MotoGP Silverstone J1 Debriefing Johann Zarco (Ducati/4): “If I had tried to stay on the bike, it would have been worse than my fall”, etc. (Entirety)

This Friday, August 5, 2022, Johann zarco answered questions from journalists from the Silverstone circuit at the end of the first day of the British Grand Prix.

Currently 3rd in the championship, the Pramac driver did not miss his return by setting the best time in FP1 despite a fall suffered during his second run.

As usual, we report here the words of Johann zarco without any formatting, even if it is translated from English.

 

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Johann zarco : " I lost the front. I braked a little later and, as I entered the corner, I slid a little from the rear, then the front escaped me. He left and then came back, but I was already falling. It looks like I might have been able to catch him, but speaking with Fonsi he thinks that even if I had tried to stay on the bike I would have gone straight into the gravel and that would have been worse than my crash. So it was a good decision to fall just after the first slide. This fall occurred in the second run of FP1, but I was confident so it was important to quickly try to regain the feeling on the bike. It was important to leave at the end of the session to regain confidence. I didn't expect to do a good time under two minutes in FP1 and that gave me a lot of confidence for the afternoon. In the afternoon the speed was there but I just wanted to have more consistency, so I worked with the team to set the bike up to be more consistent, because it seems like it's a little difficult to keep good chronos. »

Have you already decided which tires you are going to use?
« Not yet. The feeling is still too fresh after the long break. With the temperatures rising, it seems that at the front the medium will be a good choice as it is a tire that we all know very well. For the rear, my idea is that hard can work. Maybe yes. Rins was quick with the tough guy, but I think Jack doesn't like him, so we need a little more data. »

Is it always important to get back on track quickly after a fall?
« As I was confident, I was able to re-attack immediately behind, and the fact of having already done under 2 minutes from FP1, that gives good momentum for the rest of the weekend. In the afternoon, it's not too bad: we try to adjust the bike to really have the consistency that I might lack. It's still a little difficult to make real progress, but the speed remains there. Happy at the end of the two laps in a row where I set two good times. There you go, the speed is there, I'm working to find consistency and have a bike that suits me better. »

Was it important for you to have the best time in the session?
« It was especially important to leave. What's more, I'm leaving with new tires, in order to set a correct time, I wasn't expecting that. So, it lifted my heart. »

Were the track conditions different between the morning and the afternoon?
« It's hard to feel. The asphalt is normally warmer but it was a little hard to feel because there is actually always this wind, not huge but not weak either, and which blows a little sideways. I think that sometimes, for the sensations on the bike, it is disruptive. In my opinion, I think that the conditions were better this afternoon anyway to be able to attack a little more, but it remained quite similar between the morning and the afternoon. »

Does recovery require muscular relearning?
« Not too much. The body is fine, but the runs with the Panigale at Misano and Le Mans were useful. Clearly, if I hadn't ridden at all in five weeks, I would have really struggled. And there, over the last week, to have been able to have contact three times on the Panigale, it's great, because we are not at 300 km/h but we are at a good 250, and already that allows us to record a lot of things. »

After a month of break, does the body take longer to recover?
« I don't think so, no, because there was this training. There was a real recovery ten days ago, and as the road bike is already quite intense, I'm good now. I think we can manage me well with the physiotherapist. »

 

MotoGP British Grand Prix FP2 results:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com