Zarco and Quartararo ensure the first day in Alcañiz

MotorLand Aragon may not be his favorite track, but “ on the circuits that I didn't like, I was rather fast this year, " said fabio quartararo yesterday at a press conference. And this is something that was actually confirmed this Friday. “ It was a good day, confided the Frenchman who won the seventh fastest time of the day. I was just hampered by traffic while chasing the time, but it's not that bad. We are less than half a second from Jack (Miller, editor's note). I'm happy, because I know the potential we have. "

FanCam, @FabioQ20 Edition! 😂

👿 Part 2! 👿#AragonGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/VpFATv4YDd

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Note that the championship leader was also stung by a bee in the neck: “ Over time it hurts more, but everything is fine. Overall, I'm pretty happy. The first run this afternoon was very good. We tried some things during the second, but it was not conclusive. I stick with the first feeling I had with a pace of roughly 1'48. »

Precisely, during this first run on Friday afternoon, he lined up four laps between 1'48.7 and 1'48.9, more consistent than most of his rivals. “ I did not expect that, Quartararo admitted. I saw that I was fourth, fifth… and I thought that everyone was doing the same thing as me. I wasn't attacking hard. » And the Yamaha representative added: “ I looked a little at the pace of my opponents. Bagnaia is very consistent despite a fall. But I think we can be satisfied with what we accomplished today. "

For his part, Johann Zarco set the fourth time overall in the two sessions, with the status of the second highest ranked Ducati rider. “ It's good to be performing well again, Zarco explained.. The last lap was interesting, but so was the session. We were able to obtain clear information in comparison at Silverstone. I hope this will help us to be strong on a fast lap, but also in terms of pace. »

Last year, Zarco claimed a fifth place at the Teruel GP, the best result by a Ducati rider on the two events on the calendar at MotorLand Aragon: “ The feeling is better than last year. It was too cold. We can see that the Ducatis have an advantage in certain sectors of the circuit, and we will need something for the points where we are a little less good. "

Towards an operation for compartment syndrome?

During his press briefing, Zarco also answered a question about his right arm. The Frenchman suffers, according to certain circuits, from compartment syndrome. He does not rule out intervention before the end of the season. “ Maybe I could take advantage of the break after Austin to have an operation, he explained. This would allow me to find a feeling straight away. If I have surgery during the winter, there is too much time before the first tests. » But rest assured, the Cannes resident admitted not having felt any pain during the first day in Aragon. This may not be the case on more demanding circuits like Austin and its 20 turns…