This Saturday, June 18, 2022, Johann zarco answered questions from journalists from the Sachsenring circuit at the end of the second day of the German Grand Prix.
Fourth in the championship, within striking distance of third position, the French driver started his German weekend like his current performances: very solid!
As usual, we report here the words of Johann zarco without the slightest formatting, even if it is partially translated (vouvoiement in English, tutoiement in French).
Johann, the conditions were very difficult, and perhaps will be even more difficult tomorrow. You must be happy to be starting from the front line…
John Zarco : " Very happy ! Above all because during the second outing with the second new tire, I was able to give an extra push and set a good time. So I was happy about that, because having done it alone was much better, while of course following someone helps. So it's very good for tomorrow. I struggled a bit in FP4: on Friday, we started well but, in trying to find something better, we took a bit of a step backwards. So we knew what worked well and I hope I feel good tomorrow during the warm up to prepare for this race, because Pecco and Fabio have a better pace than me. Maybe Aleix is stronger too but if I can stay with them and figure things out, maybe I could enjoy the race. »
With high temperatures and left turns, you'll have to manage the tires: does that worry you?
« Mmmmm… This might not be the hardest. Checking the tire, yes, and the heat clearly doesn't help, but physically there are other circuits which are more difficult and much more physically demanding. This one, if you feel good, you can control. So we'll see tomorrow but I don't really know how the others control tire wear, and that's why starting from the front row is already a big step forward. »
What will be the biggest challenge tomorrow?
« I think, the last 10 rounds! This might be the hardest part: if you're feeling good, then you're enjoying it and you might be able to think of a really good position, but if you start to struggle at this point, the last 10 laps become very long! I think that will be the key point.
»
Can you tell us what subject was discussed in the security committee?
« Yes, this was the main subject that we (Nakagami) discussed in the safety committee because we do not take this incident as a racing incident, but rather as irresponsible driving since Taka was not really able to control the first braking , because he had a great start and arrived very quickly. Watching the video, we all agree among the drivers that maybe he could have controlled a little better. Then there were discussions regarding the red flag (which could have been put up at the end of the first lap since Takaaki Nakagami was still in the gravel trap when the drivers returned to turn 1), we were not all agreed but we discussed it because Taka was still in the gravel after the first lap. So we started the second lap again in a big group, and arriving at 350 km/h, we thought that if he was still there there could have been a red flag, or why did it take so long to evacuate it, even if there were three drivers in the gravel and it was complicated for the marshals to move everything quickly. We just talked about what could be best in a similar situation in the future. »
Results of Qualifying 2 of the MotoGP German Grand Prix at Sachsenring:
Results of Qualifying 1 of the MotoGP German Grand Prix at Sachsenring:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
