Zarco: "Márquez is a bit crazy, he will try everything"

The French driver from Pramac did not have a good FP1 session on Friday in Japan, the only dry one of the whole weekend, which condemned him to go through Q1, in the wet, this Saturday. However, Johann Zarco not only managed to pass the cut and continue towards Q2, but in the final official timed session he almost took pole, he was 2 tenths off the best time of Marc Márquez.

For the Frenchman, the pole position of the Spaniard, despite the fact that he is returning from a fourth operation on his arm and is still undergoing rehabilitation, will mean an injection of energy that makes him a contender for victory, something that he has no doubt he will try since “It’s a little crazy,” he says.

“For me it has been useful to go through Q1, there was a lot of water at the beginning, but when the rain stopped we saw that the water level was going down, I knew I could have a good result in Q2, the rear tire drops a lot, so I had good information and I started Q2 with used rubber and then I mounted the new one to attack, everything worked well. This result is the best I could aspire to”, said Zarco.

“With less water I expected to go faster, but the tire wear was big and difficult to improve the times, with new rubber I was able to do a good lap, but I couldn’t improve in the second start with less water, it was strange, there was a bit of imbalance in tire consumption”.

In any case, the forecasts for the race are to run in dry conditions, conditions in which he suffered on Friday.

“I hope to have enough information and sensations to race in the dry, with the medium tire I went well and if finally this is the choice we can have a good race, I hope that the dry FP1 on Friday will be enough to be ready for the career”, he valued.

“Motegi is a track I really like to drive on, so despite finishing 11th on Friday in the dry, the race pace will be a bit different tomorrow and I hope it will be enough to fight for the podium tomorrow starting from the front row. “.

A front row that will be led by Marc Márquez, who has already been shown to be capable of anything in wet conditions. Zarco, who was the only rider on the grid who in Aragon, at the end of the race, gave some of the blame for what happened in the first lap to the Spaniard due to the crashes of Fabio Quartararo and Takaaki Nakagami, sees him capable of anything .

“If it’s wet, there’s a chance to do well,” said the Frenchman. “Márquez, who is a bit crazy, will try everything if tomorrow is wet, even if it is dry”, put the Spaniard in the fight, a battle in which he is also included. “We have a good rhythm, I think enough to fight for the podium and even think of victory if everything goes well. Let’s wait until tomorrow to try to adapt to whatever arises”, settled a Zarco who is still chasing his first victory in the queen class.

Johann Zarco, Pramac Racing, Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing