The cheerfulness and motivation, displayed on arriving in Misano on Thursday for the Grand Prix MotoGP from San Marino, have gradually given way to the frustration and discontent in a Johann zarco stumbling upon a particularly reluctant Honda, at least until Monday's test, when the sky suddenly cleared...
As usual, we report here his words during his debriefing, without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English for the first part (formal addresses).
John Zarco: “Things are positive today. We tried, I would say, three big things, which worked quite well and the feeling was different. We weren’t stuck in this feeling all year; I think we were able to make some progress. We can’t see it yet on the pure lap time performance, but I feel we can open up some new areas. Let’s see what we can do in Misano 2, if we can have everything we tested here in Misano 2, and I’m not sure what the plan will be, but it was good to do some laps. But with what we have opened up now, I hope we will have some opportunities for good results for the races in Asia, because maybe that’s where we will have the most opportunities since here everyone is so fast that it’s very difficult to gain a position with such tight gaps.”
Does the new aerodynamics bring a plus?
“For sure! Yes, we got that improvement with the aerodynamics and that was positive. An improvement in some areas of the corner, in some areas of the track, maybe not in the area where we lose the most at the moment, but I don’t think the area where we lose the most will be solved with a fairing, and that’s why we had not only a fairing to test, but also things on the chassis that give a better feeling for the acceleration.”
Have you tried the new Michelin front tire?
“Yes, also. It was mandatory and it was a good tyre. I was fast with it. Yes, it was a good tyre because I struggle a bit here, and it was good to have this feeling because I could push a lot with this tyre, and the lap time improved.”
Do you think this tire is good for the front axle?
“Yes, of course. At the moment the Honda can only gain time in this zone, because we cannot gain acceleration. That is why we have achieved a difference with this new tyre.”
Mir told us that he was worried about the next races because in the past Honda brought a new bike and that is not the case today. Are you worried too?
“I’m not worried. I mean I’m still fresh to do the job as well as I can, to attack when I have to attack and make my personal improvements, and at least if we understand what was the problem during the season and how to open new doors for next year, it will be important. The new bike, from 23 to 24 we already had a totally new bike, and what we tested here is a kind of new bike also because it’s something Honda is not used to doing. So we have something new and maybe we can’t call it a new bike, but for me it’s enough of a difference to say that we have to work on it.”
What about the wings on the rear of the bike, because you use different wings than the factory team, and also because I have seen you ride without these wings?
“I have a better feeling on the rear of the bike and we have to take them off because the new fairing is developed without these wings. That’s why we took them off and try to do more laps without the wings.”
Lucas said he preferred the fins…
"We've never had the same winglets all year, that's why he prefers them, maybe. There's not a big difference, that's why I try to be open to trying to get new things."
You say you have made improvements. Is it in terms of corner entry?
“Yes, I had a better feeling on the entry of the corners. The bike turns better, with more stability, including in turn 11, which is very important, so when you have more stability in this corner, you start smiling in your helmet. And I think that's a good thing for this day.”
What about rear grip when exiting corners?
"We are still working on it. The worst is the acceleration, and not only because of the grip, but also because of the way we push: we do not push forward, but sometimes we push up to the sky (laughs). That is why we cannot have a strong acceleration."
What do you think about the radio communication system?
“It can be interesting for the top guys because most of the time they have control of the race and they have the possibility to attack more or less, and save energy. The guys at the back, we push all the time, because we don’t have the feeling to go much faster, like Pecco does. And so I don’t say yes to that, because we can always have a random situation just by the driver’s behavior, and with communication from the teams we would never have had Martin coming into the box and I would never have had 12th position yesterday (laughs), so it’s better without communication.”
Are you just going to ignore the team's instructions?
“No, but I think the team also can’t get the information on the bike like they do in Formula 1, the real-time information, and in Formula 1 the rider doesn’t move his head to turn better in the car. That’s why it has to be very sensitive and the system has to work more on the bike. If the rider is more motivated, he will give a little bit more and can make the difference on the lap time, which makes a big difference. And because of that, all the engineers here in the paddock, even the best ones, can’t control the rider’s feeling or, I wouldn’t say the motivation because we all have the niak to do it, but which makes a lot of difference. I think in Formula 1 we don’t see as much the difference in riding style as we can see in MotoGP.”
Johann, we found you cheerful and full of positive energy when you arrived on Thursday, but after a day or two you started to get frustrated because you were stuck on something, and yesterday you were talking about a necessary revolution. Now, it is probably not a revolution, but it still seems like a big step forward today…
"Yes, there have been big changes. Afterwards, what is hard at Honda is that even when they create something completely new, it sometimes gives quite similar feelings, because they do not dare to change too much. They are capable of doing something completely different, but in the end it gives almost the same result. I think that this is a strength of the Japanese, but which can sometimes be a bit limiting.
Should it go faster and further?
"Yes. More drastic stuff, 'this is what we have to do!', but this is not bad."
So you leave thinking that things should go better at Misano 2?
"Not yet! Because I didn't manage to improve the time as I wanted at the end. Well, also for other concerns, and everyone is very excited here. Afterwards, it's the variation in track conditions that can allow us to see if what we did will help us. Because there, with an almost perfect track at the end of the day, it was hard to really feel the new stuff more."
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Johann Zarco Misano test
