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Yep - help or not, Zarco really needs every ounce of talent and grit he's got - because hes in a tough group if hes to shine on a Ducati in 2020! Dovi - nuff said.  Petrux - experienced & used to having his back to the wall, doesn't crumble & is a fighter.  Miller, fast and aggressive, hungry and on the latest bike, and Pramac may be satellite but they are a very good outfit.  Peco Bagnaia - oodles of natural talent and ability, and with a tough learning year behind him.  Tito Rabat - has ability and a crafter, and likely to be highly motivated to try and stuff his older, unsupported Desmo underneath Mr Zarco and make statement at every opportunity. I think Johan Zarco might just need all the Gigi "help" he can get - because I can imagine not a single other Ducati rider is going to give him an inch of track without a hard fight - & all of them have lots of hours on Ducati's while he has none yet.

Factory Honda & Factory Yamaha got "Michelin Overnight Specials".  No-one else did (at least not without the express approval of the Factory in question. Best example- Toni Elias in 2006.  When Honda coincidentally needed every Honda available to do its level best to hold Rossi & Yamaha back to keep Nicky Hayden's (ultimately successful) WC hopes alive, Satellite Rider Tonigot allocated Michelin Overnight Specials (ones that Dani P elected not to use - so instead of going back in the Michelin Truck, Elias got them for once).  Toni Elias won his one and only MotoGP race at Estoril on those tyres, which ultimately made the vital points difference that saw Factory Honda's Hayden become Champ. Would Elias have had the grip to fight for a win under any normal circumstances, and on his normal tyre allocation?  The fact he never did so before or after, says no. Bottom line?  Specials were the preserve of the biggest, wealthiest & most powerful, influential Factory Teams at the time - HRC & Factory Yamaha.  And (without special extenuating circumstances) neither Factory would allow anyone else to have them.  It's no fluke that (pre-electronics & data to hold advantage) tyres dictated just who could compete for wins, & who could not, and which bikes/teams/riders - did the lion's share of the winning.