IN
THE
WIND
P36
ZARCO WANTS THE
BIG TIME
M
oto2 Champion Johann Zarco, currently at-
tempting to become the first to successfully
defend the four-stroke intermediate title, is to test
the MotoGP Suzuki in Japan later this year, and
has been asked to ride a factory Suzuki in the
nationally all-important Suzuka 8 Hour race.
The Frenchman elected to stay in the middle
class this year, "although I had some options
in MotoGP," he said, but he is more likely to be
ready to move next year.
"I hope to be with Suzuki in 2017," he said.
If Maverick Vinales elects to stay there, this
would leave Aleix Espargaro on the open market,
along with his younger brother Pol.
Michael Scott
Johann Zarco
feels he's done his
Moto2 duties and
now wants to play
with the big boys.
ABRAHAM TESTS KTM MOTOGP MACHINE
F
ormer MotoGP and cur-
rent Milwaukee WorldSBK
rider Karel Abraham completed
his first test on the KTM RC16
MotoGP machine at Misano last
week. The Czech rider, who
spent his MotoGP career on
Aprilia and Honda machinery,
was surprised by the initial pace
of the Austrian prototype, which
has previously only been ridden
by official KTM test riders Mika
Kallio, Randy DePuniet and Alex
Hoffman.
"The motorcycle already
rides very well and I hadn't
actually expected it would be
at this level," Abraham said.
"The engine feels strong and
the electronics already work
quite well. The three days
on the bike were a fantastic
experience for me and I really
enjoyed it. I'm looking forward
to the next round of tests with
the bike."
KTM has already signed
Bradley Smith to be one of the
official riders in its 2017 MotoGP
squad. The second seat is still
up for grabs, with Dani Pedrosa
and Andrea Dovizioso linked to
the place. CN
Karel Abraham was impressed
with the performance of the
RC16 in his debut with the
machine at Misano.
