Johann Zarco eager to emulate Jack Miller at Pramac

Johann Zarco may not have got a seat at the Factory Ducati team for the 2021 MotoGP season, but by moving from Avintia to Pramac the Frenchman is joining a squad that took more podiums than any other Ducati team last season.

Although Official team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci took a win each, in Austria and France respectively, third-place at Jerez for Dovizioso was the only other rostrum appearance between them.

Johann Zarco Jack Miller , MotoGP race, European MotoGP, 8 November 2020
Johann Zarco Jack Miller , MotoGP race, European MotoGP, 8 November 2020
© Gold and Goose Photography

Johann Zarco may not have got a seat at the Factory Ducati team for the 2021 MotoGP season, but by moving from Avintia to Pramac the Frenchman is joining a squad that took more podiums than any other Ducati team last season.

Although Official team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci took a win each, in Austria and France respectively, third-place at Jerez for Dovizioso was the only other rostrum appearance between them.

Meanwhile, Jack Miller took four podiums in Pramac colours, including finishing runner-up at the last two rounds. Team-mate Francesco Bagnaia also claimed a podium, to give Pramac five for the season.

Both riders also missed out on other podium and perhaps victory chances due to bad luck, technical problems and mistakes.

Miller and Bagnaia have moved up to form the all-new Factory team line-up in 2021, with Zarco and rookie Jorge Martin taking over the Pramac machines, which are one-year newer than the Avintia bikes the Frenchman raced to a pole, podium and fastest lap last year.

"In 2020 I learned a lot of things on the Ducati, I also had good performance but not very good consistency over the season," Zarco told the official MotoGP website. "So the way Jack Miller finished the season on the Pramac Ducati bike, fighting for podiums and thinking about victories, I would like to perform in the same way.

"I need to see how I will be on the new [GP20] bike. I would love to fight for podiums consistently during the season."

"In 2020 there were so many riders thinking about victories and also a new world champion in Joan Mir. It means that almost everything is possible [for 2021]," Zarco added. "

"I think we will see a similar performance from everyone, many riders know their bikes very well. It's going to be tough but this is the beauty of the highest level of MotoGP. From my side I would like to perform a lot to keep the dream on."

Zarco was speaking at Jerez where he planned to spend two days training on a Panigale road bike, only for wet weather to heavily reduce his track time.

"I preferred to wait [for the dry conditions] but no big drama, it's only the beginning of training. I think in February I will get more opportunities to come to Spain and prepare myself for March and the Pramac Ducati bike in Qatar."

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