We perpetuate our habit of referring to you in full the words of Johann Zarco, in a raw way, therefore without any journalistic formatting or distortion.
Alongside the sometimes slightly formatted communication of traditional press releases, the exchanges between the French rider and the journalists in the hospitality of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team are of a richness and simplicity that true enthusiasts will appreciate (you can find all his past debriefings in our section “Interviews").
There is always the little detail that immerses enthusiasts more and more every day in the world of MotoGP…
Johann zarco : “A good day of testing. There was nothing special to try on the bike but my feelings are progressing and it was very beneficial to get back on track and do a lot of laps. And also to continue adjusting the bike! These were perhaps familiar settings, but we tried them again to see if I could use them better and if they gave me better sensations. Without having gone faster on a timed lap, I think that the sensations are better and better and we know each other better and better with the team. The more we drive at this level, the more we will succeed in getting the most out of what we have. If we stay at this pace, I can hope for good things for the second part of the season.”
A word on Sunday’s race?
“I think what was difficult in the race was playing a lot with the bike. I was probably fighting a little too much. I could have good pace and stay with them, but not good enough pace to fight with them, catch and overtake Petrucci, and try to catch Vale. We will see in the next races, on different tracks and with different tires, but I think I have found a good feeling again and that I can be more precise on what I need. When something goes wrong, I can control it better. It’s not one specific thing in particular but many little things that are getting better.”
Today you are focused on your riding style. Did you try a lot of adjustments or just small details?
“Very small details. Technically I don't know what's on the bike because I don't want to know. But (I focused) also on myself. After the summer break we are now back to over 300 km/h every lap and I feel comfortable. So now I'm going to rest before attacking Spielberg, a track that I like and where I can hope for a good position.
What do you like about Spielberg, because it is still a special track?
“I think the lap is quite fast, 1'22 or 1'23, and I like that. In the first 3 corners there are big braking and big accelerations where you have to control the bike. And I love that, because the power is just incredible with MotoGP. There’s a lot of adrenaline.”
Have you started to think about the Spielberg race, with the experience gained since and in relation to last year's race?
" Not too much. A little. It's a track that I really like, and given that last year it was good and that we did a good job there, I hope that we will pick up the pace going into FP1 on Friday and FP2 to then progress. We discussed it slightly, but we cannot say that we made a work plan.”
Do you think the Ducatis will still be threatening?
" Certain ! Certain ! Especially the 2 officials. But afterwards, it can be random: Márquez loves it, but we can, why not, be not far from the podium.”
You trained with a 450 on the Aragon circuit. What benefit do you get from it?
“I usually train with a Supermoto. We tried a different bike with a Beon, which is a Catalan chassis manufacturer, near Barcelona. The goal is to have a 450 engine like a Supermoto, an engine with a lot of power on a karting track, but with a very good chassis like we have in MotoGP. Because with a Supermoto you have fun on a kart track and maybe you could go even faster, but you reach the limit of the chassis. So we tried to create this motorcycle. I haven't trained with her yet and this was just a test to tune her up. But as soon as that is done, then perhaps we will be able to be much faster than with the Supermoto, and all the riders will be interested in that.”
Find all of Johann Zarco’s other debriefings here!
