This Thursday, April 21, 2022, John Zarco answered questions from journalists from the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver who occupies 8th place in the world championship.
As usual, we report here the words of John Zarco without the slightest formatting, even if it is partially translated (vouvoiement in English, tutoiement in French).
Johann zarco : " Well, I don't have too much to say before the Portuguese Grand Prix. After the race in Austin I was happy to finish because Austin is always quite difficult for all the drivers and I suffered a bit with the rear tire, and when I start to lose performance I can't very well pilot the motorcycle. But we will progress in this area and since I am training well at home, I assume that all the progress I am making personally at home will soon pay off on the track. Here, last year, we did two Grands Prix, one at the start of the year and the other at the end of the year. At the end of the season, Pecco finished races very well and won a lot of them, so we have very good references here. It's a track that remains very demanding with all its elevation changes and you must feel good on the bike. Normally we have a chance to do well here and I hope I enjoy it since I finished fifth or sixth last year, which wasn't bad (laughs). If I can, it would be nice to do a top five again. »
You say you're making progress at home with your workout. What were you doing wrong before?
« I wasn't doing anything wrong, but it's just to be better because everyone gets better and you can't do the same things you did a few years ago and think it's going to work now. This only concerns training to try to get different sensations on the bike. If you just take the bike, you ride it and you try to beat the time every time, you never try to change your style. So I try to have different sensations on the bike to progress myself and then do it again on MotoGP. Little things are happening: I have strong points in some areas on the bike and weak points in others, and I'm trying to mix it all together. »
What kind of training bikes do you use?
« I do a lot of Supermoto. At the moment it's the best way for me to train because I can do a lot of tricks and try things. And if you suffer small falls, you won't break anything. It's complicated to have the same kind of training on a Panigale, for example. »
After the first four races of the championship, how do you see this one?
« It seems to be more open than one might have thought. This means that it can be more difficult because there are more drivers who have a chance of doing very well, and it also provides high motivation because if there are more drivers who can win races, I am part of the latter so it gives the motivation to seize an opportunity when it comes. After four races, that's all I can say. »
We usually say that the championship only begins with the first race in Europe. Do you agree ?
« No, the first four races are always important. If you just take Enea, I think the first four races are important since he already has a little advantage (laughs). And I haven't forgotten a beautiful podium in Indonesia. So no, the season starts in Qatar. The pace is different here because we're back in a full paddock, with hospitality, with most of the MotoGP riders sleeping in the paddock, so it's easier and we feel more at home, but it's only a different pace and the real start was in Qatar. »
Is there a motorcycle that surprised you?
«
There really was the Aprilia, also during the test, which did an incredible thing in Argentina. I thought the KTM might be more competitive but it seems to be struggling. Miguel and Brad couldn't find the feeling they had two years ago. For Ducati, having eight bikes is really useful to gather a lot of information and different riding examples show that a lot of things can work on the Ducati, even if it's sometimes difficult to put everything together. And I think that now, on slightly smaller circuits, Fabio will be back to fight for victory. »
Did you expect such a strong start to the season from Enea Bastianini in the GP21, compared to the drivers in the GP22 who still have to develop things?
« I think giving all the credit to the 2021 bike would be forgetting that Enea works very well. He took a step forward two years, between (the bikes) 2019 and 2021, and I think he's still flying on that good feeling, so I would give more points to what he does very well than to motorcycling and its differences, but clearly, that's part of the game of developing things: you take risks. But when things pay off, it can work very well. This is primarily the responsibility of the factory riders, but thanks to Pramac we also have the chance to follow the same development. »
Francesco Bagnaia asked to test new things less and you are now almost the only one using the front height device. How does this affect your performance?
« It's hard to say. Personally, I would say that I have the chance to be a little more open and to have a little less pressure than a factory driver, and since I haven't won yet I still want to find those great sensations on the motorcycle. I understood that Pecco had his best feelings on the bike in the last races last year, and also during the tests. He wants to find them so he wants to calm down the tests, which is normal because he knows how to win, so he wants to find them. And I'm still open to trying things, but like I said it's a risk and it's difficult to control, but when everything pays off, we're happy to have been able to test and that it finally worked. paid. When everything works, there is no limit because the level is very high, so there are times when you have to try, even if you take a step back, but since we don't really have time to MotoGP puts a lot of pressure on the riders because in the end the only thing that counts is the result, and if you don't get it, you have a lot of pressure. »
