This British Grand Prix could have been that of the resumption of progress for Johann Zarco who was coming out of an unfortunate setback in the rain in Brno. But with a turn in sight of the finish, everything changed.
So far, everything was looking good. Sensations found in the rain during testing, a good qualification and a calm start to the race in the dry. Meanwhile, his championship rival alex rins suffered with a broken collarbone during training and had surgery only a few days before.
The hostilities launched, the same Kidneys was clinging to the top 10 while the Frenchman was eyeing the podium. Enough to get back on track in the title race. Then came the incident with a Sam Lowes playing at home. The two men had already had the opportunity to size each other up, but this time, it ended in a clash: “ it's hard to explain what happened » regrets the reigning World Champion. “ I had a good pace and I felt good even if I lacked enough time to take control of the race. Then three laps from the goal, Sam passed me ».
« As I didn't want to lose contact with Tom Lüthi who was leading, I counterattacked. But during a first contact, the protection of my brake lever was damaged and this prevented me from slowing down correctly. I shot straight and took it with me. I lost time but crossed the finish line sixth. I thought I had limited the damage but I received a penalty. I accept it and I am already focused on the next race where I must not make the slightest mistake. I need a win and score big points for the championship ».
The officials considered that the driver Ajo had engaged in irresponsible driving in view of the images which show him biting on the edge while taking the inside of Lowes. The team boss has his version: “ Johann was given a penalty which I find very harsh considering that it is, from my point of view, a racing incident caused by the two drivers ". An opinion obviously far from being shared by Sam Lowes. The fact remains that the winner of this affair is a alex rins which comes back to ten points behind the tricolor in the championship while it had resolved to a liability of at least 30 units under the English checkered flag…
