MotoGP Test Jerez J.2: Johann Zarco works on his base settings and remains positive

For Johann Zarco, this second day in Andalusia was very similar to the first.

19th on the first day, 2,2 seconds behind Danilo Petrucci, the KTM rider finished second in 19th position, 1,9 seconds behind Takaaki Nakagami.

And if we compare his best times to those of Pol Espargaro, the gap was 7 tenths, on the first day as on the second.

No real progress, therefore, despite his yesterday's hopes, but always a positive speech, reflecting an essential attitude for the adventure on which the French pilot has embarked.

Calmly, he spoke to the press…

Johann zarco : “This 2nd day in Jerez is my 4th on the KTM. We immediately started the day on a higher level by controlling the bike better. So it was good and then we made some improvements and, anyway, I improved on the time. Then we tried things and different bikes. We had good feedback but also some technical problems which, once again, prevented us from doing many more laps, since it takes time for the mechanics to fix everything on the bike. But as I said, the feeling has improved, like during my last outing where I was only 1/10 off my best time. But I felt better on the bike and I was able to try to progress as much as possible for 5 laps. It didn't get better, but it was very, very regular, so when we're not improving, we're progressing on regularity, which means we're making progress, but it takes time.”

You say that you started this morning at a higher level. Was it due to the settings or to you?

“It was more about the settings we found. Little by little, we find my base, our base of settings, to be able to discover a circuit and to be in a good time fairly quickly. So we're still working on that and, at the moment, we're not working to be the fastest. This baseline of settings gets better and better because we can see that when I go out, the time I can do is good, and I can do it again while being relaxed. So that means this is the direction to go.”

By observing you, we saw that your times were very regular but that your style was very different from that of Pol. Does the KTM work with different riding styles?

“Yes, and that's why I repeat that I have to find my base and our base of settings, because I will not drive like Pol. I can come up with some ideas and sometimes try things that he does, but I'm not able to copy him and I know that my smooth style is good anyway, because as you could see during my last outing, I was very consistent. It's the Zarco style: when I have the feeling, I can be very consistent. We improve the time each time, and when we are consistent in 38, it will be very interesting.”

What do you think is the biggest weak point of the bike at the moment?

“I would say the most important point to improve is cornering. Maybe that’s a place where we’re struggling with the style I’m trying to use.”

Does this apply to all turns, or only fast turns or only slow turns?

“At the moment it's a bit all corners, but Jerez is good because there are fast corners and slow corners, not like Valencia, and that also gives good information to see how I can control the motorcycle”.

Jerez MotoGP J.2 Test Ranking:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com