Johann Zarco hoped to leave Portimao still leading the MotoGP championship, and his ambition could very well have come true without a crash in the final part of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Until then, the Frenchman had done flawlessly and was fighting for a place on the podium which would have given him sufficient points to succeed in his endeavor. It's all the more frustrating since the analysis of the data shows that if the Pramac Ducati rider fell, it was not his fault...
Seen from the outside, seeing Johann zarco fall shortly after bagnaia, in full recovery with his Ducati official, went beyond it, the idea was that there was cause and effect. The Frenchman, by wanting to hang on to the Italian's wheel, would have asked too much of his tires. But in fact, the double World Champion Moto2 owes his misfortune to a problem with his gearbox.
He says thus: “ we saw that I had a little problem with the gearbox, that's why I didn't have the right report at the right time. The engine speed was critical. That means I'm not too disappointed and it allows me to better understand the fall ". He adds : " When I downshifted both gears in the corner, I found myself in first gear, which means I hadn't engaged fourth properly before. But the team reassured me by telling me that I had done it well and that I had passed the previous corner in fourth. However, with our seamless system, it may not have engaged properly. ».
Wanting to be as precise as usual, John Zarco continues the procedure to the gravel trap: “ when it was time to downshift, third had already returned, I made my automatic movement to downshift two gears and ended up in first. Where I thought I had made a mistake beforehand, they reassured me by saying 'No, we haven't had this little problem before with other drivers'and it happened to me ».
John Zarco: “we were a little too limited”
That being said, the tricolor points out that before this incident, things were not going well: “ the analysis is that we were a little too limited. I was missing a few tenths today and perhaps I was pushing a little too hard to stay with the others. Maybe the gear changes weren't as clean as they needed to be. I think this is one of the causes ». zarco therefore takes its share of responsibility very honestly despite everything. And then there was also the tire: “ the front was not in very good condition on the right side, and that's why I immediately crashed ».
Johann zarco do not forget either that while being in battle with Joan mir, he must have put more stress on that front tire than he would have liked. Still, there was perhaps another way in terms of adjustment to be found. The Pramac pilot thus remarked: “ it probably would have needed other adjustments, perhaps in the direction of Bagnaia ". We will recall that the Italian finished second this Portuguese Grand Prix.
Johann zarco concludes: “ I attacked a lot and I think I was missing a few tenths today. I wasn't comfortable everywhere, so then I had to give a little more energy to compensate and the race became more difficult. Despite everything, I was there, hoping to reach the podium. It's positive ».
MotoGP Portugal J3: classification
Credit classification motogp.com
