Johann Zarco narrowly missed pole position against Marc Márquez: "He knows that in this game, I'm practically the only one who can challenge him."

The respect between these two is mutual. Upon returning to the Jerez paddock, Marc Márquez and Johann Zarco embraced, exchanging broad smiles, a sign of recognition between two warriors who had just delivered a superb battle. Admittedly, one is a nine-time world champion in the premier class, while the other has "only" two victories in MotoGPBut no matter: when the track is slightly damp, they are both on equal footing.

"He knows that in this game, I'm practically the only one who can tease him." Johann Zarco admitted to Canal+ after narrowly missing out on pole position“I really tried. In the last corner, it slipped when I think there might have been a chance to overtake. When the conditions are like this, with rain but the track not completely wet, I know I'm good, while he's good everywhere. He keeps a close eye on me every time, because he told me once: “Only you can beat me at this game.” I tried. It didn't work.

Yet, the perfect run was within reach: having come through Q1, Johann Zarco brilliantly exploited the gloomy conditions at Jerez to dominate the first segment of qualifying and establish himself as a more than credible contender for pole position. While some of the favorites (Álex Márquez, Fermín Aldeguer, Jorge Martín…) crashed, the rider from Cannes mastered the wet asphalt to temporarily top the timesheets before being overtaken by Marc Márquez.

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A royal duel between great lords

“I was calm all morning, I knew it was wet. I knew it would allow me to have some nice sensations, to be at the front without expending too much energy.” Zarco reveals the calculating Zarco, a tightrope walker in the rain. “But Free Practice 2 wasn’t so simple at the beginning. I really needed to build confidence with the front tire because I saw a lot of crashes in Moto2, so I was a bit scared. But once FP2 and Q1 were over, I saw that I had things under control. I even thought I had pole position. I thought to myself: “There’s something to play for, but we can’t afford to make any mistakes.” »

The mistake finally came just moments before the checkered flag, where Marc Márquez's Ducati had also made a move, though the Catalan rider didn't lose too much time. The nine-time world champion had to push himself to the limit to secure his first pole position in 245 days, since the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, but Johann Zarco showed him that, in the rain, he was a worthy opponent. They had already shared the top two positions at the last German Grand Prix, where the Spaniard had taken pole ahead of the Frenchman. And at Le Mans, a few weeks earlier, the LCR rider had given his illustrious rival a masterclass in race management in the rain, extending his lead and ultimately triumphing in his home race.

With rain threatening to fall on Jerez for the sprint race, Zarco knows that the hardest part is yet to come against a Marc Márquez still without a Grand Prix victory this season, despite a Sprint win in Brazil. "On Friday, the pace seemed pretty good; I've improved since Austin. We'll see if I can stay at the front and have the pace for a podium or a top 5 finish; it would be a great sprint race."

The answer will be revealed from 15pm this Saturday, April 25th, with the sprint race to be followed live with commentary on AUTOhebdo.fr.