Currently sixth in the provisional World Championship standings with 117 points, Johann is not directly threatened for the place of best rookie, with his only direct opponent, his teammate in the Tech 3 team Jonas Folger totaling 84 points. Be careful, however, in the general classification, to Jorge Lorenzo who is in ascending form and holds seventh place with 106 points.
Danilo Petruccii (eighth with 95 points) and Cal Crutchlow (ninth with 92) are also threats for Zarco, but the Italian only finished twentieth in the last Grand Prix, which the Briton did not finish. Johann ranked ninth, after qualifying eleventh.
During the first 7 Grands Prix of this season, Johann finished in the top 5 5 times. During the last 7 GPs, he was only able to finish once in the top 5. This is logical, because the factory prototypes required a certain period of development, several of their drivers a little learning (including Lorenzo), and these cutting-edge motorcycles now benefit from development that satellite motorcycles do not receive (see Hervé Poncharal's comments on this subject here).
Johann raced for the first time at Motegi in 125cc in 2009 (retirement), before progressing there in 2010 (tenth) and winning in 2011. In Moto2, he went from eighth place in 2012 to fourth in 2014, then winning in 2015 and finishing second in 2016. We can therefore say that overall the Twin Ring Motegi circuit is smiling on Zarco, and we can logically hope for a good performance from him for his first participation in the Grand Prix of Japan in the MotoGP category.
According to Johann zarco, who are " As the Motegi race draws closer, I'm feeling good after spending two positive weeks at home, where I've gathered the energy I need for the Japanese GP. »
“It's a circuit that I like and whose turns are well made, and where there are also areas of heavy braking. I have good memories of Motegi because I won my first race there in the 125cc category and I also won the Moto3 World Championship there in 2.”
“I think I can be fast on this track with the Yamaha, but the team and I have to work hard. I think we will start with a solid base because we have a lot of references from the factory team. »
“Then I aim to give as much as possible and I really hope I can stay with the leading group. I would like to fight among the top five, and why not get on the podium? It would be great to achieve this in Japan. »
According to Hervé Poncharal, head of the Tech 3 team, “The next round is the Japanese Grand Prix at the Motegi circuit. It's always a special event and located far away, but very picturesque and charming. It's a great pleasure to race there, and the facilities are fantastic. Tech3 has been a Yamaha team for almost 20 years, so it means a lot to be going to our manufacturers' home Grand Prix. We have many friends within the Yamaha group who have been with us in the past, and who support our team and our riders at every race. We will therefore be delighted, as always, to see so many friends from the factory and other places.
The fans are truly special and they often come with unique outfits to show their support! Additionally, people are very pleasant and polite when waiting to meet the drivers in the paddock.
The circuit is a track that our two boys love very much, but this is even more the case for Johann. His first ever Grand Prix victory in the 125cc class was at Motegi. We are excited because we have Sakura and many other Japanese partners working with us, which makes this round even more special. Additionally, this race is the first of the Overseas Triplet, and after this we will head to Australia and Malaysia, and so it is essential to do well in Japan and get a good dynamism for the next two.
Three races in a row, with quite long trips between them, means we're all expending a lot of energy. It's a very tiring but exciting journey, so let's start with Japan, with a good hope that we can achieve two great results to please the fans of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team who are great and always give us amazing support. »
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 224 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 208
3 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 196
4 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 170
5 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 168
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 117
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 106
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 95
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 92
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 84
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 70
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 56
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 56
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 53
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 39
16 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 37
17 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 37
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 28
19 Tito RABAT-Honda 28
20 Alex RINS-Suzuki 27
Photos © Tech 3
