Zarco wants a better holeshot device: “We need a dragster”

Honda made progress with aerodynamic developments and a new chassis at Misano, which showed in the results. At the Indonesian GP, ​​Johann Zarco gave the brand its first top 10 of the year in the main race by taking ninth place. While Honda will be on home soil this weekend in Motegi, the Frenchman is delighted to finally see a clear evolution.

“It’s certain that it’s a given”explains Zarco about the progress made. “I think the track plays a big role too. We have reduced the gap, we can easily be consistent, the bike is less difficult to ride. With the fact that it is less difficult, we almost realize a little more of this problem when accelerating.”

This deficit of the RC213V in the acceleration phases has been visible for many months and Zarco thinks he has an idea of ​​the things to improve in order to progress: “I think we have to ‘crush’ our bike. It’s too high at the start and on the straights. We have the tallest bike, that’s it. [joue] a lot.”

The most effective way to lower the motorcycle is the height variator, which has been widespread on the grid for more than four years, but which does not have the same effectiveness on all machines. For Zarco, Ducati always makes a difference with this element and the Honda’s deficit at the exit of the curve is largely linked to its less efficient holeshot device.

“I think it’s almost that. But afterward, the problem is not that it’s complicated to make a device that goes a little lower. If you make a device that goes a little lower, Afterwards there are lots of things that affect the bike. We need to re-examine the bike so that there is no longer anything that affects it.

“Ducati worked a lot on it, again this year, when they were already low. The mechanical side of putting [la moto] lower, they can do it. If we do [une moto] lower, you have to change the whole bike.”

The Ducati’s level control is so effective that Pecco Bagnaia was able to use it in his overtake on Franco Morbidelli at Mandalika, reminiscent of the use of DRS in Formula 1. Zarco feels he can do the same thing but not with the same efficiency.

“That, on the Honda we can do it too. We put it wherever we want on the Honda. Compared to what we have on the Ducati, we can put it almost wherever we want, and it returns quite easily. I think it must have been between the [virages] 1 et 2 [que Bagnaia l’a utilisé]where we don’t tend to use it, and maybe he deliberately did a lot of acceleration, and then a lot of braking to recover [devant]. We just have to have a dragster, that’s all.”

One step back to take two steps forward

The fact remains that Honda has indeed made progress in recent weeks, with several effective new features. “And a little about the settings of our bike”underlines Zarco, who was also able to work on his way of controlling the Honda: “We were able to improve the handling of the bike too, by trying to develop a different riding style.”

The Frenchman even takes advantage of the difficult situation in which Honda is plunged to allow himself to neglect the raw result on certain occasions, in order to do deeper work on his driving, a freedom that he did not grant himself when he had ‘a Ducati capable of taking first place on every track.

“I’m starting to change this style, which I couldn’t do enough on the Ducati. On the Ducati, I was always under a lot of pressure because I could perform well every time. So, it was hard to take a step back to get used to something new.”

“We will say that thanks to the poor performance of the bike, it allowed me to take a step back and say ‘I want to change things, to develop my riding’. I find that there, I am starting to get the thing.”