Forget about private jets or even fast cars, Johann Zarco made a remarkable journey on two wheels from his home in the south of France to the MotoGP race of Aragon this weekend in Spain.
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Together with some of his Pramac Ducati team, Zarco took part in a 950 km long road trip on a 1981 Ducati 900SS!
“It was the team’s idea. They planned it for a few months,” explained Zarco. “They knew they had to start in Italy, cross the Alps, go to Andorra, pick up Jack and go to Aragon.
“After all, Jack didn’t come because he had something to do in Aragon. But when I heard about it, I said ‘I’m coming with you because you don’t cross far from my home’. And it would be nice to go with you.
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“The plan was to ride the Multistrada. But they joked and said we weren’t allowed to come on a bike beyond the year 2000. They kept that joke. I sent this photo to the old Ducati.”
“They said, ‘If you’re a man you will come with me’. And because I’m a little stupid, I said I’ll do it!”
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Zarco described the trip himself: “The 950 km on the old Ducati were all okay. It was nice. The first day was 200 km to reach the first hotel and meet with the others who started from Italy.
“The first night was fun because the hotel gave us their garage to store all of our old motorcycles. After dinner, one bike already had a problem. It was a BMW, not my problem! They worked until 1am worked to fix the problem, I went to bed a little earlier.
“Then the next day the bike got the problem again after maybe 200 km. Since we were in France, I was able to fix everything and organize enough people to take the bike with me so that the Italians didn’t have to worry about taking the bike home bring.
“But the second day was a little too long. We did 500km. 7h 30m by bike. We left at 8.40 am and arrived at 6.30 am. That was a bit long. But always fun. An adventure.
“Then the last 200km in Spain and we know the road well. Looks like desert, but a little too long. It looks very nice, but you have very long straights. There are corners, but you have to drive fast around them Enjoying corners The group of 10 riders weren’t fast enough to enjoy those corners in Spain, but it was good.
“It’s funny in the paddock that so many guys, old mechanics, guys I haven’t spoken to in ten years tell me, ‘Nice work, Zarco!’ So that’s fun. I didn’t do it for that. But I can see that I’ve touched a lot of people, I made a lot of people happy, having the courage to ride this old bike.
“I have to say I was worried. When I got the bike and did the first 30km to bring the bike home, I said, ‘If I say something, I’ll do it,’ but I was worried because I was thought that maybe this was a mistake!
“But after 200 ks the smile came back. I was so happy not to have any problems. I brought some oil, I didn’t touch it. Maybe I didn’t touch it because I don’t know how to control the oil. But I did could end it.
“I’m not going back. The group goes back to Barcelona and then takes the boat. If I were with the Multisrada, I would go straight home Sunday evening. With the Multistrada it’s easy. But with the old bike, I’ll send it back for collection in France. “
After Zarco had recently lost second place in the World Cup, he talked about putting too much pressure on himself. Had the trip been something of a relief?
“Possibly. I thought a three-day trip was a mistake, because logically you are an athlete and you have to push hard in the GP. It’s better to do the perfect preparation for an athlete, as always.”
“Then I thought ‘you want to go, so do it’. And your body will be fine. I see my body is fine. I rode my bike slowly. If you are used to sliding every weekend, you enjoy it so much.
“Sharing that with the team is nice. It wasn’t the whole team. But Francesco [Guidotti, team manager] was there. My chief mechanic, two of my mechanics. A lot of my boys were there. Also some of the guys from Martin’s team. It was pretty nice.
“I didn’t do it to get rid of this pressure. But I have noticed that the irrational mindset is good for me.”
Zarco – just four points behind reigning MotoGP champion Joan Mir in the battle for the best of the rest behind Fabio Quartararo – finished fifth as the top Ducati at the second Aragon event last year on a 2019 Avintia motorcycle.
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