#French #MotoGP #Debriefing #Johann #Zarco #bike #rears #tend #cut #gas #Integrity #Paddock
He started from ninth on the grid after a penalty, johann zarco led a French Grand Prix at Le Mans attacking and with a knife between his teeth, eventually snatching a top 5 spot from him, just behind his compatriot fabio quartararo.
The Pramac driver returned to his performance with the journalists and, as usual, we transcribe all his statements here, whose first part, which uses familiarity, corresponds to the questions asked by the French media.
Johann, how was your race?
” I am quite satisfied. It wasn’t easy starting from 9th position, but I really tried to get off the grid as best I could. But as soon as the bike started pitching, I lost time. So the start wasn’t good, but afterwards I was quite incisive, both to keep my position and to overtake, although it wasn’t always easy to position the bike well in the corners. Therefore, I am satisfied with the fight I was able to put up at this level and then with my race pace because I was able to make an interesting comeback. A lot of drivers made mistakes so I was careful to stay focused and it took me a while to get past Takaaki Nakagami. Curiously, I had a lack of acceleration in the last corner that cost me many meters on the next straight. Consequently, the effort I put in in the last sector did not serve to lap me, and that is why I took time to pass Nakagami. This lack of acceleration, I put down to too much wheelie and too many electronic cutoffs, and was probably related to being glued to the rear of another bike taking away the support we needed and could benefit from during testing. It was a real difference from the tests, and he didn’t make it easy. But I was still showing a good pace, and then I needed to breathe a bit when I was behind Marc Márquez, and when I overtook him I still struggled thinking I could catch up with the group in front, but they were too far away. Then came Pecco Bagnaia’s crash and I found myself in fifth position. I told myself that it would have been nice to go back up, but reason prevailed and I preferred to take these 11 points and keep moving forward. It has been a good race, and a good Weekend. »
Did you have a collision with Brad Binder on the first lap?
” I overtook well at the first chicane: I had to release the brakes so I entered a bit hard and I couldn’t gain positions because Fabio Quartararo and Nakagami overtook me. But then when we went into the Chapelle corner I still had Nakagami right in front of me and I knew I had a tendency to widen his trajectory so I decided to take a very tight line for the double but Binder was on the inside. At that moment I thought it was Jorge Martín who had touched me but no, it was Binder. No one fell but it was good contact. As soon as you want to take your place or overtake other guys, it’s clear that contacts happen almost during every race. »
Does your good comeback make you regret being penalized on the grid even more? [Zarco, initialement qualifié en sixième position, a dû rétrograder de trois places pour avoir gêné Pol Espargaró en piste samedi] ?
” I have no regrets, for the simple and good reason that in terms of rhythm I felt that I was not where I wanted to be yet. There is still progress, and that is why we should not let it go, because it may take longer than expected, but there are many things that I manage to integrate. So I don’t regret it, because if I had gone ahead, it’s true that it would probably have been easier for me to stay with the others, but since I still don’t have the click to do what I want with the bike, it always gets stuck. He is progressing, it was a good race, but even starting later he would not have been able to do as well as Enea Bastianini. »
Did you see the fall of Álex Rins? [Zarco a été victime d’un tout-droit similaire à celui du pilote Suzuki vendredi, en parvenant cependant de son côté à rester sur sa machine] ?
” I saw him go out, it was at a time when I was thinking about overtaking, but when you see someone go out you know there are going to be yellow flags, so you don’t try to overtake to avoid any risk of a penalty. But I saw him leave, and then I saw him on the ground. Later they explained to me that in reality when he returned to the asphalt he was at an angle with his motorcycle, so they knocked him off his horse. fall. »
How will you approach the next round at Mugello?
” With the same mentality as this weekend. It is true that we can have a small advantage with the Ducati, because Michele Pirro [le pilote d’essais Ducati] has been testing recently and so we will have to use your feedback. I think we will also have to keep an eye on Pecco Bagnaia, because last year he was very strong there but he crashed at the beginning of the race. On top of that you will have the bitterness of not having scored here. So being part of these Ducati would be a good thing, and if we can make a 100% Ducati podium, that would be great. I remember that last year Fabio was very strong there. [le pilote Yamaha s’était imposé en Toscane, un peu à la surprise générale] while on my side I had tried to block it with my power while overtaking in the corners. It had been a good run. Afterwards I struggled and even lost the podium, I had to finish fourth or fifth. But there the bike is a little different. We no longer have that advantage that we had on the straights. But on a riding level there are always things to do with this bike, and I hope I can do well at Mugello after a good week of testing. »
What do you miss about the outings so far?
” When I manage to be constant, I lose the first meters, and if I try to go out strong in these first meters, I don’t handle the clutch well. The bike rears up and I tend to cut the gas. It’s easy to say you have to go flat out at this point, and I can’t say I’m too afraid to turn around. So I don’t know if these are ingrained reflexes, but although I am aware of this, when the time comes it is not a natural gesture for me. The problem is that the level is so high that it has to be natural, otherwise you lack ease. »
Did you use the front device?
” The only place I used it was at the exit of Turn 8, at the Garage Vert exit, because then there was a real straight line followed by real braking. We tried to use it on the exit of Turn 14 at the start of the weekend as well, but going into the Dunlop chicane with the system on just wasn’t possible. So at this circuit we only used it in one place, but basically it wasn’t that bad because it forced you to take other sensations, and that can be useful for Mugello. »