Johann Zarco says “the speed is not there at the moment” with the KTM, after completing the Valencia MotoGP test in 20th spot and 1.7 seconds off the best pace.
Frenchman Zarco made his first appearance on the Austrian marque's RC16 during the first pre-season test at Valencia having switched from the satellite Yamaha Tech3 squad.
Only 17th at the end of Tuesday's running and 1.4s from pacesetter Maverick Vinales on the Yamaha, Zarco's Wednesday proved even more tough, as he crashed twice and could do no better than 20th with a 1:32.509s.
Talking about his day at the end of Wednesday's running, Zarco says the session was “worse” than he expected it to be as he struggled for speed, but felt his feeling on the RC16 was improving and that he has found areas to improve his riding style to suit the bike.
He also says his two tumbles helped him to “understand the weak points” of the KTM.
“What can I say about the second day? I will say worse than what I excepted,” Zarco said.
“I wanted to improve more the laptime but couldn't do it, but the feeling was improving and we got better control of the bike.
“But the speed is not there at the moment. So I'm disappointed about the result of the day. Shame, I had two crashes but I didn't have any injuries, that's important, and it helped us to understand the weak point of our bike.
“I also understood things about my riding that maybe also on that bike I will have to change the riding style. So step by step I'm building up that adventure.”
Speaking after his first contact with the RC16 on Tuesday, Zarco says the biggest difference between the KTM and the Yamaha he has come from is its inability to carry the same corner speed, and this made him “a bit slow” as a result.
“The big difference overall here in Valencia is that it's a small track that you must feel comfortable to go fast into the corner.
“That was maybe the weak point of the bike today, I was not able to stay with the speed in the entry in the corner. Then you lose the time if you come too slow, you cannot be fast.
“Those things we are thinking is already good to understand them now, we don't have any problems about tyres, about rear grip, about spinning.
“I cannot complain about those things because we are still not fast enough. I'm happy to have these two years of experience to repeat [feedback] well to the team.
“First of all, when we need to make clear the things and we will be quite fast, we are there, we will have the potential to do well.
“So I would say the entry of the corner has been the most difficult part for me, that's why I've been a bit slow.”
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