On the occasion of this Grand Prix of the Americas, we are perpetuating our habit of referring to you in full the words of Johann Zarco, in a raw way, therefore without any journalistic formatting or distortion.
Alongside the sometimes slightly formatted communication of traditional press releases, the exchanges between the French rider and the journalists in the hospitality of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team are of a richness and simplicity that true enthusiasts will appreciate (you can find all his past debriefings in our section “Interviews").
There is always the little detail that immerses us more every day in the world of MotoGP…
Johann, were you hoping for a little more after yesterday's qualifying?
Johann zarco : “I always hope to fight for the podium because it’s the best way to enjoy the race. Anyway, I knew I had a weak point here on this track because I was pushing the bike too hard to be ready for the race. But you never know, you always believe something is possible. The start wasn't very good, and I immediately tried to keep up with the other guys, but the weak points I had on this track, like accelerating after slow corners, meant that there was too different from the others. So I tried to keep the gap and I even thought I could catch Rossi after halfway. But I was struggling a little too much. When Dovi passed me, he wasn't very easy on the brakes either, I was stronger than him, but he was better in acceleration and the compromise meant that he was 5th and I was 6th.
The weekend was difficult. For me, it is the most complicated track on the calendar. So we have to be happy with this 6th position because it's better than nothing. It's just that compared to the others, I struggled a lot and I wasn't very fast. This indicates that when I have the right speed from the first day, from FP1 and until the race, I will be able to fight for victory.”
A journalist then asked him if it was a sign of improvement to finish 6th after finishing 7th last year. It is pointed out to him that Johann finished 5th last year, and he responds diplomatically: “I don’t watch that much. I knew that the seasons are similar, but they are not the same. I know I did the best I could, and that's the most important thing, so I have no regrets. I just told the team “it was difficult but we got the job done.” Let's keep in mind that the Yamaha is a good bike, and coming back to Europe, the way we use it will allow us to get the most out of it to be at the top of the rankings.".
Do you think the track conditions were part of the cause of your problems?
“It's possible, even if the track conditions for the race weren't that bad. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I fought on the bike, and we know that when we fight on the bike it's not the best way to start the race. But you think that if you fight, the others fight too, but the 4 guys in front, because Dovi was also fighting, so the 2 Yamahas, the Suzuki and Marc, did a better job.
How did your tires perform?
“The choice of tires was quite good and they did not deteriorate during the race. I was really able to have a very regular pace, but it just wasn’t fast enough.”
Do you feel like you missed the point?
“If we want a good tune-up here, we would almost have to do winter tests and have 3 days of testing from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m. to really get established. We must therefore not doubt the development too much, but simply tell ourselves that the track is difficult, and that is why we had difficulties. But I think that for our tuning in general, we are starting to know the bike and we have to be able to fight for victory.”
Austin MotoGP Race Standings:
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 41'52.002 |
| 2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +3.560 |
| 3 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +6.704 |
| 4 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +9.587 |
| 5 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +13.570 |
| 6 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +14.231 |
| 7 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +18.201 |
| 8 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +28.537 |
| 9 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +28.671 |
| 10 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | +28.875 |
| 11 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +31.355 |
| 12 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +34.993 |
| 13 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +37.264 |
| 14 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +39.335 |
| 15 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +40.887 |
| 16 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +48.475 |
| 17 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | +49.995 |
| 18 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | +51.115 |
| 19 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +59.055 |
| 20 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | +59.747 |
| 21 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | + 1'00.513 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 10 lapses | |
| 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 12 lapses | |
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 12 lapses |
