This Thursday, September 30, 2021, John Zarco answered questions from journalists from the Circuit of the Americas, ahead of the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver who is still in 4th place in the championship despite a difficult race at Misano.
As usual, we report here the words of John Zarco without the slightest formatting, even if it is partially translated (vouvoiement in English, tutoiement in French).
Johann zarco : " Everything is fine ! The energy is very good, and the arm, after the operation, is recovering very well. I'm pretty happy and surprised with how he's recovering, although the real test will be on the bike. I'm not doing very particular things at the moment, because it's better to wait for the right day to push on it, but simply the feeling and the pain are really good: Everything is fine on this side! The journey to get here also went well for me. I came a day early to acclimatize to the time difference, even if it is easier to adapt in the Europe–United States direction. I was able to get a good night's sleep, which means the body is ready. This afternoon I will go and see the track because I have heard that there are a few areas resurfaced, but perhaps not in the right place: I have heard various things and so I have to go there this afternoon to check for myself. But for me, it's still a very big track where we have to do everything like every weekend, and I hope everything goes well this weekend. »
During the test in Misano you only rode for one day but you tried a new chassis or new chassis parts. What can you tell us?
« I don't know ! I just tested it and gave feedback, but I didn't want to know if I was going to use this in future races. I had a difficult Sunday with not an easy feeling, so it was more of a test to play on the bike and find things in the settings, although we also tried things regarding the chassis. That's why I really had a free mind and let all the technicians handle this stuff. But the test went pretty well: I tried to drive well then I took the car to go home around 17 p.m. »
Was it a new chassis or had it already been tried by other drivers?
« I don't know ! It's always a mixture of things. Like I said, I knew I had two different bikes but I didn't try to find out what the differences were technically. »
Do you think your surgery may have a reset effect on your performance?
« I hope so, yes! I hope so. Clearly, I don't take this as an excuse for my drop in performance, but the last two races have been really strange. We were missing something: It could be small but seem very big, or big could be much improved with small changes, in short it was complicated and I even wondered if, knowing about the arm problem, the body didn't want to give 100% of his abilities even if I wanted to fight. As if the body goes into safety mode. So I had a few little questions about that and I really tried during my training at home to feel this energy 100%. But it was a physical problem which is now solved, and this will be able to solve all the other things. »
So everything is fine with your arm. You don't have any negative feelings at this level?
« No. Everything is fine. The recovery is done correctly and we will see the behavior tomorrow during the first efforts. But it works well. I took anti-inflammatories for the first three days to deflate a little, because after the operation it's always a little swollen, but I haven't taken them since last Saturday and the arm is doing well. »
Do you already have a goal for the weekend, or are you waiting until tomorrow to have a first idea based on your arm?
« It would be a shame to fix too many things with positions. We know that the positions on the podium are those that make you happiest, the top 5 are still positive results and depending on the difficulty a top 10 can always be interesting: Beyond the top 10, it's bad. So I don't want to say what I would like to aim for, because that's natural for a pilot. I can't say a place. Doing your best, giving your all and feeling that you really were able to give everything and that the final place is rewarded, then that's the ideal! »
France has never been at such a high level in MotoGP. Do you explain this by the pilots, Fabio and you, or by a sector that is being set up?
« This is too long a subject to develop! Either you have to reduce it to a sentence, or you have to expand on too many things, because I'm not young and I know a little more and I was able to analyze a little more what can be done. Concerning the sector, what I can say is that the federation is not going to or does not want to miss the mark of having two drivers at the top of the bill in the best of the categories. And if this lasts for at least a few years, the sector can be built more easily because there are two leaders who serve as locomotives. As there was a lack of locomotives, perhaps the lines were more complicated. At the motorcycle level in France, many countries envy us in off-road, and we in France envy Italy and Spain for speed. It's a bit like that, actually. »
You are left-handed: do you prefer to turn left or right?
« Being left-handed doesn't help me. I was good at left turns when I was between 15 and 18 years old because I always drove to Lédenon and it turned left. Now, with time, I'm perhaps a little more comfortable on the right turns and sometimes I'm a little lacking on the turns, although it varies over time. But being left-handed doesn't give me any advantage. Olivier Jacque said that it helps with starts, but since I've never done a holeshot I have a hard time knowing if it works or not (laughs). »
