The Tech 3 driver had a superb race and earned his third podium of the season, finishing in style this weekend in Malaysia.
Johann zarco could hardly dream of a better end to the weekend, apart from perhaps maintaining his second place against a tenacious Álex Rins on the last lap. Regardless, the Frenchman mastered his race perfectly.
Author of a very good start, he was able to stay in the wake of Valentino Rossi throughout the race. Although overtaken by Marc Márquez, he remained on the provisional podium and even inherited second place again when the Doctor fell at the end of the race. Finally, he finished in third position after overtaking Rins.
This new podium, his third of the year and his sixth in MotoGP, allows him to regain the lead in the ranking of independent riders. His weekend in Malaysia ends in the best possible way: “I'm pretty happy, it was a fantastic race! But also difficult, as always in Malaysia. I was tired towards the end, but the energy is already coming back. I think the key to this podium was my start to the race. I thought I would overtake Valentino (Rossi), but he was fast and it was good to stay behind him. I could escape, but I made a small mistake when Marc overtook me. I tried to stay behind him, there was a small gap but I was able to set a good pace. Then Valentino crashed and I found myself second. I thought I could manage, but with four laps to go, Álex (Rins) was faster than me. Even though I controlled my race well, I only managed to gain three tenths when I pushed a little harder in the final laps, which was not enough to maintain the gap between us. He passed me on the last lap. I tried to fight back, but I no longer had any rear grip. Regardless, finishing third is a good result. »
Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang, MotoGP J.3: Ranking
1 93 Marc MARQUEZ Honda 40'32.372
2 42 Alex RINS Suzuki +1.898
3 5 Johann ZARCO Yamaha +2.474
4 25 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha +4.667
5 26 Dani PEDROSA Honda +6.190
6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati +11.248
7 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA Ducati +15.611
8 43 Jack MILLER Ducati +19.009
9 9 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati +22.921
10 55 Hafizh SYAHRIN Yamaha +26.919
11 41 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia +29.503
12 21 Franco MORBIDELLI Honda +30.933
13 6 Stefan BRADL Honda +35.322
14 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda +37.912
15 38 Bradley SMITH KTM +39.675
16 12 Thomas LUTHI Honda +41.820
17 10 Xavier SIMEON Ducati +43.978
18 46 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha +58.288
19 45 Scott REDDING Aprilia +1'00.191
Not Classified
44 Pol ESPARGARO KTM 4 Laps
51 Michele PIRRO Ducati 15 Laps
17 Karel ABRAHAM Ducati 17 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
29 Andrea IANNONE Suzuki 0 Lap
