Zarco honest about Ducati’s chances - ‘it will not be fun for the other riders’

Although he was last of the eight Ducati riders on day three after choosing not to take part in the time attack runs during the final two hours - Zarco’s teammate Jorge Martin was the only other Ducati rider to do the same - the potential was there for all to see.

Ducati looked one step ahead of its competition throughout the three days and Zarco is convinced that they are here to remain at the front of MotoGP in 2023.  

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Zarco said: "I’m sure! It will not be very funny for the other riders. Overall, the official team, Pramac and VR46, but now we can see Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez are having a better adaptation than what we could have expected. 

"I’m the last Ducati now but seven Ducatis in the top nine. Even the Gresini team is there and that will be tough for the others. 

"This is good for us but in another track I think Fabio [Quartararo] and Marc [Marquez] are there."

Regarding his individual performance on day three and what he wanted to achieve before heading to Portimao next month, Zarco continued the extensive development work from days one and two, which included trying Ducati’s new fairings. 

Zarco added: "Good day. I really enjoyed it and we were able to work like the first day and do the small things that can bring a lot. 

"I think a good step forward has been done and I’m pretty happy for it. If we just check the classification - with the rain it didn’t give the opportunity to put the new tyre. We could have put it before but that was not the target. 

"I wanted to feel the bike and bring the bike where I want. This is coming. This was the target of the test. We keep trying things for Ducati also, which is always a pleasure to do because my feeling is very sensitive and information is very useful even if sometimes you cannot feel too much of a difference. 

"At least you keep working and the 2023 version is very finalised. For the few stuff we tried the fairings are very interesting. I think in Portimao we will have a very good bike to keep pushing. Other Ducati riders are very competitive already."

Fairings aside, Zarco was also keen to work on the aerodynamics of the bike in a bid to improve handling and braking, two things that are difficult to get working in tandem.

"I would say it’s more about the aerodynamic stuff to improve a bit of everything always," said the Pramac rider. "The handling and the braking. What is good to have is a better feeling entering the corner and a better stability. It’s normally two things that are not going together."