MotoGP Italy J2, Debriefing Johann Zarco (Ducati/3): “I couldn’t stay in the box”, etc. (Entirety)

On this Saturday, May 29, 2021, Johann zarco answered questions from journalists from the Mugello circuit at the end of the second day of the Italian Grand Prix.

We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver who currently occupies 3nd place in the championship.

As usual, we report here the words of Johann zarco without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English in the first part (vouvoiement).

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Johann, it hasn't necessarily been an easy weekend so far for the Pramac team, and you struggled a bit in FP4, but you must be delighted to be on the front row?

Johann zarco : " It was quite difficult yesterday afternoon and the challenge was to find solutions today in order to be quick. This morning I was happy to have made very good progress, and it seems that when the temperatures are a little cooler I have a much better feeling than during the afternoon. It's true that in FP4 I didn't have a very high pace and so it wasn't a very great performance and the tire was very worn, and when it's already difficult, it gets slightly worse each time . So it wasn't easy to understand how much the high tire temperatures were causing me problems or if it was coming from the worn tire, but I did some laps to get some feeling. Then, during qualifying, in the last run, it was very important to catch the train led by Pecco and I got this good lap behind Jack, so I would say I was a little lucky this afternoon. But being able to use the potential of the Ducati here makes me very happy because it's important. »

How important will the warm up be tomorrow morning? You already mentioned that you might have some adjustments to make there before the race…

« It's possible because with the good work we did between yesterday and today, I don't expect a huge step forward between today and tomorrow but we still have some areas where we can try things . We also tried some things today and we may need confirmation during the warm up if the conditions are good enough to try them. »

 

 

Yesterday you were in difficulty in the third sector. What have you found to make so much progress today?

« Yes, I struggled yesterday in the third sector but even today we can see that we are still missing something. I would say that in the very fast corners, Arrabiata 1 and Arrabiata 2, make things difficult, as does turn #12. But the good step forward that I was able to take this morning helped me in this sector and also almost everywhere. There's the straight, and in sector 1 and sector 2 there are a lot of very similar direction changes, and when you can get the bike in the right position it ultimately helps you through almost every corner. I think we reached that kind of milestone today and we'll see tomorrow if I can find a little more comfort everywhere to have more chances during the race. »

When there is an accident like today and we show the images, what is your strategy in the face of this? Would you like us to show less images?

« When I concentrated just before FP4 and went into the box to prepare for the session, I saw that it was delayed and I couldn't stay in the box, because when you don't can't see the replay, that means there's probably a problem. It was very long, even until the helicopter arrived, so I got out of the box and stayed in my truck, either outside or inside with the air conditioning. I worked a bit to get ready for my session trying not to stare too much and not be too heartbroken by it. It always gives a strange feeling and afterwards you have to ride our motorbike as if nothing had happened. It's really hard to see that and maybe as I get older it gets worse for me. This bothers me a lot, so I then have to work to be ready for my session. »

Did you get to see what happened between Maverick Viñales and Marc Márquez, and what do you think?

«  I was able to see it and we can see it more in Moto3 because qualifying is very important there. Here at Mugello you need more of a reference, and we know that Marc may be struggling a bit over the last two or three weekends. So he needs that and definitely he pushed Maverick to the limit. And I would say that in the end he succeeded because he qualified and Maverick didn't. It's the dark side of our sport but if you can't play like that, you're not at the level. We try to be as clean as possible but sometimes you can't be totally clean because you have to perform. Maverick was almost too clean as he stayed in front. He tried to slow down but Marc was stronger, saying “no, I’m staying behind”. Like I said, that's the dark side of the situation, but by the time they slowed down, they didn't bother any other drivers so I don't think we can give a penalty. It's like that. I think in MotoGP it's more difficult to wait for a long time because the tires get cold and if you wait too long you can crash at the next corner if you start to attack. You need to have some confidence or take big risks to use this kind of strategy. »

 

 

Did you have time to learn anything from following Jack Miller?

« At this point, being behind Jack and attacking as much as possible, it's hard to say if you're really learning anything, but at least you're using your bike's potential well. This evening, I will have to analyze the data well, and that is the advantage at Ducati: We can share the data together. It will be interesting to analyze the last lap, between Pecco, Jack and me, because I saw things and I need to confirm them with the data. »

Are you bothered by the rubber left by Moto2 on Sunday?

« I would say exactly the same thing as Pecco explained: It's funny to sometimes see the black mark left by the Michelins, then after the Moto2 it becomes white again. You can feel it with any motorcycle: I don't think you feel it more with a Yamaha than a Ducati. We'll see tomorrow because it's true that we don't have this kind of situation during testing. One year, when we complained about this a lot, we had a few Moto3, Moto2 then MotoGP sessions to have the same conditions as during the race. Then they changed again. There are a few circuits where it is not as disturbing. Here, Fabio thinks it's more disturbing but I can't say anything: I don't know and we'll see tomorrow. »

Could you use the same strategy of Marc Márquez following Maverick Viñales?

« (Laughs) I don't know, because today I was in Marc's position. I followed to make the time. Not in the morning, but this afternoon I needed it. When you're feeling really good, yes, you can stay ahead and just think you're fast enough and others can keep up with you. You can sometimes have that kind of confidence, and when you have it it's great, but of course you don't want to help everyone. It's difficult. At Mugello you have the shortcut (to the pitlane) which you can sometimes use this strategy, to go in or not, but Marc is also strong in that. When it was him we wanted to follow, he would sometimes come out of his box and get on the motorbike, everyone would leave and he would then return to his box. He's done it before, and when everyone else was on the track he did his lap alone. Fabio always comes out last, that way he's sure there's no one around him waiting for him. I hope to progress enough this season to have this kind of situation and see what happens. But sometimes you have to attack because there is a little door where you can time your time whether you feel good or not. But even if you feel good, if you don't use that door you're done. So the best thing is to do what Pecco did, even if everyone is following you, this was the time he had to do it. So he did it and he helped three drivers behind him. But currently, he is strong enough to say “even if you follow me, I will be faster”. And he was since he is second and we are all behind. »

 

Ranking of Qualification 2 of the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix at Mugello:

Ranking of Qualification 1 of the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix at Mugello:

Credit rankings and photo: MotoGP.com