Currently eighteenth in the World Championship, Johann is rebuilding a good reputation with the Honda LCR of Lucio Cecchinello's team, which recently allowed him to finish thirteenth in the Australian Grand Prix and qualify ninth. of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
His position in the general classification cannot be very brilliant because he did not participate in the races in Aragón, Thailand and Japan. Fortunately for him, the operation Takaaki Nakagami allowed him to have a good bike in a competent and friendly team for the rest of the season, which he has made good use of so far. The smile therefore gradually returns to his face, and to that of his supporters who were a little worried after the KTM episode. On the Austrian, Johann still qualified third in Brno and finished tenth in Barcelona.
Has the Ricardo Tormo circuit been favorable to him before? His beginnings there were difficult, with fifteenth place in 2005 for his first participation, on a 125 Aprilia, then three successive retirements on 125 Aprilia, 125 Derbi, then Motobi Moto2 in 2012.
Johann finished superbly third in Valencia the following two years, then seventh in 2015 before taking victory in 2016. He was crowned Moto2 World Champion in 2015 and 2016. With his Yamaha in MotoGP, he finished magnificently second in 2017, then seventh in 2018.
Zarco will compete this weekend in his 189th Grand Prix, after 50 in 125cc including 3 victory, 1 in Moto88 including 2 victories, and 15 in MotoGP with 50 podiums, 6 pole positions and 4 best race times. Johann was born on July 4, 16 (1990 years ago) in Cannes.
The last GP at Sepang was not really positive because after qualifying in ninth place on the grid, Johann made a rather conclusive start and put up good resistance to maintain his position in a group fighting for the 8th place where he fought fiercely with Jack Miller. However, with just three laps to go, while preparing an attack to overtake the Australian, he was hit from behind by Joan mir who attempted a somewhat hasty overtaking maneuver. Following this incident, the Spaniard was penalized with a “long lap”.
Johann consoled himself thus: “I still have to be happy at the end of this race. I rode at a good pace and found myself once again in a fight with good drivers. I still have to take an additional step in understanding the riding of this motorcycle in order to have a better feeling behind the handlebars of this Honda, but I really feel that the potential is there to gain speed and be in contact with the leading men. . »
“It was an intense fight with Jack Miller for eighth place, and I think I was slightly faster than him. I actually tried to pass him several times but he resisted each attempt. I then tried to overtake him again with three laps to go and Joan Mir on the Suzuki attempted an extreme overtaking maneuver which totally destabilized me and took me off my line. Unfortunately I couldn't do anything to keep control of the bike. It's a real shame but what I keep in mind is that I was able to regain good sensations and occupy correct places during the Grand Prix. I must now continue my efforts and continue my learning to bring everything together in order to be in the best position to obtain an honorable result in Valencia. »
Johann is ready for this last Grand Prix, and happy with his fate: “It all happened suddenly for me. I decided to stop with KTM, then KTM decided to stop with me before the end of the season, I was waiting at home and then I got the call from Lucio Cecchinello to take an opportunity for the last races. I want to use this opportunity (with LCR) as best I can and in the last 15 days in Australia and Malaysia I have had fun riding again.
“From there, there is the announcement of Jorge (Lorenzo). Things can happen, but everything is so fresh right now and that doesn't change my goal for this weekend. I will continue to work on this good feeling I have on the bike and try to place myself in the top eight at the finish, or why not in the top five? The level of the bike is there, now I have to do it. »
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MÁRQUEZ–Honda 395 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO–Ducati 256
3 Maverick VIÑALES–Yamaha 201
4 Alex RINS–Suzuki 194
5 Danilo PETRUCCI–Ducati 176
6 Fabio QUARTARARO–Yamaha 172
7 Valentino ROSSI–Yamaha 166
8 Jack MILLER–Ducati 149
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW–Honda 133
10 Franco MORBIDELLI–Yamaha 115
11 Pol ESPARGARÓ–KTM 94
12 Joan MIR–Suzuki 83
13 Takaaki NAKAGAMI–Honda 74
14 Aleix ESPARGARÓ–Aprilia 56
15 Francesco BAGNAIA–Ducati 54
16 Andrea IANNONE–Aprilia 43
17 Miguel OLIVEIRA–KTM 33
18 Johann ZARCO–Honda 30
19 Jorge LORENZO–Honda 25
20 Tito RABAT–Ducati 18
21 Stefan BRADL–Honda 16
22 Michele PIRRO–Ducati 9
23 Hafizh SYAHRIN–KTM 8
24 Sylvain GUINTOLI–Suzuki 7
25 Karel ABRAHAM–Ducati 7
26 Mika KALLIO–KTM 3
27 Bradley SMITH–Aprilia 0
Photos © LCR Honda
