KTM boss attacks Zarco's MotoGP Form

Hollywood said:

The KTM is still in the development stage, Pol makes that bike look good but he has also had a lot of time on it, Kalio has even more time and perhaps should been a full time rider at KTM all along.

So what happens to Zarco? still a very talented rider, I think his riding style suits the Yamaha or Suzuki, but it does not seem that there will be any openings on those bikes for next season.

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Kalio has had a good relationship with KTM for almost 20 years having scored a lot of podiums both in 125 and 250 classes. I used to cheer for him on the 250s, where much more so than on the liter bikes, he was very competitive. As with Aoyama who I much admired, I was really disappointed in the results the two of them got in the premiere class.

Keshav said:

Kalio has had a good relationship with KTM for almost 20 years having scored a lot of podiums both in 125 and 250 classes. I used to cheer for him on the 250s, where much more so than on the liter bikes, he was very competitive. As with Aoyama who I much admired, I was really disappointed in the results the two of them got in the premiere class.

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Aoyama did great but he doesn't have the grit to get it done on a MotoGp bike. Didn't he pick Stoners bike up and do nothing with it for a race or two? (I may be tripping)

His fighting Bautista season was pretty good considering he won the WC but it also looked like Honda put everything they had into that grey 250cc to try snatch the very last 2 stroke title.

Kalio on the other side being the redbull type of life style type of guy i thought would be wilder and better on the MotoGp bike. I was wrong.

320Dave said:

Aoyama did great but he doesn't have the grit to get it done on a MotoGp bike. Didn't he pick Stoners bike up and do nothing with it for a race or two? (I may be tripping)

His fighting Bautista season was pretty good considering he won the WC but it also looked like Honda put everything they had into that grey 250cc to try snatch the very last 2 stroke title.

Kalio on the other side being the redbull type of life style type of guy i thought would be wilder and better on the MotoGp bike. I was wrong.

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I make no claims to being an insider, but everything I read about his effort that year, pointed to the opposite. What was in the press was that Honda didn't do .... for Aoyama that year. It makes sense. HRC were the main force behind the move to get two-strokes out of GP racing, essentially because environmental concerns the world over were fueling legislatures to ban two-strokes. HRC saw the writing on the wall and wanted ASAP to close down two-stroke R&D and focus research monies into more fuel efficient four-stroke technology that would translate into greater sales in all their markets.

Zarco to replace Nakagami for the last 3 races of the year :ninja:

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/zarco-lcr-honda-nakagami/4556238/

MichaelBolton said:

Zarco to replace Nakagami for the last 3 races of the year :ninja:

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/zarco-lcr-honda-nakagami/4556238/

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Awesome news, i'm really interested to how he will go on the Honda.

AJV80 said:

Awesome news, i'm really interested to how he will go on the Honda.

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Cool to hear it. Funny (only a little) that a Japanese rider on a Honda is being replaced by a white guy with a prominent Rising Sun emblem on his helmet.

Looks as though Honda might rate him more highly than KTM do.

I am going with Honda myself, they did alright with the last guy who defected from a marque with a devotion to a trellis frame chassis.

Maybe it's a try-out. If he does well on it, and Lorenzo doesn't improve over the rest of this year?

The thing I want most is Lorenzo to re-find his mojo or whatever the hell he needs to do, and be competitive again. I know he's injured - that's the slim thread I've been hanging on to for a good while now.

It'll be really interesting to see how Zarco gets on with it.

michaelm said:

Looks as though Honda might rate him more highly than KTM do.

I am going with Honda myself, they did alright with the last guy who defected from a marque with a devotion to a trellis frame chassis.

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It'll be interesting to see his progress vs that of the other three riders who aren't Marquez. I expect him to do better than Cal, who never impressed me and is currently hampered by injuries, and better than Nagashima who's always been inconsistent and seems IMO to lack the fire in the belly component, and in all likelihood much better than Lorenzo for whom the Honda is anathema.

Whilst I am very pleased to see Johann back on the grid I do wonder if we are going from one fire into a furnace? Zarco is smooth and accurate aka Lorenzo, so will he suffer as Lorenzo has, however I do feel he should do better than the current incumbents and he has more to prove -I do hope it works, mind you it if it did wouldn't it complicate 2021 seats?

As for Lorenzo I wonder if Ducati are regretting their decision and making plans for a return

the only available seat for next season is Nakagami's LCR seat... if Nakagami is willing to sit out the final 3 rounds of the season for surgery then he is bound to know he has a deal for a ride next season. Lucio Cecchinello is also very loyal to his riders and team, no matter how many times they crash. My point is, if this is some sort of try out, which bike is he trying out for? all the other Honda riders are under contract.

Lorenzo has a contract with Honda for next season, he also has his own sponsors and endorsement deals. This makes it very hard for Lorenzo to walk away, and very expensive for Honda to buy him out.

Hollywood said:

the only available seat for next season is Nakagami's LCR seat... if Nakagami is willing to sit out the final 3 rounds of the season for surgery then he is bound to know he has a deal for a ride next season. Lucio Cecchinello is also very loyal to his riders and team, no matter how many times they crash. My point is, if this is some sort of try out, which bike is he trying out for? all the other Honda riders are under contract.

