Fifth this morning, a full second behind the astonishing Takaaki Nakagami, then fifth this afternoon, half a second behind Jonas Folger, Johann Zarco finally finds himself seventh in the combined rankings for this first day.
The mystery of the morning gaps was resolved during the day since a new, softer tire had been used by some drivers during FP1, but not by the French driver.
This was done in the afternoon during his second run, which allowed representative Ajo to be on par with all his competitors... except Jonas Folger, unbeatable in FP2.
Johann Zarco, however, complains of a lack of grip, undoubtedly due more to the track surface itself than to his bike.
Johann zarco: “We have a new compound for this race to which everyone seems to have adapted well. I think we did a good job on the bike, whether in FP1 or FP2. The sensations are good and I just have to continue to attack to feel the limit and prepare well for the race. Like last year, grip is often a problem here, and we want to continue working on this tomorrow, to maintain the feeling of confidence on the bike, as we progress step by step. I want to work a little more on the last sector, because if I am a little more comfortable there, I think I can be among the fastest riders more regularly. »
