On this Sunday, November 22, Johann zarco answered questions from journalists from the Algarve Autodrome in Portimão at the end of the third 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), but end of the season, we will take the time to detail the context of these debriefings.
As the paddock is closed to the press this year due to the health situation, all MotoGP teams have been asked to organize virtual, daily question/answer meetings with journalists, from Thursday to Sunday.
A day or two before the Grand Prix, either by email or Whatsapp, we receive the access codes for the driver debriefings which generally take place via the Zoom software.
Lots of teams… Lots of access codes, and a schedule that would drive even the most organized journalist crazy!
Indeed, some debriefings overlap and you have to either choose or juggle, even if it means missing the beginning or end of this or that debriefing. That’s if everything goes well, that is to say if the pilot is on time and if his Internet connection is good…
Let's take the case of French drivers Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo, who are of particular interest to us and to you. Their debriefings are often scheduled 10 minutes apart, with Johann usually preceding Fabio. But, as we can see with this last debriefing, Johann does not hesitate to talk, and is even sometimes talkative, for our greatest pleasure. This is why some will leave the debriefing before the end while others will miss the start of Fabio's.
Except in exceptional news where the number of participants can then exceed thirty, around ten journalists regularly attend the reports of the French Ducati rider. Half are foreigners, the other are French-speakers including our colleagues from AFP, l'Équipe, Moto Journal/Moto Revue, Motorsport and La Provence.
The first part of the debriefing takes place in English and begins with a report of the day, then the foreign journalists ask their questions. In Johann's case, all you have to do is raise your hand because he has small thumbnails of everyone connected on his screen. In other debriefings, such as during official press conferences, you must indicate yourself by means of a written message.
Under the eye of the press officer who records everything but censors nothing, Johann calls all the journalists by their first name, which brings a rather pleasant touch of conviviality.
After about ten minutes, sometimes less, sometimes more, the questions in English are exhausted and we then move on to the part in French, which generally provides details and nuances that are more difficult to convey in the language of Shakespeare, or even more personal things and even sometimes jokes (the only elements that we do not transcribe).
As in any assembly, there are the talkers, the mute, those who leave their microphone open thus allowing the entire assembly to benefit from their sound environment, those who ask a question that has already been answered, those who talk to each other among themselves while waiting for the pilot to arrive, those who hide behind a logo or a photo, those who work from their hallway, their bathroom or their car and those whose camera clearly shows that they are not in front of their screen ... in short, a normal meeting of journalists in a virtual press room, certainly not ideal but which at least has the great merit of existing and allowing work to be done, even if on Sunday evening the mechanics start to dismantle everything, sometimes forcing the pilot to being outside, with the noise that comes from it…
Image rights require Dorna, the general rule is to never put a video of these debriefings online, even if some teams authorize recording.
To the great dismay of the permanent journalists who were used to participating in vivo at all the Grands Prix, it is more than likely that this formula will be renewed next year, which gives everyone time to take advantage of the winter break to prepare for it.
You now know better the 2020 environment of what has now replaced the famous “media scrums” between trucks, so let’s listen to Johann Zarco’s words…
Johann zarco : " Immediately after the race, I had a bit of a disappointment because I struggled too much from halfway through the race. It got worse and worse because of the left side of the tire. Compared to those I was fighting with, I was the only one using Hard and they were all Extra-Hard. It was a choice because I really thought it was still a hard tire and should be good throughout the race, but it wasn't good enough. It's a shame because of that, because the start of the race was good and during the race I still felt pretty good. I wanted to catch Pol (Espargaró) and fight for fourth place but I started to lose too much time on the left. I tried to compensate for the loss of time with the right turns but the combination of both was not enough. But it's not just about the tire and I think we need to do a better job of finding better suspension settings and managing tire usage better. I think the combo between my style and the bike doesn't fit perfectly, although this combo is close since, at least, we can see that I attack well in every session and that I remain very competitive. So this means we are in the right direction. However, this is not enough to be truly satisfied during races. For all these reasons, I can be happy because we finished quite well and the only downside of the day was the fact of not having had the potential to stay in the top five during the race. »
This year, your races have often resembled those of Jorge Lorenzo on Ducati or Jack Miller last year: You were good at the start of the race then it got worse. Could this be an indication to work and progress?
« It's possible ! It is true that Jorge, when he had a good feeling, started well before regressing. And I have almost the same phenomenon. And watching Miller since the end of last year, he was very strong and he can be fast in practice but also finish races well, like in the last races. So I know that it's possible and I also know that there are perhaps things to be done about my driving style even if it has very positive things that I want to keep. This is why it is not the bike which is malfunctioning or the rider who is malfunctioning, it is really a better base of adjustments to find to enable better tuning to the motorbike. »
Did you feel contact with Joan Mir at the start of the race?
« I have felt it. It was in a very slow corner and I didn't know which driver it was. But at the beginning our group wasn't easy because you had to brake late and be careful not to get overtaken by another rider, and in those kind of slow corners that's where you feel like you can go but there isn't much room. Luckily I think it braked really well and the contact was pretty moderate as it just lifted my bike up a little but didn't bother me too much. I think if he had hit me harder it might have been a problem, but the contact that made my bike go up wasn't too bad. »
During this winter, will you visit the Ducati factory?
« From the south of France, I am not very far from Bologna, only six or seven hours and in any case I will have to go and get my new Audi linked to my Ducati contract. So it might take me seven hours to get there and five hours to come back (laughs). I'm also going to go there to do various things on my Panigale, prepare it so I can train in January. So we keep in touch, even though winter is now the time to cycle, run and rest, but at the same time stay fit and prepare for next year. Overall, when you know where you are going and when you know more or less what you can expect, motivation is clearly great. »
Standings MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
