After those of Sepang, during these tests in Buriram we are resuming 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 us more every day in the world of MotoGP…
Johann zarco : “The day was positive. I was competitive. Yesterday too, but when I had to do my very fast time in 1'30.3, I was at the limit, whereas today, with 5/10 better, it means that we have made some improvements to the motorbike. I'm really happy that I can drive better and better each time and that it works well. We played with the soft rear tire, which helps with the time. I wanted to play with it, even though we won't have this type of tire in October, but at least pushing the bike to this limit gives us some information. Being at this pace, I think the balance of the bike is good, so it will help us get off to a good start in Qatar. I also hope that we will start the season on a good level, and above all, when we come back here in October, we know that we can do that, even with different tires, and we will be able to adapt to the different conditions we will have. »
If the race were tomorrow, do you have the package to win it?
“A time trial and a race are different things. I also have pretty good times with the worn tires, but taking the start and fighting with your opponents, then doing your 26 laps in a row, we didn't do that during these three days. And that is a very different story. We must therefore never think that everything is done, but simply appreciate what is good now. »
Do you have an idea of your running pace compared to others?
“It looks like I could be close to the podium, or on the podium. But for the victory, I see that Marc is much stronger. He can play with the bike even more and be faster than me on every lap. So if I only think about victory, after this test I would say Marc, and as far as I am concerned, capable of being on the podium. »
Do you think Valentino and Maverick can learn anything from the way you conducted this test?
" I don't know. Everyone has their own way of working. For me, for my second year in MotoGP, I just keep smiling. So I appreciate that, and that's the most important thing. »
You told us that to get the most out of this bike, you had to try to ride like Jorge Lorenzo. Are you still convinced of this?
“(laughs) I’m still convinced of that because Lorenzo was extremely fast. Even with the Ducati in Malaysia he set the lap record. This implies that the Ducati is good but also that the rider is good. On the Yamaha, he was very often at this level. Maybe right now he hasn't found that here in Thailand, but he has a way of being fast, and I think he's the one looking for perfection. So I always try to draw inspiration from him. »
What do you think of your teammate's performance?
“I’m really happy for him. I hope we can keep him for this year, because he is very humble but he is a very clean, very smooth driver, which means he has room to improve and be faster. It's never easy, but it seems that, compared to the other guys the team had at the end of last season, he's the one who has the most room to improve. He is also the youngest, with the most humility, and he is ready to listen. »
After these tests, do you think you will be able to do better than in 2017?
“I mean the track is small, although there is a big straight where we exceed 320 km/h. I was close to 100% on the bike, but the improvement I could see during my last outing shows that we can still try to do things to try to be better. I think it's a good bike to work on, but no, I can't say that with a better bike I could now do much better (than in 2017). »
Ranking of the day:
Combined ranking of the 3 days:
