After an impressive debut weekend with LCR Honda Idemitsu at an incredibly difficult Australian GP, which saw him claim P13 in Sunday’s race, Johann Zarco has begun the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix in similarly solid fashion.
During FP2 in Sepang, motogp.com pitlane reporter Simon Crafar caught up with LCR Honda Team Manager Lucio Cecchinello to find out how the returning Frenchman is getting on with Takaaki Nakagami’s RC213V so far.
“That guy is very professional. I like that way how he really explains to the mechanics, to the engineers, his feeling with the bikes,” began Cecchinello. “He likes to compare the data with all the Honda riders and try to really understand where he can improve. What he did in Australia was okay because it was just the first time and the weather condition over the weekend didn’t let him work much on the setup.
“Honestly, we knew that here in Sepang we’d have more time to give to him to learn the bike, to make the perfect bike setup and he’s definitely done an incredible job so far. We’re quite pleased because he’s really started to feel the bike, to feel how to ride the Honda and it looks like he’s on good pace.”
Despite a slow Turn 1 tumble in FP2, Zarco managed to claim a respectable P14 on Day 1 in Malaysia in conditions completely different to the ones that greeted the riders on the Island last weekend. Saturday provides another day for the two-time Moto2™ World Champion to continue to find his feet on the Honda, and if the weather stays dry for FP3, there’s no reason why the number 5 rider can’t threaten an automatic Q2 place.