Phillip Island.- The Frenchman was one of the protagonists of the free practice sessions, leading both of the first day in Australia, even though in the third he could not certify his direct pass to the second qualifying screen (Q2 ), and the Warm Up on Sunday morning.
Having to go through Q1 conditioned his strategy with a view to the decisive tie, in which he finished with the sixth fastest time that placed him closing the second row of the grid on Sunday.
Under normal conditions, Johann Zarco should have been one of the group of six that led the pack for most of the race, but a problem with the starting device on his Ducati caused him to lose twelve positions and cross the finish line after the first lap the 18th. In fact, the boy from Cannes was, among the top ten classified, the one who took the longest (1m 39.7 seconds) to complete that first lap.
The Pramac team rider was bottled up and demanded, unable to get rid of the rivals that prevented him from going in search of the front of the group. Finally, and after a pulse with Aleix Espargaró, he finished eighth, just ahead of the Spaniard from Aprilia.
After getting off his bike, Zarco regretted those first stages of the race which, according to him, completely conditioned his chances of achieving his fifth podium of the course.
“I had a problem with the starting device. I should have been in the front group, because that way I could have relaxed a little more, and not been in such a hurry,” summed up the French driver, who does not quite feel comfortable on top of the Desmosedici ; that which, according to popular clamor, is the most balanced prototype of all.
“We have to find a solution that helps me ride the Ducati in a more natural way, because my sensations are not the best. I manage to go fast because I apply a method, but that method does not allow me to win races. For that I need to drive naturally. , exactly as Alex Rins did this time [with the Suzuki]”, concluded Zarco, seventh in the general points table, and diminished due to lack of consistency – he accumulates four zeros.
