Johann Zarco had a solid sprint race in Catalonia, but admits to being frustrated at seeing himself stagnate without any upgrades to his equipment.
After a positive first day riding his Honda which saw him automatically move into Q2, Johann zarco continued his winning ways this Saturday. Qualifying in seventh position, he got off to a good start and gained a place before making a mistake on the third lap, which cost him two. Overtaken by Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini, he found himself in eighth place and attacked by Luca Marini several times.
Taking advantage of Alex Márquez's fall from the lead, he climbed one position in the standings and managed to maintain his seventh place against the Italian until the checkered flag. Noting the progress of the official Honda team riders, who benefit from new features, zarco can only accept it and concentrate on himself, not without feeling a little annoyance, as he admitted.
"I'm very happy with the start because I got off to a good start. Bastianini took off like a bullet but I was able to overtake him at Turn 4. On the first lap I was really quick in action and I even felt faster than Di Giannantonio. But at one point, when they found their rhythm with Acosta, I couldn't keep up. It's hard because I would have liked to stay with them but I made a mistake at Turn 10 and the [two] KTMs passed me.", he debriefed at the microphone of Canal +.
"Afterwards, I wasn't able to stay with them, I also had to keep Marini [behind] because he was doing well and he was following me. He even attacked me and in the end he overtook me twice but each time he was too fast and too focused in the corner so I managed to cut back. I'm happy because it's worth points, but it really annoys me. We're doing the job, we're starting well, we're doing decent qualifying and then I actually have to watch them go, and that annoys me."
"My mistake made me lose time. They might not have overtaken me straight away, but they have more engine power, so I think they would have passed me, and probably in a way where we would have fought a bit. In the end, I don't think finishing in front of them would have been feasible. I made it easier for them by missing the corner, but they would have been hard to contain because even at the end, all three of them were fighting, and that allowed me to stay close, but I was never able to catch up with them and see if I had a chance.", continued Johann zarco.
“It really pissed me off not being able to get away from Marini, especially on this track where I'm usually very fast. It was tough, I couldn't go faster than him. I tell myself that maybe with a bit better [in terms of material, editor's note] I could have stayed with the KTMs and fought for a top 5, but that's where you have to still enjoy the moment because they're still great races. I'm trying to take all the sensations I can to progress."
Results of the sprint race of the Catalan Grand Prix :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
