On this Friday, October 16, Johann zarco answered questions from journalists from the Motorland Aragón circuit at the end of the first day of the Aragon Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French pilot.
As usual, we report here the words of Johann zarco without the slightest formatting, even if the first part is translated from English (vouvoiement).
Johann zarco : " Tough day, because two falls! Two falls due to the cold, so it's no fun! The first, as soon as we try to take logical steps to go faster, well I fell. And there, on the second, the afternoon was much better because there were better track temperatures which allowed me to be in a better rhythm and to be happy to see that I managed to take this rhythm correctly . I was pretty careful and I didn't feel like I was using too much of an angle, but even if you're careful you still fall, so you break equipment and risk hurting yourself, because I was fine shaken. It annoys me a little because it's hard to work in these conditions, knowing that I still need to go through stages! But there, clearly, we are far from being able to do real work on the pilot, because as soon as we try to pass a few limits, it's too close to falling. And it falls! There you go, I'm a little annoyed by all these conditions, because I don't enjoy falling. This afternoon was the session to get into the top 10, because I think that tomorrow morning it won't be possible to do better than 48.8 to get into the top 10. So we'll have to go through Q1, which which is not extremely annoying and can almost do one more training session to have a good Q2 and a good qualifying. But we are in difficulty. It's true that I'm not the only Ducati because as long as we can't really get the tires up to temperature and the track conditions are too limited, we seem to suffer more than the Yamahas. This is interesting information that Ducati is working on to get better, especially next year. There you go, a short day, and not on target, because of the fall. »
Early crash for @JohannZarco1! 💢
The @esponsoramagp rider is the first to fall victim to the cool conditions! 😲#AragonGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/e1tuAoKyHO
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 16, 2020
Dovizioso said that with the Ducati it was difficult to get back on the throttle at the start of acceleration. Is this something that also bothers you on GP 19?
« Yes. Either way, I don't think that first full-angle acceleration is the Ducati's strong point, and, whether in good or bad conditions, that's often its limit while it has a fantastic front end on which we can do a lot of things. But there, the problem is that we can't use our front at all, because if we brake a little harder, we fall. It limits a lot and for the 2019-2020 season, I think it's a bit of the DNA of motorcycling. Apparently, depending on the tires, that can solve the problem, but it's up to us to find out how to do better with these tires. »
You were still first Ducati rider for most of the day…
« Yes, and that's the positive thing about today, because even though I fell, I didn't go far. There is Álex Márquez who improved in the last lap and took me to 11th, so a shame. This is the positive that we can come out with, but I feel that we are far from what the Ducati can do, even on this circuit. »
If no one can improve tomorrow morning, all the Ducatis will be in Q1. Do you think you will receive instructions in favor of the officials?
« I don't know. On this track, Dovi is very consistent, so he can gain a lot of position in the race, because he is very smart for that. I now have to carefully analyze these two falls and try to make my neck feel better, because it is painful following the fall. It is true that at the moment I am the fastest Ducati, but if Ducati asks, I will be happy to help Dovi, because it would be good, if I could do it. But clearly, the six Ducatis are outside the top 10 and there are only two places in Q2 (laughs) »
Can you tell us what problems Ducati encountered in these conditions?
« I think the track temperatures mean that we can't use our front axle well and that we can't attack our front tire, which is usually the Ducati's strong point. If we start to attack a little too much on it, we can fall. You don't feel anything, and if you try to gain time in the corners, you experience sliding, which is normal with this bike. Clearly, we are losing too much on our strengths. »
MotoGP Aragón Grand Prix FP3 standings:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