Lorenzo has a contract with Honda for next season, he also has his own sponsors and endorsement deals. This makes it very hard for Lorenzo to walk away, and very expensive for Honda to buy him out.

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Can't keep track of what marques have open contracts still (none?) but if there were an option available, I could see Lorenzo willing to part from Honda where presently his potential seems nil. Pedrosa owned his share of injuries despite which he was doing better than Lorenzo. Yes, he had years to ride the Honda, yet still, Lorenzo is WAY at the back and looks miserable.

Keshav said:

Can't keep track of what marques have open contracts still (none?) but if there were an option available, I could see Lorenzo willing to part from Honda where presently his potential seems nil. Pedrosa owned his share of injuries despite which he was doing better than Lorenzo. Yes, he had years to ride the Honda, yet still, Lorenzo is WAY at the back and looks miserable.

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Lorenzo is locked into a contract with Honda, and endorsement deals with sponsors and other product licensing agreements. there is a lot more at stake and other parties involved then just Honda and Lorenzo. It would be a lot more complicated then the KTM/Zarco split.

Hollywood said:

Lorenzo is locked into a contract with Honda, and endorsement deals with sponsors and other product licensing agreements. there is a lot more at stake and other parties involved then just Honda and Lorenzo. It would be a lot more complicated then the KTM/Zarco split.

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Where there's a will there's a way... especially if its a win-win-win.

Mick D said:

Where there's a will there's a way... especially if its a win-win-win.

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Honda could buy him out of his contract, hard to say how much it will cost them, plus most of the teams start their fiscal year in the summer so it may be a lot harder to work that kind of deal into their budget this late.

Dont get me wrong there is a chance this could happen, Zarco would need to impress, and dont forget Bradl already has 2 top 10 finishes this season on Lorenzo's bike, so Zarco would need to be drastically better then that.

Hollywood said:

Honda could buy him out of his contract, hard to say how much it will cost them, plus most of the teams start their fiscal year in the summer so it may be a lot harder to work that kind of deal into their budget this late.

Dont get me wrong there is a chance this could happen, Zarco would need to impress, and dont forget Bradl already has 2 top 10 finishes this season on Lorenzo's bike, so Zarco would need to be drastically better then that.

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Also Honda may not have to bear the full burden of costs if someone really wants Jorge or he really wants out... hard to say how things would shake-out.

why would Lorenzo want to leave? or, why would Marquez want him to leave at this stage? Honda are winning with their star rider so why would they be that bothered about a number 2, at this stage I emphasise, I don't know the nature of Lorenzo's financial package but when someone comes asking for a job they don't usually have a great deal to barter with, so would it not be more expedient to keep Lorenzo? also if Jorge turns it around as done previously wouldn't Honda make some media mileage out of that?

unless Suzuki have a massive re-think and look at a satellite team I just can't see Lorenzo leaving Honda, mind you that would be the dream team - Zarco and Lorenzo on Suzuki's, s.

ronald colman said:

why would Lorenzo want to leave? or, why would Marquez want him to leave at this stage? Honda are winning with their star rider so why would they be that bothered about a number 2, at this stage I emphasise, I don't know the nature of Lorenzo's financial package but when someone comes asking for a job they don't usually have a great deal to barter with, so would it not be more expedient to keep Lorenzo? also if Jorge turns it around as done previously wouldn't Honda make some media mileage out of that?

unless Suzuki have a massive re-think and look at a satellite team I just can't see Lorenzo leaving Honda, mind you that would be the dream team - Zarco and Lorenzo on Suzuki's, s.

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Oh! Oh! Me, me . . . I know!!!

1. Lorenzo would love to leave if a seat opened up on a Yamaha or Suzuki team because those bikes so perfectly match up with his original core riding style. Or a seat on the Ducati . . . because over the course of two grueling seasons he and his good pal Gigi finally got the ergonomics suitably transformed to the point where he could win races.

2. Because Lorenzo and the Honda are like oil and water.

2A. Why would Marquez care one way or the other whether Lorenzo departed? 2B. Who thinks Marquez has a say in the matter? He's an employee of HRC, not the other way around.

3. HRC needs a rider who is sufficiently in tune with the bike to the point that they can be the parts donkey to test out new stuff - in order to get useful feed-back, to transform the bike into a more universal platform, that riders not as insanely brilliant as Marquez, can be competitive on, because A. they might be sufficiently forward thinking to not put all their eggs in one (Marquez) basket and B. accrue more points in the Constructors Championship. C. Has there been any indicator after most of a season that Lorenzo is getting on any better with the RCV?
Short answer: No.

4. Nobody here is interested in Lorenzo's "package" because were not gay. Okay . . . just kidding. . . a lot of these guys are gay.

5. Lorenzo is hardly hurting for cash. He could walk away with no further funds from HRC and have enough pocket money to last him five lifetimes - so losing a bit of new income in exchange for an opportunity to get on a compatible bike before he gets too old, would, I suggest, be extremely appealing.

Do you mind if I mention Zarco in this Zarco thread?
I can't wait to see how he performs on Honda. In any case, he will get luxury of experience not many riders have riding yet another brand.