We can affirm without much error that the current period of the career of Johann zarco in MotoGP is not the most exciting. After two years of asserting himself on a Yamaha Tech3, he is stuck at the back of the peloton with a KTM RC16 which persists in rejecting the French transplant. She obviously prefers Spanish with Pol Espargaro whose excess of energy and risk-taking pays off. All in an atmosphere where empathy is not exactly the primary quality of the sports director Pete Beirer. An atmosphere and a requirement to which Pol Espargaró is now accustomed. He therefore takes stock of the situation and encourages Johann Zarco to persevere…
At KTM, we talk cash to our riders and when things don't go well, everything is made public. Between Pit Beirer et Johann zarco, the dialogue can sometimes seem tense. But if we believe Pol Espargaro, we should not take umbrage. Because this is part of Mattighofen's corporate culture.
On Autosport, the Spaniard explains: “ we are in a factory team, we have a good salary, a good bike, good attention, but we also raise high expectations. I know that Johann is a very good driver, that he has talent, that he is calmer than me, so I cannot give him any advice, because I think he will handle this situation better than me. I also knew ».
« Pit Beirer criticized me and Bradley Smith last year and he's doing it now with Johann, but what Pit is saying is to make us better, it's for our own good » adds the man who qualified fifth in Austin with the Austrian machine.
He adds : " of course Johann needs time to adapt to the bike and I'm sure he is very fast. He took pole in Qatar last year and he got on the podium last year in Argentina, so we can't say Johann is not a good driver. We all have to remember that Johann was at the top of the MotoGP rankings. He needs time, he will get there ».
More I will espargaro also specifies that the situation found by zarco is already less worse than the one he himself experienced in 2017: “ you couldn't even compare what the bike was in 2017 with the current RC16. This bike came from a white paper, nothing had been done and we had to develop it from scratch. It was so difficult. I had a lot of falls. I'm not saying it was because of the bike but it's because I need to go to the limit so much that it happens sometimes ».
The 2013 Moto2 World Champion concludes: “ of course, Johann now has a much better machine than the one we had at the start of the project, but it is certain that it is not good enough for his level and not good enough to be on the positions he knew in a recent past ».
