MotoGP – Red Bull KTM confirms Johann Zarco for two years

Bruno Gomes

May 3, 2018

After two years riding as a satellite rider for Yamaha, Johann Zarco will move to the Red Bull KTM factory team

Yesterday Red Bull KTM Factory team announced a new deal with Pol Espargaró, and today the Austrian MotoGP team announced that in 2019 and 2020, Frenchman Johann Zarco will be joining the KTM family as a factory rider alongside Espargaró.

Johann Zarco isn’t a complete stranger to the KTM family, as he was the very first Red Bull Rookies Cup champion back in 2007.

After graduating from the Red Bull Rookies Cup to the World Championship, Zarco has won two World Moto2 titles, becoming the most successful French rider of all times in the history of Grand Prix racing. In 2017 in moved from Moto2 to MotoGP, joining Monster Yamaha Tech3, and almost immediately, and despite being just a rookie, he caught everyone’s attention with his performance on track.

This season Johann Zarco already had some great moments, especially with the “pole position” at the first MotoGP round in Qatar and a second position at the recent Argentina GP.

Now it’s time for Zarco to dress in orange again, a move that made Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport director very happy because “there has always been a good contact with Johann and since the Red Bull Rookies Cup. We supported the Moto2 project through WP and our Moto3 Team Manager Aki Ajo is a good friend of him. We also have a nice connection with his manager Laurent Fellon. It was a group effort to get this done. We had to trust in our capability to build a winning bike and Johann would not come over if he did not see and feel that trust. We feel very responsible now to get that package strong enough so that he can continue on the level where he is. It is our big target”.

Johann Zarco will try to take the KTM RC16 to the top of MotoGP in 2019 and 2020

The Red Bull KTM team believes that with a factory prototype like the RC16, Johann Zarco will be able to take the team’s results to another level, mainly fighting for the top spots, and since he is doing that now with a satellite bike from Monster Yamaha Tech3, Pit Beirer believes that it’s just a matter of time before Zarco starts getting great results

“It is clear that we want to take another step in MotoGP. The first two years were about building up the project and to get everything running. You always want to get the best possible riders on board and it’s obvious with Johann beating the factory guys on satellite machinery and consistently qualifying on the front row means he is a strong fighter with a strong sprit. I’m convinced we can reach the next level with a rider like Johann with us”.

With both Red Bull KTM factory seats now taken by Pol Espargaró and Johann Zarco, Bradley Smith, current team rider, will have to look for a place on another team.