GP d’Aragón – KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough –

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KTM balance (on) Zarco, deemed aggressive and not positive enough

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

Pit Beirer, head of motorcycle racing at KTM, gives an unflattering assessment of his collaboration with Johann Zarco in MotoGP. The poorly channeled impulsiveness of the French driver and his negative approach would have pushed him to dismiss him a few days before the GP of Aragon…

Former high-level motocross rider, Pit Beirer runs the KTM competition department with an iron fist in speed and off-road. Nicknamed "Pitbull" (!), German is of the "directive" and expeditious type: it was he who contacted Johann Zarco on Tuesday morning to inform him of his "layoff" three days before the tests of the .

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The 46-year-old leader, stuck in a wheelchair since a bad fall in 2003, reveals that the attitude of the Cannes driver would have ended up dissuading him from being able to finish the season together, as planned since the request for breach of contract expressed by Johann at the Austrian GP.

Beirer paints a rather dark portrait of his former pilot, presented as "aggressive" and never satisfied. The KTM manager admits that he had had enough after the San Marino GP, when the whole team was delighted with Pol Espargaro’s splendid second place in qualifying and all the progress made. 

"Misano has been extraordinary for me and we are really proud of the steps we have taken in recent weeks," he explains in a long interview with Speedweek. "We saw that our progress had also helped Johann (8th fastest in qualifying then 11th in the race, Editor’s note).

"But on Monday I saw that we were back to where we started with Johann … At this point I lost hope that we could turn the tide: Johann was not positive about his performance at Misano. He did not share our opinion that we could move forward on this basis. ".

"Never known such a delicate case in my entire career"

Result? "We decided on Monday to end the collaboration with Johann", continues Pit Beirer who claims to have "never known such a delicate case in all [his] career", adding that this "story makes [him] sad".

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

“It’s sad to have to end a project that seemed promising: our goal was to be successful with Johann in the MotoGP World Championship. With his help, we wanted to take the project to the next level. Our two factory riders would have had to challenge each other, "he recalls.

"But it’s no secret that our collaboration had problems from day one. During the Valencia test in November, we were initially surprised that he could not reach the level of Pol Espargaro. Then he fell twice while trying to push the motorcycle "…

"I can only stress the fact that Johann, as a person, is a nice guy. It is unfortunate that we did not achieve the desired results", hastens to slip Pit Beirer kindly, before coldly resuming the enumeration of the defects lent to Zarco…

"He got aggressive" 

“Johann couldn’t control his emotions,” he says. "I’m not talking about the not very kind comments he made about our bike, but the stress he gave off when things didn’t go as planned. He was always looking for a bike that he could use. would allow you to drive easily. But that didn’t exist, so he got aggressive. ".

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

"We know we don’t have a winning bike yet," admits Beirer, as the top KTM finished 13th at 33 seconds this weekend in Aragon. "And we never managed to give him the bike he wanted for his style".

"It is also true that if you want to succeed in MotoGP, you have to be aggressive. But you also have to remain calm and analyze the situation. This is not the case: he is extremely hot-blooded," said the official. MotoGP project.

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

“Outside the box he seemed calm, he was understanding. But once in the saddle he was a different person: he was emotionally over-excited and always complained about the same things as before, without seeing the positives.".

The consequences of the Zarco-Fellon separation ?

Pit Beirer expresses the theory that Johann Zarco’s decision to end the collaboration with her mentor Laurent Fellon affected her enormously, and would be partly responsible for the subsequent difficulties.

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

"Something huge already happened when he separated from Laurent Fellon, because he was also someone who could mentally guide him. We also played a bit of bad luck by welcoming him at the wrong time. , when he wanted to become an adult, organize his life on his own and part with his old relationships. I think they were really helpful in keeping him on the right path. ".

To finish this vitriolic portrait, the German leader deplores that the emotionality of his former pilot prevented him from giving a "clear direction to KTM" and adds an additional spike by openly questioning the talents of development of Johann…

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

"At Tech3, it was easier when he had a bike that allowed him to concentrate on his riding," Pit Beirer balances to suggest that the No.5 would only be good at putting gas on a bike, but unable to help his team to settle it lightly…

For all intents and purposes, let us remember that the French rider is twice world champion in Moto2 – a performance unmatched to date! – and that he took the Yamaha M1 six times to the podium for his first two seasons in MotoGP. It is unlikely that such a track record will be built without serious technical background !

"I will no longer take Yamaha riders"

The KTM manager concludes by ensuring that Yamaha riders are vaccinated, that he will no longer hire them in the future: it would be time to realize this insofar as Pol Espargaro also comes from an M1, just like the Tech3 rider Hafizh Syahrin and Bradley Smith, to whom Johann succeeded !

GP d'Aragón - KTM balance (on) Zarco, considered aggressive and not positive enough -

"I wish that Johann has a great future in this paddock", concludes Beirer, who also appreciates that Johann has come to Aragon to "say goodbye in a very human way to the team. We shook hands".

KTM is now in a complex situation since after having sidelined Johann Zarco, Pol Espargaro broke his wrist in Spain … The Austrian brand therefore finds itself without an official driver, just with Mika Kallio to make the interim after a long period in development !

And Beirer certifies it: Dani Pedrosa declined the offer he was given to ride Espargaro‘s motorcycle in the next race in Thailand. A story certainly "very sad" to use his words, but each part of which bears responsibilities….

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