With the FP2 clock at zero, Johann Zarco took a lap off his sleeve to finish overtaking Pecco Bagnaia on the time sheet and become the fastest driver on the first practice day of the Thai Grand Prix .
“In the morning I started the session quite well, but I had a soft tire at the end and I couldn’t attack as much as I could have, so I couldn’t do a fast lap,” he explained the first practice.
“I was quite consistent and quite fast, but not enough to be in the top 10. In the afternoon we have done a good job testing things. I still don’t feel 100% comfortable with the braking, we have to improve on that aspect for the race , to fight with the others. I’m very happy. I have a good feeling and the lap times are good, so it’s very positive. I didn’t expect this speed today”, admitted Zarco, who in Japan was swallowed up by the race despite starting in the front row of the grill.
“I’m happy and I hope to improve a bit tomorrow if it’s dry to feel even better and stay competitive. In case it rains, first place will be useful to go straight to Q2 and we’ll save energy. As I always say, it’s less physically demanding in the wet, and here in Thailand it can be very hot. If we have the whole weekend in the dry, it is possible that we will arrive a little tired on Sunday, so we will see what the conditions are tomorrow”, said the Frenchman, although everything points to that it will rain sometime on Saturday.
The Frenchman aspires to start, again, on the front row of the grid, as in Japan , but with a different outcome on Sunday.
“Perhaps the change of direction in turns 9, 10 and 11 is not the best for our bike, but I am sure that if we find the right settings we can be fast enough. But we have to find those correct settings,” he warned.
