‘I’ll get my leathers!’ - Zarco’s surprise passenger ride on Ducati two-seater

Pramac sporting director and former 250cc grand prix winner Fonsi Nieto was at the controls of the specially adapted Desmosedici, used by Ducati to give sponsors and guests a taste of MotoGP (see video below).

“My physio, technicians and a few mechanics all had the opportunity to try it and seeing them, I said, ‘I’ll get my leathers and go!’ I asked for some authorisation to check if I could do it, and they said yes,” Zarco explained.

“I was behind Fonsi, and it was a very good experience. Pretty happy. I didn't know how I’d feel to be on the bike but not controlling it. But it was OK, a good experience.”

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The double Moto2 champion and 15-time MotoGP podium finisher felt the tank hand grips didn’t provide enough support for the passenger under heavy braking but was impressed by the lean angles possible in the turns.

“The most difficult is the braking area. For the passenger, it's not easy to hold onto the bike and they should find a better solution to enjoy more the braking point, because you are suffering too much,” said the Frenchman.

“But then into the corners, I think what is impressive with a MotoGP bike is how much you can lean and even with the two-seater you have a lot of angle, and that's special.

“So that was very interesting. Also, for the other guys, like my physio, they could feel the speed and power – but for me that was the most boring, because the back straight here is long and I'm used to going 50 km/h more!

“But for people without MotoGP experience, it's enough!”

Zarco went on to finish ninth in the Malaysian MotoGP and eighth in the final world championship standings.