We perpetuate our habit of referring to you in full the words of Johann Zarco, in a raw way, therefore without 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").
The Yamahas had a very solid race today…
Johann zarco : " I am very happy. The race was hard, difficult on the body which had to endure the heat and intensity of the race, but I am very happy to have been one of them. If it was hard for me, it was also hard for them, and that also motivates me to keep pushing. I felt good at the start of the race, better than Maverick, but I made a mistake when I tried to overtake him and I lost a few positions. I could keep up, but not easily enough to stay and play with them. But I was able to give my best and stay close to them, while trying to conserve energy because the race was very long. Things happened in the race: Pedrosa was very strong and I think maybe he had the speed to win, but he crashed at the corner. At the same time, Cal made a mistake, so I overtook him. Rins also took the lead more or less at the same time, then left to try to catch up with the first group. I couldn't catch up with the first group but I said to myself “OK, keep pushing because something might happen”. At the end, the first 4 escaped a little but during the last 3 laps, I had enough energy to attack again because I saw that I could catch up with Alex. During the last lap I was very close to him and maybe he felt the pressure. He tried to close the gate for turn 9 but it widened a bit. So I was able to overtake him and try to brake well at the last corner to get this 5th place. There are 3 Yamahas in the top 5, so that doesn't mean I did anything amazing, but we were competitive here. And immediately, when the bike is working, we are ready to be at the best level, and that brings a smile to the whole team's face.”
When you finished the race, were you as tired as in Misano and Aragon?
“I was exhausted yes, in the last 3 races that I finished, Austria, Misano and Aragon, because instead of fighting with the others, I was fighting with my own bike. Now, because of the conditions it was difficult, but it wasn't a fight with the bike. It was really about trying to control the bike and it's totally different. So when I can control the bike, I can fight with the others, and that’s the real race.”
Didn't you struggle too much at the end of the race because of the tires?
“It wasn't that bad. I had a level of grip that was more or less the same throughout the race, but I saw that the others had perhaps a little better than me before perhaps having a little worse. Perhaps the left side of the tire experienced the greatest degradation of any motorcycle. Some bikes experienced this degradation 7 laps from the end, and for me it was more in the last 3 or 4 laps. But I saw that it was the same situation for everyone.”
Will this progression from Yamaha continue for the final races?
" I don't know. I hope this will give us some fresh air and energy to be in the top 5 again in the next races. It would be very important for me, to win the title of best independent driver. I can only cross my fingers that I have the same situation, but I am a pilot and I have to do my job as always.”
Yesterday, Michelin said that tire wear occurs in the center due to slippage, and therefore the sidewalls provide good grip. Is this one of the reasons for the Yamaha's performance today?
“Yes, I think sectors 2, 3 and 4 were good for the Yamahas, because it happens a lot on corner entry: you have to get into the corners quickly and then just maintain the speed without having to accelerate hard. Turn 12 is perhaps the worst, along with turn 3, but all the others require more passing speed than acceleration, and I think that's why we were competitive.
Find all of Johann Zarco’s other debriefings here!
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Credit ranking: MotoGP.com
