Zarco: “With a little more step, I think I have a real chance for Sunday”

Finishing 12^e from the opening session in Buriram, Johann Zarco started his Thai weekend in a rather discreet way. Even though he led the hostilities on several occasions, he quickly fell in the rankings. 

Fortunately, the rain spared the protagonists of the MotoGP for the second free practice session. Zarco was therefore able to take advantage of the mild conditions to catch up and avoid the correction by having to go through Q1 in the event of rain. He set the best time of the day with a lap of 1'30.281. “I’m pretty happy with this afternoon,” says the Ducati rider. This morning, I started the session well, but at the end, with the soft tire, I didn't attack as much as I should have to chase down the time. I was consistent and quite fast, but not enough to get into the Top 10. In the afternoon, we worked well while trying things. I'm not yet 100% comfortable braking. So we need to progress to be ready for the race. »

If rain shows up tomorrow in Buriram, Zarco is already guaranteed to progress to Q2. “With the right feeling, the times come quickly and I didn't expect to be so fast at the end,” he confides. I'm happy and I hope to be even better tomorrow, if it's dry. In the event of rain, being in the lead is useful to move directly into Q2, but also to save energy. In Thailand, if it's dry all the time, you can be a little tired on Sunday. No matter the conditions, I can be competitive and I hope to be on the front line tomorrow. »

Is this time the right one? 

Zarco is chasing his first success since his debut in MotoGP in 2017. Victory has reached out to him on several occasions, but he has always failed. The latest example dates back to Silverstone when he led the start of the race before making a mistake. “I was quite relaxed, maybe a little less in the afternoon, but it still paid off in terms of the time,” he said. I didn't expect to have this speed. It makes me happy to have been fast, even though I expected to be a little less competitive. It's not a big deal. If I can take a small step forward tomorrow, I think I have a real chance for the race on Sunday. »

Will Zarco become the fifth French driver to win in the premier category alongside Pierre Monneret, Christian Sarron, Régis Laconi and fabio quartararo ?