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Johann Zarco will have to do without Jean-Michel Bayle from now on.
The former motocross champion (who then switched to the world championship) had appeared alongside the French rider in the Le Mans GP. Johann was looking for a sort of coach, someone he could train with and get advice from, and Bayle seemed to be the right person.
After Zarco's announcement of his farewell to KTM at the end of the season, Jean-Michel said enough, as was reported by Speedweek.
"Johann is really talented. This is out of the question," Bayle declared after the Brno race. "I tried to teach him that you can be fast even with a different driving style, and we were seeing the first results. I'm convinced that he'll also be competitive with the KTM."
We'll probably never know if he was right. The former rider was at Zarco's side also during the summer break, trying to motivate him, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
So, he decided to end their collaboration.
It's certainly not an easy time for Johann who found every door closed to him. His intention (as stated yesterday) is to stay in the MotoGP as a test rider, on a competitive bike, and being a wild card. The problem is that all manufacturers are already done for the season from this aspect.
Suzuki, in theory, could be a landing place.
Johann had tried the GSX-RR when he was still in the Moto2, but then he switched to Yamaha with the Tech3. "I wouldn't even know how to answer to this possibility. We haven't thought about it at all. We have Guintoli, and we're very satisfied with his work," explained Davide Brivio.
The other possibility would be a return to the Moto2, to be able to prove that he's still competitive, then attempt a return to the premier class in 2021, when the market will be completely open. But even this for now is just an idea.
Zarco would have a better chance in the SBK, where Bautista has recently shown that it's possible to rebuild a career at the highest level. The derivatives, however, are not what the French rider is thinking about.
As he himself admitted, Johann took a great risk deciding to terminate his contract. Now, for him to have another chance, he'll need a bit of luck.
