We continue our retrospective of each driver's season, from the last to Pecco Bagnaia. To appreciate the performance of our heroes, looking at their place overall is not enough. Thus, we will look at the dynamics, the context, the qualifications, the expectations that the driver in question aroused to judge his campaign. Yesterday was the season of
Jorge Martín who was in the spotlight.
You can find the corresponding article by clicking on this highlighted sentence.
As a reminder, this opinion remains subjective, and only reflects the thoughts of its author.
I) Bitter year
For his sixth campaign in the premier category, John Zarco did not shine. If it has regressed compared to last year, it is especially the end of the season which raises questions. This is a recurring problem in his career at the highest level. Indeed, since 2017, he has had 12 podiums before the mid-season break, compared to three in the second part of the year. But beyond this simple anecdote, the last round in Valencia was particularly painful. Before the final meeting,
we presented the different issues linked to Johann Zarco. He was playing big, and could potentially take sixth place overall. But a nightmarish race punctuated by a fall put an end to his hopes. Worse still, the worst scenario occurred, since
Álex Rins won and grabbed
" her " position.
Zarco therefore fails in 8th place. This sad event is ultimately not so surprising given his average over the last rounds. The problem was that we expected a lot from Johann, who in many ways had to play the role of the outsider. Rarely have we seen such a significant loss of steam during the same season. Certainly, the irregularity of his teammate Jorge Martin puts him ahead in the championship, but the Spaniard was no worse, if not better.
Photo: Michelin Motorsport
First of all, Zarco hasn't been much more consistent : Five abandonments (including the confused collision at Misano), his highest total in MotoGP tied with the cursed 2019 season. Then, when the two crossed the line, Martín was more often in front (six times against four). Individual exploits and pure performances are also on the Spaniard's side: They are equal in terms of podiums (four each) and fastest race laps (two on each side), but the
“Martinator” has more pole (five to two). The difference was quite marked before the Dutch Grand Prix, but ultimately, only three points separate the two thieves.
II) Bad start
You will have understood, the balance sheet does not work in its favor. But that's not all, because the track's verdict is not much more reassuring. Of course, how can we not mention departures. This is certainly Johann's weak point: We don't remember such bad starts for such a strong driver in the history of Grands Prix. At the end of the year, they were involved in almost every race. But from memory, Zarco did not suffer from this problem in the past. It is as if the psychological dimension had taken over this essential exercise. Moreover, his body language is certainly one of the least inspired in the entire grid. The Frenchman does not inspire confidence in his words, and we easily understood the difficulty he had in operating this Desmosedici GP22, which was not made for him. This divide between him and his mount was particularly illustrated in an interview after the Australian GP, where he declared that he lacked naturalness on the handlebars (8th but with the best lap in the race, which is paradoxical).
Uncomfortable. Photo: Michelin Motorsport
Finally, we cannot miss the British Grand Prix, which represented, without a shadow of a doubt, his best chance of victory in MotoGP. Starting from pole, he fell alone in the lead in the first loops. It is an image that reminds Le Mans 2018, where, in a similar situation (pressure of the first victory with pole on a favorable circuit for the machine), he had shown too much excitement. Furthermore, he is the driver with the most
pole positions (8) and podiums (15) to have never won a MotoGP race.
Conclusion:
So, of course, we express our disappointment here because we expected a much better season given his immense talent.
Zarco remains one of the fastest of his generation, and has a lot of qualities on the handlebars. Although it has lost its explosiveness characteristic of the Yamaha years, it remains a contender for the podium on each outing, in the dry or the wet. His rhythms are among the best, and when he climbs the places one by one, it's impossible to slow him down (Mandalika, Buriram or even
Sepang). It is more the absence of progression – or even regression – in certain areas which gives rise to this feeling of disappointment, rather than the potential non-expression of its intrinsic level which we already knew.
What did you think of his season? Tell us in the comments!
“Power struggle”. Photo: Michelin Motorsport
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
