On Thursday, August 20, Johann Zarco answered questions from journalists from Spielberg as a prelude to the Styrian Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the French pilot's comments.
As usual, we report here the words of Johann zarco without the slightest formatting.
As usual, Johann Zarco first spoke in English : " I don't really have anything special to say now. The operation went well and the rule is to wait 48 hours before having a medical check-up. I'll get it tomorrow, which means I won't get on the bike. It's quite logical because, 24 hours later, I feel better but I'm not ready to ride. We'll see if I'm declared OK for Saturday, but I hope so. It clearly won't be perfect yet but enough to get on the bike and do some laps. I will have to pay attention to my wrist for the next two weeks. We had the meeting with the stewards (FIM MotoGP) and I was really able to explain how I experienced the accident and everything I had done before to overtake Morbidelli. I explained everything well and we provided the evidence with the data. They told me they were waiting for Franco's comments and that he will issue a judgment. In my opinion, there will be no penalty because I didn't do anything crazy. I explained correctly that nothing crazy had happened and I hope they understood that, since they just listened to me without really answering me. We will see what the decision will be and it can come quickly because they are currently talking to Franco. So I can't tell you much else about this situation. »
« Tomorrow, missing the sessions is not a big tragedy because we already have all the references from last week, and it is therefore an advantage to be on the same circuit again. The Ducati are fast here, so with their references I am fast and I have a good pace. If I feel good and I can ride, I think I can position myself well on Saturday and Sunday. So it's not a big tragedy to miss Friday. »
How difficult will it be to find those who criticized you this week on the track?
« I know a lot of criticism has been made against me this week but I have been very busy organizing my wrist operation and I haven't spent my time on social media, also because I didn't have enough strength to devote to responding to these criticisms. I really had to wait until today's meeting before I could be clear on what happened. Among the drivers who said I did something wrong, the first were Franco and Valentino, and I went to see them directly. For me, this was important. Maybe I'm naive and shouldn't have done this, but for me, at least, things are clear. »
« If there are other drivers who think like that, they will never try to do something on the track, like pushing or creating an accident. We are very focused on our bikes and I don't think anything will happen. I haven't thought about it, but in my opinion nothing will change and we will keep the same objectives. That we are close to each other, even if they wanted to punish me because they think I should be punished, they can't do anything crazy. We can't think that way on the motorcycle, because if you want to do something you will fall yourself. That's why this idea that I was able to brake voluntarily in front of Franco is crazy, because that was also a problem for me. That's why if someone thinks I'm dangerous and wants to do something, they won't be able to do it on the bike: it's too difficult and too dangerous. »
Aren't you afraid of becoming the black sheep of the paddock?
« It's easier to put all your anger on a person who, at the moment, doesn't have all your power. I'm coming back from a difficult season, I'm regaining and building my confidence after all the problems I had in racing and in my life during a year. So it is not easy to return to the top of the mountain. So I think things get easier if you find someone to put all your bad energy on one person. I'm not surprised, because I'm too nice anyway, and that's why it's easy to attack like that. »
« When there was the crash in Australia, some people said it was my fault. But when I saw the images, I was only behind Jack, and Marc, who didn't want to overtake Jack, moved to the left. And at that speed, and even though I had already braked before, and we saw in the images that I had raised my head and was trying to brake, I completely flew away when he came back into my path. So this is only my second fall at this speed, and people say I'm always the one in critical situations. I will answer “shit, I'm also unlucky” because, this time, it's me who is in front and it's Morbidelli who touches me from behind. And fortunately we have no injuries. Falling at this speed is not fun, even for me, because I suffered: it was difficult to get up, I had to catch my breath and check if everything seemed OK. Then I went to see Franco and my first sentence towards him was “where are you hurt?” ". I asked him if I could help him but he was in shock and replied “It’s okay, it’s okay!” ". Maybe people thought I went to him to apologize, but no, it was to see if I could help him or say something to the commissioners because I was the first one to stand near of him, suffering but standing, trying to help a friend. But people don't see it like that and that's why I say I'm too nice sometimes. Maybe at this point I should have already thought about attacking thinking he was going to attack me, but I can't think that way. »
Did you mention the accident at Phillip Island to the FIM MotoGP stewards?
