For Zarco it was "a shock" to rediscover the speed of Phillip Island

Phillip Island.- Johann Zarco lapped almost a second and a half slower than in the best lap of the The last race held on this circuit in 2019, which starred Marc Márquez (1.28.108) and did not even come close to the track record, which has been held by Jorge Lorenzo since 2013, when it was still run with Bridgestone tires (1.27.899). ), but was amazed at the speed that can be achieved on this track, where you hardly use the brakes and more than 70 percent of the lap you go on full throttle.

“Many riders forget how fast this circuit is,” said Pramac’s driver at the end of the day. “It was like a shock,” he emphasized.

“I was happy to finish [FP1] well but clearly I didn’t do a lot of laps, I just did some fast laps,” he said. “It was good to get your bearings and find confidence on the track.”

“In the afternoon we work well with the team. I was quite happy that we made progress, in the sense that I was able to put together more laps and I was able to think a bit about the race pace. It was positive and was confirmed in the attack at the time with soft rubber at the back, which was even more positive. It has been a good first day”, he valued the first day of the Australian Grand Prix.

Zarco beats the time in the fast corners, since with a top speed of 340.7 km/h, he was much slower on the straights than Pecco Bagnaia or Enea Bastianini (both reached 348.4 km/h), so he knew how to discover the secrets of drawn before the rest.

“When you can go fast on this circuit it’s a great feeling, but if things go wrong it’s a nightmare,” he warned, especially weighing in on the conditions, that this Friday they respected the drivers but that they can go wrong at any time.

“The wind was brutal, and the puddles, in the morning, obviously affect you. You go from facing a curve at 170 per hour instead of 200. That’s a big difference,” settled the one from Cannes.

Johann Zarco, Pramac Racing