After eight consecutive front rows (despite different circuits and weather) with a satellite bike and team, Johann Zarco qualified ninth at Mugello. For Laurent Fellon, his manager and friend, what is the reason?
“The reason is that the factories have worked a lot for Mugello, while Johann has a satellite motorcycle. Johann has the mentality and everything you need to win, but when after a while you can't win, it puts you in difficulty. We then end up sometimes tensing up on the bike and encountering problems.
“We have to accept that it’s a satellite motorcycle. You have to work with good humor and above all the joy of driving, in cohesion with the whole team. It's exceptionally hard, but he's still a human being and you have to know how to accept finishing in ninth place. It's normal. »
Johann said last Saturday after qualifying “ today I came back to old Zarco and it's not good ". What did that mean?
“I don’t think it has to do with old Zarco. If we note his progression from 0 to 20, we are in phase 17. At Le Mans, he was at 13-14. He got angry when he couldn't do what he wanted, but getting angry doesn't do anything. Wisdom brings everything, and the good thing is that he recognizes it for himself. That’s gigantic! But, it's human.
“You have to know how to accept that. We always see Johann in front, he is a human being who does his best with his motorcycle. We can get angry, but it's no use: we lose focus, we tense up on the bike and we can't deliver good comments to our technicians.
“And you should know that Mugello is a complex circuit, where Ducati worked well. The official Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki are good bikes. But Johann has a satellite motorcycle, compared for example to Crutchlow who has a factory. Johann found himself in agony, but you have to know how to stay calm at that moment.
“In 125 and Moto2 – which is already a high level – he recognized that he sometimes got angry and calmed down, which allowed him to progress well. »
The Mugello race started at a fiery pace, with those on soft tires wanting to take the opportunity to escape, and those on hard tires taking huge risks to avoid falling behind. Wasn't the large number of contacts in the first rounds excessive, as well as 6 falls in the first 2 rounds?
“We have reached this point in MotoGP as in Moto2, and it is very hard. For a while Johann raced the factory bikes with his team. Then we say that there was contact... yes, it's a motorcycle race. It's a great show because the drivers are great artists, from the first to the last. Artists who move quickly. Contacts are part of motorcycle racing. Marquez hustled, he did his job, I think we need to stop crying. The level in MotoGP is magnificent. »
Do you think that Johann had a difficult time at Le Mans and Mugello, but that his second time in the recent tests for the Barcelona GP should give him confidence for the next Catalan Grand Prix?
“I say that he did not encounter any difficulties. At Le Mans, he took pole. He tried to win, but when you try, sometimes you fall. Mugello was not negative. In Barcelona, you will especially have to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and not arrive believing that Johann will perhaps have difficulties. Maybe he will surprise everyone!
“He will arrive in Barcelona having learned from Mugello, because at Le Mans he set out to have a good race because he wanted to win. I think he's going to have a great race in Barcelona. I said at the start of the season that finishing fifth in the Championship would be fabulous. It would be better than last year, so the man would have grown. The goal was to have a second year to help the man grow, and what he did at the start of the year was still pretty fabulous. Fighting against the factories when you're at Tech 3 is magnificent. The goal is to stay calm and finish in the top five at the World Championship, as well as win races.
For the moment, Johann is 5th in the provisional standings of the World Championship, 8 points behind second Valentino Rossi. With 13 races remaining, does this allow us to maintain hope?
“Hope of winning, or finishing in the top 5 in the Championship?
Both.
“If Johann wins a race it will be fantastic, and I think he is capable of it. And if he continues to score points at every Grand Prix, he will finish in the top five. Look at Valentino, every race he is there, and even if he hasn't won a race, he is second in the Championship. Johann would have scored points at the French GP, he would be 3 or 4.”
Didn't it seem strange to you that Lorenzo announced his departure from Ducati just after his first victory on a Desmosedici at the Italian Grand Prix?
" No, I do not think so. I think what Lorenzo did was great. But the bike was very good already in Malaysia, when he broke the track record (editor's note: 1'58.830 on January 30, 2018, old Pedrosa record 1'59.053 in 2015). The bike was good. Afterwards, like any human being, we go in different directions because we believe that we will do better with what we have. Even multiple World Champion, we can not question ourselves. The Ducati was good. This will be a customer next year. But he did a good job with the Ducati and for that deserves a hat tip. »
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