The news surprised everyone because it came from somewhere other than MotoGP. At least that's what emerges from an interview relayed by Speedweek with Mike Leitner, at the helm of the official KTM team which fields the two Austrian RC16s, on the subject of the sidelining with immediate effect of Johann Zarco. It was the board of directors of the Mattighofen brand which made the decision while, on the track side, we feared for the integrity and safety of a pilot who could be released quickly if he had an opportunity to relaunch…
Johann zarco made a jump Aragon to pick up his last things from KTM and return home to work on another project for 2020. He said, this decision which permanently took him away from the RC16 was a surprise. And within the team KTM, we were not far from the same feeling. Mike leitner explains it, highlighting the fall of the warmup in Misano who opened his eyes... We had a driver who was not happy and who will stop after this season anyway. Johann had a bad fall during the warmup in Misano. After that we thought. We didn't want to expose Johann to any further danger in the next six races. So we decided to take our reserve Mika Kallio to the rest of the Grand Prix. »
But from whom exactly did this final decision come? The same Leitner responds, recalling the context… Which goes back to Jerez… “ It's definitely not fun if you, as a driver, are used to top 5 and can't get those results. Johann's expectations were obviously much higher. We always heard in the media how bad our bike was. But our project is only two and a half years old. What we have accomplished is something we can be proud of. On the other hand, we have a driver who is unhappy and doesn't want to continue with us anyway in 2020. Yes, our board said then that we will finish this chapter. But in reality, Johann wanted to finish the season with us. »
Leitner continues: “ At first, it was a shock for him. It's clear. We had to take this step. We know he is an excellent driver. That's why we hired him. It was a huge investment for Red Bull and KTM. Johann is a talented and passionate MotoGP rider. But if the pilot is not 100% connected to the project, such a break also seems to be a relief. »
zarco is currently not allowed to ride any other motorcycles until the end of the season. But at KTM, we keep an open mind: “ if he comes to us and puts a new project on the table with a new option, we are open to discussion " said Leitner.
