The 2018 Americas Grand Prix pre-event press conference welcomed Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Johann Zarco, Maverick Vinales, Jack Miller and Alex Rins.
As usual, we report here our translation of the entirety of the words of Johann zarco, without any journalistic formatting or distortion.
In Argentina, you obtained your 4th podium in MotoGP, and even if you are still missing a victory, it is already good to obtain a new podium in the 2nd race.
Johann Zarco: “It’s pretty good to get it in the second race. Above all, this podium was close to victory, and on the last lap I was very close to Cal and I was wondering what I could do to win the race. But it was difficult, so finishing 2nd was the best solution. It also makes me happy to be 3rd in the championship. We're only in the 2nd race and so much can happen, but it's a good position and also a good way to confirm that the Qatar race was a good race. It gives me confidence even here in Austin, and even knowing that Marc is very strong, why not keep dreaming, be fast and hope to fight in the lead.”
Do you think you can fight for the podium here?
" I hope so. I don't know if I think so but I hope I will fight for the podium. With now a year of experience in MotoGP, I understand the bike much better and I can also analyze the track better. Austin is a very difficult circuit, but very interesting. This is the one where there are the most turns, 20 turns, and in the first sector there are so many changes of direction before strong braking in sector 2 and fast turns in the last. So it's very good to talk with the technicians, but I can't find the solution with the bike before the first tests. But we can try to find a way to work during the weekend. I don't just mean I could fight for the podium, because like Cal (Crutchlow) said, when you come to race, you're trying to get to victory, and I think I have to have that mentality before the weekend. Then we'll see where I stand during testing, but why Márquez is so strong here, I don't know yet and I'd like to figure it out this weekend.”
Tomorrow there will be a lot of discussions in the security committee. Do you think the boundaries are clear enough?
“The race in Argentina was very special. What we can talk about in the safety commission, like changing the rules, I don't know. We could talk about the penalties to be given but it always depends on how you analyze the action. From one rider to another, they will not have the same penalties and I think that this will last throughout life, and not just for motorcycles, but for life in general. "So you have to compete in a good way but we have to accept that it's a fight and then we have to keep that fight within certain limits, but sometimes things can happen and we have to control them."
André Dovizioso said that the championship was going to be very different this year, and we can see it since the 3 leaders are very different from last year. You are now 3rd with 28 points whereas last year you arrived here with 11 points. Does this change your expectations for the championship?
“Last year I finished the season in a very good way, and the expectations for this season were to keep the same speed, which means to be on the podium, and to qualify on the front row for give myself a chance to be on the podium and get the victory. At the moment I have this speed so I am perfectly within my expectations and I am very happy with that. Just being 3rd in the championship, and when you see the problems that can happen to factory drivers, you see that anything can happen, so that gives me hope to continue fighting for victory. And I think with that in mind, at the end of the season I can have a surprise championship and a fantastic position.”
There was a big bazaar in Argentina. The responsibility fell to the race management even though the regulations are clear. Do you think it's time to make some changes in race direction?
“Changing things in the race direction, I don’t know. We touch on 2 gods. We have Vale who is the first god, and now Marc is becoming another god because he's doing amazing things. He received a penalty and scored no points in the race in Argentina, which was arguably the worst prize for him in that race. But if we look back at 2015 in Malaysia, of course it was a strange race, but Vale kicked Marc. What was the sanction? Casey Stoner said that normally he should have had a black flag, but he finished the race, I think on the podium. Then they found a political solution by making him start from last place in Valencia, but knowing his speed, for sure he finished 4th.
So…it’s hard to say. It is the drivers who must talk to each other and find the solution together. We have someone who can tell us what to do, but then we are free to decide. I just think we need to control that. We have good guys in race management and they do their best for everyone. We therefore cannot change them. They do a great job with security, circuits and everything else. Afterwards, it is about our safety when we fight together, and we must debate it among ourselves.”
Do you think that the tension that there was in Argentina could affect you, or change the races and the championship?
“Personally, it doesn’t affect me. Of course, when you get home, even your friends say “wow, that was a wild ride!” ". But I really hope that this will not bring negative things to our championship. I think it's a difficult situation that these drivers are going through now because it gives us the opportunity, the other drivers, to achieve victories and advance a little further in the championship. So we almost have to see it as a positive thing for us.”
This weekend, Randy Mamola will become a MotoGP legend. He is also known for his spectacular catches. Do you remember a particularly spectacular catch, for yourself or another driver?
“I have known Randy very well since last year. I haven't watched him in a very long time, but I would say it's not fair that he can become a legend because he hasn't been champion in the best category. So that means other legends' world titles don't count for much. "He has this passion for motorcycling and he's committed to making the sport good, but we're elevating him to legend status, which means the other guys' titles don't count."
Social media question: Do you give your motorcycles nicknames, and if so, what names?
“I thought about giving my two motorcycles little names, but which names should I choose? They would be women's names but if I gave a name other than my girlfriend's, she might be jealous. So it's better to just have bike number 2 and bike number 1.
But sometimes you have such an incredible feeling that you want to nickname your bikes, saying “come on honey, let’s go do this race and fight”
(laughs)”.
Cal Crutchlow: But if you have a bad race, you call him “dirty bitch” (laughs)?
“There are always pros and cons, so it’s better to keep bike #1 and bike #2 (laughs).”
Photo credits: MotoGP.com
