Spanish GP | Zarco on choosing KTM: "I never said I didn't want Marquez as my teammate"
Rabat, Marquez, Zarco, Dovizioso, Vinales, Iannone and Lorenzo took part in today's press conference ahead of the Spanish GP at Jerez. Among the main discussion points: Zarco on his future with KTM, Jerez's asphalt, Marquez insecurities over his competitiveness here.
MotoGP lands in Jerez, Andalucia, the first Spanish venue in chronological order on the calendar. Esteve Rabat, Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, Andrea Dovizioso, Maverick Vinales, Andrea Iannone and Jorge Lorenzo sat at the press conference table today. Yamaha Tech 3's Johann Zarco took over all the headlines as he will be a KTM rider in 2019 and 2020, bringing all the rumours and speculations to an end.
The Rossi-Marquez issue emerged once again, as one question from the floor asked Lorenzo, Vinales and Dovizioso whether they fear racing wheel to wheel with Marquez like Rossi does. Dovizioso preferred keeping a low profile and staying as neutral as possible, whereas Lorenzo took a stand and insisted he is not scared of his fellow Spaniard on the track. Speaking of that, Andrea Iannone randomly mentioned Marc Marquez while talking about his fears, setting up a funny gig in front of the press.
Moving on to the Jerez circuit, Dovizioso is eager to test the new asphalt out and evaluate how his Ducati responds to the track. "It will be another important race for us, we have to try and fight for the podium if we want to really fight for the championship. There is new asphalt so I think will affect a little bit the weekend, I don’t know if will be better or worse".
Márquez played down his winning chances at Jerez, admitting that the Spanish track is not his cup of tea in terms of competitiveness: "I like it, I enjoy it a lot but it’s not one of the best tracks for me, I don’t know why, but on the other hand I finish every year on the podium. This year I feel better, if we have a small chance we will try to win".
Without any further ado, the media jumped to Johann Zarco's new deal with KTM, implying that he chose the Austrian manufacturer over being Marc Marquez's esquire. It is better to reign in hell than being second in heaven, as a famous English poem recites.
Márquez on Zarco: "He was one of the strong riders Honda was thinking about. KTM take a very good rider for their project. About my teammate, I only say I want a strong teammate. I think the only 2 riders that are v strong are Dani Pedrosa & Andrea Dovizioso then we’ll see”
Zarco dismissed the remarks coming from the journalist: “I didn’t say I don’t want to be the teammate of Marc, he’s a nice guy, if you are next to Marquez and if you want to win then you have to be strong like him or stronger. If you have this level it means you can be fast also with KTM.”