We could not pass the two days that Johann Zarco dedicated in the Jura to the training of young pilots selected by the FFM without asking him a few questions about MotoGP…
It was therefore at the end of this course during which the commitment of the French driver truly stunned us (we will decipher the subject in detail later) that the chapter of MotoGP was mentioned. First of all with the young hopefuls themselves, as a backdrop to a permanent attitude of searching for a solution to have…
To briefly understand the situation, the operation took place in the indoor structure of the South Jura Circuit, the outer track being covered with snow. The temperatures being very low, the grip was quite low, especially in the morning during the first sessions. Despite all the advice that the Pramac pilot provided to the MiniOGP and OGP Collective pilots, the latter were tightening their butts a little despite their already appreciable level. In a word, Johann zarco, although handicapped by his weight on these little 88 cc machines, was really beating them, literally and figuratively, being more than a second faster on a 20 second lap on the first day.
But thanks to the advice constantly provided by the double Moto2 world champion, the young people gradually gained confidence and improved their pace, one of them even pushing number 5 to its limits on the second day, having by elsewhere already benefited from the advice of the same professor when he was at ZF Grand Prix…
There, it is the professional pilot who is Johann zarco who had to react, seeking a solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem: an attitude that he advises children to have at all times instead of falling for the ease of finding an excuse.
He himself explains... “Even here I had to look for solutions that can help me in MotoGP. I can never tell if I like or don't like the front tire. I manage to go fast in other ways, but at a certain point it goes so fast that I have to fill this weak point. That's why as soon as I feel that I have the opportunity, I try to do it, and here, today, when the tires warmed up, I was able to do that on the 'front into the small hairpin: I only braked from the front instead of using both brakes. It's risky to only brake from the front but I had to do that to get over the hump.
I can't just sit there and not think or complain about the bike! The only complaint I might have here is if you all started screwing up like Matteo (Roman) did and rode 19.5. Me, I don't know if I can do it, so I would say “there, I have the weight handicap”. It's an excuse, valid or not, I don't know, but at some point there is a physical limit on a bike, but for the moment I'm happy that with this style of bike and this style of track there is no There's not too much of a weight disadvantage. »
This ongoing reflection also allowed Johann zarco to analyze his temporary lack of success in racing after the MotoGP summer break…
“Yes, I think I was able to analyze that: I neglected the forearm! So there can be something purely physical. I don't put the physical aspect at 100% but clearly the fact of having had this physical problem and not admitting it, there was
after this mental side that brings you down a little. And since it's starting to go faster and faster, and the others have also progressed during the year, well we're getting through it. In fact, the five races where I performed less well, when you take all the weekends, it was only in the race where I performed less well, because during practice I was often in front.
You do everything to be good and you are ahead in the tests, so you are still positive to say to yourself “it's not all bad” but unfortunately the races did not pay off. It was only the 40 minutes of racing that didn't pay off even though the tests were generally quite good. But for the race to be very good, the tests must be excellent!
There you go, I think that's what I can give of my analysis, but the very precise analysis I keep for myself because otherwise it's giving me the stick to get beaten. »
One last question before parting: here, are you in a “I’m resting” mentality or…
" You find ? (Laughs) »
No, from tomorrow, of course. Is it more “I’m resting” or “I can’t wait to get back on the Ducati”?
" No ! I can't wait to take the break! I know there will be at least a week for the brain to let go. And once the brain has let go, I will really regenerate the energy. But I have to force myself to stop and let go, because we always want to do something. But I have already had the experience that after a week we really enter into something else, we experience something else. The brain is so intense... But it's natural to be like that because we're on the go all the time, too much all the time. »
We thank and wish a happy holiday to Johann zarco while we prepare our report on these two days of teaching during which the French pilot truly impressed us!
