Zarco aiming to rediscover competitive edge

Frenchman Johann Zarco feels it is time to recapture his competitive edge following two difficult races in the wake of his pole and runner-up finish at his home race at Le Mans in France.

The Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider joked that he ‘doesn’t even shave any more’ because of his recent travails, but Zarco hopes to return to his best this weekend at Assen.

“I hope to find the competitive Zarco! It’s true that since Le Mans the last two races have been complicated and I’m depressive now and even I don’t shave any more!” he said.

“I’m so happy to be here on Thursday and speak a bit about the weekend but anyway, when it is hard you learn things. Last year it was quite an interesting Grand Prix, a shame that I went in the pit lane after seeing some drops of rain. I was scared and I was thinking I could pit in case it rains and I will be good, but then it was not raining enough.

“This year, it looks like the weather is much more stable so like the other weekend, it can be a good start but then we must stay cool and improve with the team, find good things on the bike to prepare the race because the factory guys are pretty good from Friday to Sunday,” he added.

“We need to find the small things that can the difference during the race and I hope to find those things and feel comfortable on Sunday.”

Reflecting on the post-race test at Catalunya, Zarco said the emphasis was on finding an improved set-up with the YZR-M1.

“At the moment when we do a test it’s to find a better set-up, feel more comfortable on the bike and be fast. The way I was struggling in the race in Barcelona, I had a great start but then I had to close the gas and I lost so many positions in the first lap.

“This made the race really complicated but then on the next day (in the post-race test), I was keeping things more calm and I was faster.”