Struggling Zarco hopes for boost from Pedrosa's KTM MotoGP verdict

Pedrosa, who retired from racing at the end of last year, stepped over to KTM from Honda as its official test rider, and resumed his duties following a five-month spell on the sidelines through injury last week at Brno.

The 31-time MotoGP race winner spent two days at the Czech Grand Prix venue evaluating the RC16, while testing new parts that have been brought to this weekend's Barcelona race.

Zarco said Pedrosa's comments about the RC16 were echoed his own, and is curious to see how a rider with a similarly smooth style coming from the famously aggressive Honda is able to adapt amid his own struggles coming from the rider-friendly Yamaha.

"I got the feedback but I did not speak with him straight [away]," Zarco, who has failed to finish in the top 10 so far this season, responded when asked if he had spoken to Pedrosa.

"He did many laps, that's what I heard and quite similar comments to what I was giving.

"From next week, when we're going to test new things or maybe the work can move on, now half a season [has passed], I hope we can do a step forward now.

"I'm quite smooth on the bike but because I'm coming from a Yamaha, most of the time we think because I was riding a Yamaha before I cannot adapt myself.

"I try to push myself to adapt, it is sometimes difficult and Dani is a smooth rider but he never rode a Yamaha in his life.

"So that is why we are really awaiting all this information to really see if my comments are wrong or not."

Zarco's team-mate Pol Espargaro heralded Pedrosa's return to testing as "super-good" for KTM, and said his presence this weekend will "super-important" ahead of Monday's post-race test.

"Dani spent two days in Czech Republic, which is a difficult track with hot conditions, and he was able to do a lot of laps and tell us tricks and different things to do on the bike," he said.

"By the end of the second day, he felt some good improvements on the bike with the new package he was trying, and this is super important and super nice.

"So let's see if these things work here in Barcelona and we can use it as well.

"He was in Jerez, and in Jerez he was talking together [with us], but the problem in Jerez [was] he had no feeling from the bike.

"Now he's going to come this weekend, also he's going to test with us on Monday, which is super important because he's going to be with us all the weekend knowing what's going to be on the bike, and we can make a lot of conclusions together."