The daily meetings between Johann Zarco and the international press are becoming more and more interesting. Far from the somewhat formatted communication of traditional press releases, the exchanges between the French pilot and the journalists in the Tech3 hospitality are of a richness and simplicity that true enthusiasts will appreciate (you can find all his past debriefs in our section “Interviews").
As usual, we report here the entirety of Johann Zarco's comments, in raw form, therefore without any journalistic formatting or distortion.
Johann Zarco, 6th : “The objective is to work for the race. If you work well for the race, you have to be in the top 10, and that's what I did this morning and this afternoon. So I'm very happy with the work we did. We completed the race distance on soft tires. The performance is good. This morning I pushed myself with the bike and this afternoon we found some solutions to be more comfortable on the bike and be able to do regular laps. So it was a good job this afternoon and I'm happy to be in the top 10. But I think FP3 will be like a qualifier again, and so we have to be careful and manage well to stay there. »
What tires did you use?
“This morning I took the medium on my first outing, then the soft, and this afternoon I used the soft and the hard. I'm trying to figure out which is better. For the moment, my feeling is still better with the softs, but the question is whether we can race with them, to stay very fast, in 47, throughout the race. We need Saturday morning to have confirmation. »
Have you noticed a change in feeling with the new front tire?
“For me, at the moment, MotoGP is still new, and when I change circuits, I need to discover and take a lot of references on the track. So today I couldn't feel the difference with this tire. When I tried it in Jerez after the race I could feel it but it was minimal. So that's why I couldn't smell it today. »
You had a fantastic race here last year, battling with Baldassarri. Can this be useful to you this year, for example to have other trajectories?
“To fight, yes (laughs). If I feel very comfortable on the bike, I have good grip, I can turn, I have good confidence with the front, I can sometimes use a line to overtake. And today, this morning and this afternoon, I made two or three nice overtakes, to prepare for the race, just in case...
But when you are able to overtake, that is already a positive point because it implies that you are riding the bike well. »
How do you feel the speed at Mugello on a MotoGP?
“In the straight, it pushes a lot. In the corners you can manage, but in the straight, it's strange: on the bump of the straight, I expected to have big wheelies and for the front wheel to be unstable, but ultimately it comes from the 'back. The rear jumps and pushes your entire body toward the front of the motorcycle. I wasn't expecting that, and now I can anticipate it and stay a little more on the back of the bike. And when, when the bike jumps from the back, boom, I have good balance to brake. But it was a good surprise and thanks to the carbon brakes because they are not superfluous (laughs)! »
Laurent Fellon is absent here. Do you miss that or is his job done by someone else?
" No. I don't think there's anyone else who can do that, because we really have an osmosis with Laurent, which is special. On the other hand, when he is not there, I still have enough maturity and experience to be able to manage myself. And the Le Mans race must have taken me a step further in terms of feeling, sensations and mentality, which made it possible to have a good day today. So I think I can do a good job, and it already happened at the beginning of the year that he was absent. And when he's there, I take it as a bonus. But there. He saw things at Le Mans, we talked about it and he told me to try to work on certain points that he saw at Le Mans and which should help me at Mugello. So far, so good. »
Is this what you were talking about yesterday, a milestone that you had passed, a sort of increase in feeling?
“Yes, that’s part of it. It's not exactly the same driving as at Le Mans, so there was a time of adaptation, but despite everything, there was still some performance today, so that means that I could evolve. I manage to manage the bike, still fighting, because there was a bit of a fight with Iannone today. He's at home, and so, as soon as we pass him, he gets motivated to iron again. But his over-motivation didn't intimidate me, and I'm happy with that. »
Being in front of the official bikes is not common, but how would you summarize the weak points of your bike compared to the official bikes?
“In the official bikes, there is still Vinales who had a better time this morning, and who therefore remains ahead overall. Rossi is injured. The grip was a little difficult today and maybe having managed to use the soft on a lot of laps gives me an advantage. »
You rode behind Vinales a lot, so maybe you saw the differences between the bikes?
“I don’t see much difference. I would say that the official bike is perhaps a little more agile than mine, more agile and more stable, but I believe that by working on technical points, we can improve this stability. And at the same time agility. So ultimately, it's more a question of settings than really the pure performance of the bike. »
So you're saying that you don't see the difference in engine while the official bikes have a slightly higher engine speed?
“No, being behind here, it’s still okay. It's hard to manage because when you're in fourth, and you go into fifth, there's wheeling, and when you manage to manage it, I gained, I think, 6 km/h of speed. a single blow, simply from knowing how to pass. On my last two laps, the anti-wheelie did not activate and that meant a gain of 6 km/h. So ultimately, it's such a racing beast that, when you tame it well... You have to tame it 100% to feel a difference, but we're not all at 100% because it's complicated. »
You took the soft tire today. Do you think he can race?
“I did the race distance so, yes, it’s possible. To be confirmed tomorrow. In my opinion, the pace to be had is 47.7, 47.5. If we have that with the software beyond 15 or 20 laps, we will be very competitive. »
Rossi was injured in training. Vinales fell this afternoon. Do you have the impression that your performances are starting to put a little pressure on the official drivers, or is it just the circumstances?
“I would say it's circumstances, because it's not supposed to be me who has to put the pressure on. They have enough elements to put pressure on each other. So let's take advantage of the moment, it's an opportunity presented to me; you have to take it! »
Results of the two free sessions combined:
1 C.CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda HONDA 1'47.365
2 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'47.394 to 0.029
3 J.FOLGER GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'47.543 at 0.178
4 M.PIRRO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'47.595 at 0.230
5 M.VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'47.669 to 0.304
6 ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'47.674 to 0.309
7 D.PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'47.699 to 0.334
8 H.BARBERA SPA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'47.708 to 0.343
9 A.BAUTISTA SPA Pull&Bear Aspar Team DUCATI 1'47.728 at 0.363
10 J.LORENZO SPA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'47.747 at 0.382
11 A.IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'47.807 to 0.442
12 D.PETRUCCI ITA OCTO Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'47.950 at 0.585
13 M.MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'47.980 to 0.615
14 V.ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'48.000 to 0.635
15 S.REDDING GBR OCTO Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'48.111 at 0.746
16 A.ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'48.129 at 0.764
17 J.MILLER AUS EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'48.664 to 1.195
18 T.RABAT SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1 to 48.664
19 L.BAZ FRA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'48.751 to 1.386
20 S.LOWES GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'48.842 to 1.477
21 K.ABRAHAM CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team DUCATI 6 1'48.925 to 1.560
22 P.ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'49.524 at 2.159
23 B.SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'49.640 to 2.275
24 S.GUINTOLI FRA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'50.054 to 2.689
Learn more at https://www.paddock-gp.com/italiangp-jorge-lorenzo-manque-de-quelque-chose-pouvoir-piloter-plus-de-confiance/#vlMTRUo1tbFKhrvg.99
