Is there a curse in MotoGP that any rider who has experienced the Yamaha will not get over it? Or only after a long recovery with another machine. Lorenzo suffered by going to Ducati after collecting victories and titles with the M1. He's not any better with the Honda at the moment. Johann zarco is going through an ordeal with his new KTM after two first seasons among the elite which put him among the top 5 of the best riders. Others have experienced this cold shower. To start with Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso who looked at the case of the Frenchman among the Austrians.
When Johann zarco arrived in MotoGP in 2017, he impressed as much as his current compatriot Fabio Quartararo which lights up the season with the same Yamaha satellite. During his first home race at Le Mans, he took second place on the Tech3 Yamaha. A period which was followed by five other podiums which were all steps which elevated him to the current rank of factory driver.
But not at Yamaha. zarco joined the MotoGP project of the Austrian manufacturer KTM at the end of 2018, which is in its third year with Pol Espargaro. If the latter is making great strides, the Frenchman is stalling in front of subject RC16.
Although he always reached the points, he never did better than 13th place. As the sixth Grand Prix looms in Italy, it is clear that the connection between the double Moto2 World Champion and his machine has still not taken hold. On the one hand, we have a rider who likes to ride his bike gently. And on the other a motorcycle that prefers to be whipped.
Two riders who passed through Yamaha and who changed creameries reflected on the case zarco. Valentino Rossi et Andrea Dovizioso. The first commented: “ In recent years, three good riders – myself, Lorenzo and Zarco – had problems after leaving Yamaha” declared the Italian who, in passing, royally forgets the one who is now the Ducati spearhead…
« For me and Jorge going to Ducati, now Zarco for KTM. I think Yamaha may have other faults, but it's a very rider-friendly bike and once you get used to that, it's difficult to change bikes. Of course it always depends on the bike you are changing to " highlighted Red. “ But it seems that the KTM is different from our bike, it may have some good points, but in other areas it has more problems and Zarco seems to lack good feeling with the bike. So maybe he needs time ».
Andrea Dovizioso also took time to get used to Ducati after his time with Tech-3 Yamaha, which he left after six podiums in 2012. “ If you change to another motorcycle, the change is usually very big, but each motorcycle has a different characteristic, a different history and I don't know the real history of KTM » he said about the problems of zarco on the new machine.
The one who also had Honda experience before that of Yamaha and now Ducati adds: “ I think everyone expects a little more results from Zarco, but this can show the reality, because the level in MotoGP is really high ". The double world vice-champion believes that zarco may have underestimated the move to the KTM: “ I think what happened is completely normal, because when you ride an official bike you think you know more about other bikes, and that's theoretically the case. Until you get on the bike it's impossible to know for sure and that's what happened to me. I think this has also happened to all or most pilots. Zarco needs time and KTM is certainly not at the level of Yamaha or the others at the moment. This is a normal process ».
Certainly, but it is still currently a former Yamaha Tech3 rider who is making sparks with the RC16. There is therefore no fatality. But indeed time. Pol Espargaró is in his third season with the Austrian…
