For Quartararo, Zarco still remains a title candidate

At the end of the first part of the championship, fabio quartararo is firmly anchored at the top of the rankings. With his 3 victories this season, the Frenchman is 21 points ahead of Aleix Espargaro and 58 points ahead of Johann Zarco. If the last Grand Prix allowed the Spaniard to reduce his gap with the leader, the Cannes resident was unable to take advantage of it by finishing only 13th. Despite this disappointment, the reigning world champion still considers his compatriot as a candidate for the world title.

« It’s certain that now I take Johann into consideration more for the championship. If we look at the last five or six races, Johann has always been at the front fighting for the podium, declared the Yamaha rider. For me, he is the most consistent at Ducati at the moment and it would be great to fight for the championship like in the first half of last season. »

Zarco, the art of regularity

It is true that before Francesco Bagnaia corrected the situation in the Netherlands, Johann Zarco was the most consistent rider at Ducati. Between the Portuguese Grand Prix and the German event, the Habs have always finished in the top 5 in 6 races. A quality which greatly helped him secure his third step on the podium in the general classification during the summer break.

« I was asked what I do better than the others to be third in the championship. I was consistent, but the one who rides the Ducati best is Pecco. He's the only one who gets 100% out of the bike, the true potential of the Ducati, and he's sensitive enough to feel it all. », recognizes the Pramac pilot. In the meantime, in terms of results, the first Ducati rider in the ranking is Johann Zarco.

The Habs could have increased their lead if they had managed to get off to a better start to the year. In Qatar, the Pramac team member finished 8th before dropping out in Argentina and a 9th place in the United States. “ I think neither of us started the season like we did in 2021, but then when we got to Europe we both turned a corner. I think we shared a lot of podiums », underlines Fabio Quartararo. But to worry the Yamaha rider, Johann Zarco will need more than podiums as he is still chasing his first victory in MotoGP. A result which could arrive at the restart at Silverstone (August 7) ​​when Fabio Quartararo will have to complete his penalty lap.

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