After suffering bad luck in the last two Grand Prix, this time Johann Zarco He was finally able to capitalize on his good form. The retirements due to technical problems and the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, despite qualifying on the front row, were forgotten. This time, the Frenchman was able to fully compete at the front of the field.
Having qualified seventh after going directly into Q2 following yesterday's practice session, he got off to a great start and finished the first lap in fourth place. Battling with Raúl Fernández and Pedro Acosta for much of the race, he eventually lost touch with the Trackhouse rider, who overtook him on lap four, but still managed to stay ahead of the KTM rider.
Zarco crossed the finish line in fifth position, thus equaling his best result of the season: a top-five finish in the sprint race of the Catalan Grand Prix, the day before the injury that would keep him out of Grand Prix racing for several months. The circle is now complete.
“I’m pretty happy. I definitely benefited from some of the crashes. The first one, Pecco’s, was really impressive, and I heard he broke something in his foot, so it wasn’t as bad as we might have feared. I’m glad I was able to refocus for the second start, and it went better than the first. I gained positions, and my pace in the first few laps was comfortable. It was really great to stay with the others ,” he told MotoGP.com.
“I would have liked to attack and try to gain positions, but I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I knew that by staying with the leading group, I might be able to follow them. I also gained a place thanks to Bezzecchi’s crash. Then, when Martín arrived, I saw that he was very confident and I knew he was going to overtake everyone and fight for the win, which he did, and it was great. I was surprised by Fernández’s overtake, and that’s why we lost a bit of time. I’m happy I was able to hold off Acosta, but it wasn’t enough to stay with Fernández.”
However, despite this solid performance, number 5 did not hide his concern about the degradation of his rear tire in view of the long race that awaits him tomorrow.
“The rear tire was degrading a lot, even for a sprint race, and it was difficult to finish. So, I’m a bit worried about tomorrow’s 24-lap race. I think I have good speed to get a good position from the start and in the first few laps, but then I’ll have to be more careful with the acceleration. The problem is that as soon as I do that, I lose pace. So I don’t yet know how to manage tomorrow’s race ,” he said.
In summary: what information should you remember regarding Johann Zarco after the sprint race of the Qatar Grand Prix?
- Johann Zarco got off to an excellent start and found himself fourth in the first lap of the race.
- Battling with Raúl Fernández and Pedro Acosta, he finally finished fifth, his best result of the year after also achieving a top 5 in Catalonia last May.
- Despite this result, the LCR Honda rider is worried about tomorrow given the significant wear on his rear tire.
Results of the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race :
Ranking credit: MotoGP.com
