The Austrian factory had signed Johann Zarco very early – over a year before the 2019 season even began – with the intention of having an obviously podium-ready rider to take the bike to the next level.
“We have done the form on the side so that it looks a bit different but not as much as it looks,” the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider told us at the Valencia test.
Espargaro was entrusted with the bulk of the test work over the winter, as KTM had two rookies in Brad Binder and Iker Lecuona, and Miguel Oliveira, the only other rider with experience, was absent having shoulder surgery.

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