch up.
The ZF Zarco Fellon method seems to be working well. Don't you fear a massive influx of young apprentice pilots to school? ZF Grand Prix who will want to know how we overtake Marquez, Rossi and Vinales?
“That’s what we want anyway. If some people didn't believe in the ZF method, we can prove that it works well. And we will continue to prove it.
“As for the influx of riders, the fact that we are in MotoGP is now talking about us a lot more. We will have our own track, our playing field, so it will be much easier to manage. We will be able to receive many more people, and we will even take better care of the young people who will come because we will no longer need to chase people. They will come to us and it will be much easier.
When will it be and where?
“In the South of France, near Avignon, and hopefully by the end of the year. »
Photos © Michelin and ZF Grand Prix.
