On this Saturday, November 21, Johann zarco answered questions from journalists from the Algarve Autodrome in Portimão at the end of the second day of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French pilot.
As usual, we report here the words of Johann zarco without the slightest formatting, even if the first part is translated from English (vouvoiement).
Johann zarco : " P7 today in qualifying! Not bad and the time is not bad, but not enough to grab the front row and even less to fight for pole position, but I think it was possible to do better during the first laps with the new tire. But I made a small mistake and suffered a small fall. I then got the bike up and went again, then I did better on my last two laps but clearly I may have missed my very best lap. So I was disappointed with that, but now when I analyze everything it's not negative because there are very positive things and I hope I will be strong in the race tomorrow. I have to overtake the other drivers at the start of the race to try to get the best possible pace. I think Morbidelli and Oliveira will be very strong and they will try to escape, but Jack is the one who likes to fight, so we will see. If I can be with these three, I will be very happy. »
When you crashed, the bike remained completely intact?
« Yes, I was at the maximum angle then I leaned too much and I fell. But I was able to stay under the bike even with the engine running, and I only lost 30 seconds in this sector. Maybe we should take the times including a crash, and then I'll be in pole position (laughs). »
You had an engine problem in FP4 and some people said you shouldn't have crossed the track in those conditions. What do you think ?
« It depends on the mechanical problem. I've had this kind of problem before so I knew exactly what the problem was. And in this case, I don't lose any oil. There is white smoke coming from the exhaust, but no oil. That’s why it got me through the track. And with the descent, you see very well, and so I had enough speed to cross. They did a check for oil, but there was no oil at all. Knowing a little about mechanics and having had previous experience, that's why I crossed the track to go to pit lane. »
Drama for @JohannZarco1! ⚠️
Smoke pouring from the Frenchman's GP19! 💨#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/Pn5FkXADyg
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) November 21, 2020
What position can you aim for tomorrow?
« It's the last race, so I would love to fight for the podium. Starting from seventh position doesn't help, but you never know. I like the hard rear tire, and the medium front tire will also be great in the afternoon. I hope that all this, plus the high temperatures of the afternoon, will give me a good feeling to control the race. Because if I start to suffer during the race and have problems, I won't have the chance to achieve a very good result. But if it's the opposite, I can really enjoy myself, so I'm crossing my fingers for that: fighting for the podium would be nice but even a top 5 would be good, although the podium would be even better. »
Overall, you are still happy with your day…
« Yes it's not bad ! Not bad. Afterwards, there was room to do even better but you always need the right timing of qualifying, the right person in front and the right lap where you do all your turns perfectly. I didn't manage to do it today and so there was disappointment at the time, but after analysis, no one died. So we'll see. I haven't really been able to prove to myself a race pace for at least 15 laps yet, to see the situation. I think we don't have a big problem with tire degradation with the hard tire, so once I find the rhythm on it, I think there is a way to have a very good race. »
If you had to take stock of your season, what would it be today?
« Positive because I have my handlebars for next year, and almost official handlebars, so it's a good way to really play in front, and even have the possibility of playing for the title, even if we have to see Everything in its time. So positive for that, but if we take from the race in the Czech Republic, the results are still a little mixed because for the moment I have not repeated a podium. There was some good front row and qualifying, so that wasn't bad, but not enough achievements in the race. So for me, it's something to take into account to be better next year, because I lacked consistency. »
Can we still say that you have moved up a notch, improving in terms of confidence and driving?
« I think I had lost something and it wasn't easy to find it, and even what I found was not the same as what I had before. We had to find something new and I'm starting to get the hang of it and repeat it race after race. So in that regard, it is very positive but there are not yet enough achievements in the race. The category is impressive this year, huh? Even there, frankly, I'm still seventh by 3 tenths, so we can't say it's a bad job! Everyone is pretty impressive and it really is the definition of high level. You must not give up! »
You have Miller in front of you and the Suzukis behind. However, there is a tie on points in the constructors' championship. Is this something you'll keep in mind?
« No ! I didn't even think about it and I didn't know there was a tie on points, because even Ducati doesn't ask me that. They don't add pressure like that. We have the advantage of the number of riders and there is always a Ducati who comes through: Even when we have problems on a track, there is always one who stands out. That's the advantage of having several pilots. In any case, I think that between Miller and me, there will be a way to put a Ducati in front of the two Suzukis, and so much the better if we take the manufacturer's title. »
Did this circuit at any point make you think of the one in Lédenon?
« I was told this by a message writing “well, it looks like Lédenon”. I replied “yes, but with much better asphalt and much faster corners”. With a big bike, I rode once to Lédenon, with the Panigale at the start of the year to finish a set of tires. But I saw that it was no longer a consistent track to train well, because with the fact that there are a lot of left turns and not enough right turns, the tires really struggle to work. or it would have to be very hot. It wasn't a very suitable track for quality training with the Panigale, but it was this situation where you can't accelerate otherwise it pitches up too much, where you have to keep a little rear brake, be at half throttle and manage everything like that. In this case, yes, it looks a lot like it. »
Can you give us some details on the two hard tires, as we don't have any information on the monitors...
« Yes ! Even we had to analyze to find out who had put the hard tire or the normal hard tire. For my part, the normal hard will be my racing tire because I am much better on it. Afterwards, there are some who like the tough guy because he has an even tougher side on the left. Only the left side changes between the two hard tires. But I think that one of the keys is not to destroy your tire on the right to maintain consistency in the big corner, because you are there for so long on the angle that as soon as you lose a little too much on the right side, you suffer from it for too long. »
Ranking Qualification 2 of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Ranking Qualification 1 of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
