Johann Zarco says his “main target right now” is to establish a “base” of top 10 finishes in the early part of his first MotoGP season on the Avintia Ducati.
After quitting KTM midway through last year – and then being dropped outright after the Misano round – Zarco was thrown a lifeline by Ducati and signed directly with the Italian manufacturer to ride a year-old Desmosedici in Avintia colours this year.
Missing the two tests in November, Zarco’s first outing on the GP19 at the Sepang test proved humbling, and he admitted then that he expected to be quicker than he was.
He finished the Qatar test 14th overall, though managed sixth on day two, and accepted that it was “not logical” to gel with the bike straight away given how long it had been since he’d been comfortable on a motorcycle.
“The main target right now is to be in the top 10,” Zarco said when asked what his goals were for this season.
“Fight for the top 10, get the top 10 result, to have a base of top 10s and then be able to do better.
“Being sixth [on Sunday in Qatar], I was thinking ‘yeah, it can come’.
“[On Monday] we saw so many guys improve. I did some long runs and it’s been almost two years I didn’t do that kind of exercise – one and a half years – so it means that it’s logical not to be strong like this.”
Asked what the main difference was between the Sepang and Qatar tests, he added: “The experience – after Malaysia I had 10 days at home, and when I’m at home I’m thinking about what I could learn and what I should do better, and immediately I was riding the bike better.
“And when things are coming it’s motivating you to keep pushing in that direction.
“A few things are good, but still I wanted it to come quicker, but it is not.
“I’m changing this natural style and that’s why it can take long.
“If we see now, it’s only six days on the bike [I’ve had], so it’s not long. But the high level pushes you to be quick.”
Zarco’s relationship with Avintia was tense to begin with, after he slammed it as “not a top team” when the links first emerged at Valencia last year, and said he’d rather return to Moto2 than race for the squad.
However, during February’s testing he noticed Ducati’s additional support and the “high motivation” of Zarco has acted as “double motivation” for the team.
“I’m feeling happy with the team, really all the Ducati crew are supporting me a lot,” said Zarco.
“All the Avintia team is so happy with this support.
“They can see me also with this high motivation and working well, so they have double motivation to work.
“It’s necessary in a team and I’m happy to have it.”