After being a double Moto2 world champion, Johann Zarco made his MotoGP debut with Yamaha and Tech3 in 2017, having contested a total of 96 grand prix in the premier class until this Sunday.
Despite having managed to climb up to 15 times on the podium, in addition to accumulating up to eight pole positions, the last one at Silverstone last weekend, the Frenchman is still unable to open his locker of victories.
Zarco started from the first box on the grid at the British Grand Prix after being clearly the strongest driver of the weekend, presenting himself with a clear opportunity to fight for victory. The Frenchman was placed first from the very start and led the first four laps of the race, until… he crashed on the fifth lap.
The Pramac Ducati rider lost the front wheel and crashed into the asphalt, a circumstance that leaves open doubts about the choice of tyres. Zarco appeared on the grid with the front soft compound, but a few minutes before the start of the race and with temperatures rising almost ten degrees on the asphalt compared to Friday and Saturday, he chose to harden the rubber and opt for the medium mixture .
“There was no big change in the trajectory under braking,” said Zarco, explaining the reason for the crash.
“Maybe the medium front tire didn’t have enough grip, but in the heat choosing the soft tire was worrying. We thought they were going to catch up with us throughout the race. I had a good start, it was good to lead the first they are like that, it’s a bit scary to think about it”, in reference to the fact that a minimum mistake can ruin the work of the whole weekend.
Although Zarco saw how a new opportunity to write his name in the history books slipped away, he wanted to see the positive part of the weekend after a break of almost a month and a half.
“It is difficult to put everything together to win. But being able to attack after this long summer break and being fast has been positive, I think I have turned the Ducati around. We just have to move on and turn the page,” he resigned.
Despite the setback, Zarco does not want to dwell on his bad luck.
“Falling cannot make a dent in the mentality, otherwise you give up immediately and there is no reason to do it, there are many positive things. Falling is part of racing. What can be annoying is that when you have the best opportunities, you go to the ground. Unfortunately, as I said, it’s quite tricky to put it all together. Again, the whole weekend was good, but we had 25 degree temperatures, which pushed the front middle tire, which caused me to go down.”
“In ten days I’ll be on the bike again, so time goes by quickly. We have to train at home, get fit and continue looking for victory”, settled the boy from the Côte d’Azur.