« We didn't talk about this fall with the commissioners today but we talked about the fact that at 300 km/h, there is an aspiration which can sometimes surprise you. You really feel sucked in. We know it but it still surprises us. When you're too close, it's very tricky to manage. »
What does the medical test consist of?
« So far I haven't done anything, because they told me I had to wait 48 hours before the check, when I went. So we didn't do anything today, but it makes sense because with anesthesia you have to wait 48 hours after the surgical operation. That's why I will take the medical check tomorrow at 16 p.m., and I will see if I am fit. »
Did you have full anesthesia for your operation?
« Tuesday afternoon I went to Modena and slept. Then I went to the clinic on Wednesday morning and it took a long time because I had to take the Covid-19 test first. Even though they did it as quickly as possible, I had to wait for the results on Wednesday afternoon before he could perform the operation. I only had anesthesia on my right arm, and as I was very calm, I fell asleep during the operation. So it was almost like a general anesthesia because I slept, whereas they had only anesthetized the arm »
Johann Zarco then spoke in Spanish and Italian to declare, among other things, that a possible penalty would be “absurd” and that, in this case, he would appeal.
We then moved on to questions in French…
Are you mentally hurt by the criticism you have received since last Sunday?
« It's important if you pay a lot of attention to it, but as I was rather busy treating my hand and organizing the operation, I remained quite distant from anything harmful. I still drove 5 hours in one direction and 30 hours in the other. It was my brother who drove but I hardly looked at social networks: You could see that I only made a post to simply announce that my operation had gone well. So I was in more physical pain than mental pain. It's not fun to hear all these bad words, but not so much that it destroys me. How are you. »
Have you had any testimonials of support, from pilots or others?
« Yes, I had a few messages of support telling me not to worry and that there were a lot of people with me. I won't say who in particular. On the other hand, I think that Agostini's testimony in the newspapers was important, at least for Italy, because Valentino has a lot of weight in Italy but Agostini still remains an image. It allowed you to have a much more neutral point of view. A friend also referred me to Jean-Michel Baye's analysis. I thanked him, not only for the people on social networks but also for me personally: It was good to have a very technical analysis, as Jean-Michel knows how to do. It's certain that he has less weight than Valentino Rossi and a lot of media in Italy, but he still remains a figure in motorcycling. So there was also a lot of positive support, and that's why I was able to stay well. How are you. The most important thing was to be able to clarify today, because if the decision of the stewards goes towards a racing incident, with a lot of speed and fear, it is worth thinking about what we can do to prevent it from happening again at this turn. On circuits with big, fast turns, like Australia where I crashed at 300, there were no consequences like there could have been here in Austria. »
Have you ever had a scaphoid injury?
« No, it's a first. First operation and first screw in the body. Honestly, even if I had had a medical check-up, and perhaps out of pride in holding out the pain and doing all the tests, I don't even know if I would have been capable of it. At times, leaning on the handlebars hurts, so don't expect miracles 24 hours later. That's why it's good to have the test tomorrow. We'll see what happens after 48 hours, but I think it will be more difficult to be able to brake consistently hard on each lap. But I still want to be able to try and do a few fast laps to, at least, qualify, because if the race happens in the rain, even if you start last, that changes the situation. Because all those painful efforts are greatly reduced in the rain. If you want to brake very hard in the rain, you no longer have grip problems, even before the physical problems. This could be a chance to race and score points. On the race side, I am therefore present to seize an opportunity to qualify, and if it rains on Sunday, to do a race where I have the possibility of not losing too many points. »
Do you plan to talk to people at Ducati this weekend or in the next few days, now that we know Dovizioso is leaving?
« There is the side of the pilot and the side of the one who prepares things a little, because even if I am supported by a lot of people around me, I don't have a manager who does it for me. I have already anticipated discussions and it is rather positive. Dovizioso's withdrawal really allows us to almost confirm that there is a place for next year. Then, clearly, where? This is where Ducati needs time but the percentage of racing next year has increased: it has gone from 20 to 90%. My goal is to stay with Ducati because they put me back on track and allowed me to regain my confidence. When things went well, there was a pole and a podium, so that's what I want to experience and I want to experience it with them. »
