We perpetuate 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 enthusiasts more and more every day in the world of MotoGP…
You didn't look particularly happy in the box...
" No. I was disappointed after the race, and even now. I need a few hours to regain my energy. During the race, there were a few moments, at the start and afterwards, that didn't help me find a good rhythm and leave with the others. It's part of the race, sometimes good things happen to you, sometimes it's the opposite. I expected the medium rear tire to help me a little more, because the soft wasn't a better solution for me today anyway. The way we struggled in the race has been going on for two races, but in this one we had a lot more positives than in Mugello and we could see that we were not just the guys at the front. We just wonder why we finished 7th. We will not have any improvement on the bike to progress and have a better pace in the race but I believe that we find better settings to run the bike better, we can find the pace for the podium in the next races. So it's a good experience again today, and each time, step by step, I feel like I know more and more what things I need on the bike to be stronger during the race. Because now, I would say from Texas, you can feel that the races are different from last year, and it seems much more difficult because the tires are constant and all the drivers are stronger on the track, control better and work better for racing, compared to before. So it makes the job difficult for everyone and, personally, it makes me think slightly differently to be stronger in the next races.”
So you're saying that as the tires are more consistent, the drivers form a tighter group in which we can finish 7th, 8th or 9th...
" Yes ! This is exactly the difference from last year. And this year, as we can see, Valentino is the one who takes every opportunity that presents itself. Maybe I don't have enough experience to do this yet, but I'm smart enough to see this. So I want to control these things in the next races because I don’t want to let him go to the championship.”
This circuit is similar to Mugello in the sense that Jorge Lorenzo won, Marc Márquez was behind him, and you struggled. Do you think your problems come from the nature of these circuits?
“For me, it's completely different from Mugello because, from Friday, I felt much better than at Mugello. The layout and surface are different. So it was a different race. Of course Lorenzo won the 2 races consecutively, but we were more competitive there. And in the next races, above all the weather will be different, and it will be different from what we found in the last 2 races. That's why you have to keep working and having fun, because a lot can happen. What makes me happy today is to see that I am 4th in the championship, and it is a very good position to think about 2nd place. So it’s just fantastic.”
But the first remains Marc…
“The first is Marc. That may be a goal, but we have to stay honest with ourselves and he has a lot of points ahead. So let's do a good job and be smart, and take what we can take when we can."
There is a test tomorrow. Do you have any new things to try?
" Me no. I really don't know what we're going to do tomorrow. I have to talk about it later with the team because we didn't talk about it during the race weekend. I don't think he'll have anything new to try in the Tech3 box. I don't know if Yamaha wants me to help them with certain things, or if they want a competitive 3rd rider to work with new parts. Me, with what I have, I think I have good elements. The way you set up the bike can make the difference for future races. This weekend we started well, and instead of progressing each session, we kept the good things and then went back, we kept the good things and then went back. So it's not a good way to build victory on Sunday, but we have to experience it to understand it. We haven't talked about it with the team, and it's easier said than done, but if you start the weekend well and you continue to progress, even if sometimes you have small drops and not ups and downs every session, so you can think of really good things for the race.”
Is there anything you would like to try tomorrow?
“We'll see tomorrow, but I think what I'd like to do, after a little warm-up, is get on the track and go racing again. Then to stop, rest and eat, and do another run in the afternoon. Of course it won't be the same, but trying to find something because a racing situation is always different than all the laps we can do during testing.
What did you lack today to compete with Vinales at the end of the race?
“This acceleration. Not in terms of engine power, in terms of traction. That's what I missed the most. I had good grip on the corner, I managed to follow the other drivers well in passing speed and by being gentle with the accelerator, but when it was time to straighten out and have a little more traction, it was my weak point today and it made the race difficult. Whereas in this phase, the medium should have helped me from a third of the race or halfway through the race. But I didn't have the support I expected, or even the opposite in the end, because they were still better in this phase, and it's an important phase when you have a lot of horses to go through.”
Do you think factory drivers prepare their weekend better? Does this come from your experience or from being in a satellite team?
" I don't know. This is the work we have to do. It's easier said than done, but when you have something good, you have to keep progressing. But to progress, you have to know that when you try something that is logical in theory, it often doesn't respond the same on the track. So that takes us a step back. I have to do my job as a driver and the team its job, and that's where we train together. And we know that when it works we can think of victory, and that's the challenge. So I don't know what the official teams are like, but with what we have, I believe we can progress on our own, and that's extremely important to manage the next races.”
What do you want to say about Quartararo's victory?
" Happy ! Very happy for him. He had difficulties, but we feel that deep down he remains a driver, and that's why it's a great pleasure to see him win, because when we can sometimes argue, I saw him unhappy not to be able to perform well. He doesn't care and is not at fault for his poor performances. So I'm very happy and I hope he keeps this pace. It's going to be difficult because Moto2 is intense, but it's still a way to show that he's the next good French rider. Because he has the ability to pilot. And he is young. So we shouldn’t bury people when they can’t do it anymore at 17 (laughs).”
In terms of motor skills, is it linked to a slippery track or to electronics?
“I think it’s sliding, chassis and suspension tuning. Quite an agreement that is never easy to find.”
You fought a lot with Vinales. Was it pleasure or pain?
“It's always good to fight, to follow someone closely and then overtake them. Besides, at one point, it wasn't easy to overtake him and when I made the decision to overtake him... yellow flag! So I had to brake a lot harder, even if it meant falling, even if it meant hitting him, and that broke my rhythm a bit. But there I was in a bit too much pain to really appreciate a fight.”
You can find all of Johann Zarco's daily debriefings in our section “Interviews"
Catalan Grand Prix Barcelona MotoGP Race: Standings
| 1 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 40'13.566 |
| 2 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | +4.479 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +6.098 |
| 4 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +9.805 |
| 5 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +10.640 |
| 6 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +10.798 |
| 7 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +13.432 |
| 8 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +15.055 |
| 9 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +22.057 |
| 10 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +24.141 |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +36.560 |
| 12 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | +38.229 |
| 13 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | + 1'21.526 |
| 14 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 3 Tours |
| Unclassified | ||||
| 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 4 Tours | |
| 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 6 Tours | |
| 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 7 Tours | |
| 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 11 Tours | |
| 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 11 Tours | |
| 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 13 Tours | |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 16 Tours | |
| 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 17 Tours | |
| 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 20 Tours | |
| 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 21 Tours | |
| 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | 22 Tours | |
| Did not finish the first round | ||||
| 36 | Mika Kallio | KTM | 0 Tour |
