It is nothing to say that, from the point of view of the chronometer alone, the beginnings of Johann zarco on the KTM have been timid to say the least. In Jerez, just before the winter break was declared, the Frenchman finished his performance 1,919 seconds behind Takaaki Nakagami's best time, while his teammate Pol Espargaro was 0,720 seconds faster. What to worry about? The double Moto2 World Champion is reassuring.
Before enjoying a well-deserved vacation which will be mainly devoted to perfecting his physical shape, the now KTM official complies with his certain worldly obligations. Among them, this interview with speedweek who asked him what he thought of his preliminaries on the RC16. An assessment that is intended to be reassuring…
First of all, the former Tech3 employee does not deny that there is still a long way to go. Some work will have to be done before thinking about attacking the clock: “ When I got on this bike for the first time, I didn't know what to expect. I approached it in a very neutral way, so as not to create any prejudices. But we encountered difficulties in Valencia ". Problems which caused him to fall, following a critical phase encountered with the brakes.
Then there was Jerez: “ there I was able to overcome a small obstacle in terms of driving style. I imitated some of what Pol can do. I was able to give the team even more specific instructions. I discovered that I could do it like Pol, but in this case we would quickly reach a limit. And this limit will not allow us to win. The first words I said when I left KTM were: “we need to find our base. "
He explains the pitfall in the braking phase: “ yes, I have a problem on that side. We solved it a bit in Jerez because I didn't fall again. From time to time I tried to go to the limit. I was a little "hanging", but I didn't fall. In Jerez the bike started to suit me better. The speed wasn't right, but the feeling was better ».
Certainly, but the velocity is not yet obvious… “ We have worked on this aspect. It's more complicated than expected. There may be some dissatisfaction at first. Orderly work is required. I told them that we are not yet very fast on a lap, we do not improve our times enough when we put a new rear tire. But between the eighth and the 15th lap, there are a lot of guys whose pace is no better than mine or Pol's. And you know it's a different story in racing. You must not skip the steps ».
See you at the start of the school year, which will be at Sepang in February... But before that, there will be one last assessment, carried out by the new recruit for the tests, Dani Pedrosa "it will be very interesting to hear Dani's comments But I don't think he will say anything else. If he does, he might be more precise, but I think he will draw the same conclusions as us".
