Zarco: “I was able to keep calm and adapt my driving style”

Johann Zarco set the fourth fastest time on the opening day of the San Marino GP. Author of a lap in 1'31.837, the Frenchman was a little more than three tenths behind the reference established by Enea Bastianini. 

Having made a mistake at the first turn in FP2, the Pramac team member confides that he had to review his driving style to cope with the bumps of the transalpine route. “It was a bit of a difficult first day,” he said. After the rain, the track conditions were not optimal. After a big circuit like Silverstone or fast like Spielberg, the behavior of the bike (at Misano) was quite difficult. It moved a lot, probably because it's a fairly bumpy track. We therefore feel the power more and this generates more problems. » 

And regarding his fall, Zarco added: “(It was) because of all these movements on the bike. Even trying to get past it, I unfortunately fell. I was able to keep calm and from there I adapted my riding style to compensate for all these movements. It worked and it allowed me, with the soft tire, to set a good time. In the event of bad conditions the next day, this ensures a Q2. Even if they are good, it lets you know that there is good potential to go fast. I absolutely need to be more comfortable, because the consistency, for the moment, is not there. »

Here's @JohannZarco1's crash from early on in the session! 💥

Just caught out at Misano's extremely tricky Turn 1 ⚠️#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/mus10sa5Z9

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 2, 2022

How has Zarco adapted his style? By playing with the rear brake to control the movements of his Desmosedici. “We had to use the rear brake more than usual,” he explained. It's good not to use it too much to leave the bike freer in its movements, but here, we had to compensate a lot with it. This is not good, because if the tire wears out, it no longer works. With a new tire, it works, but at the same time, it (also) gives us good indications on things to perhaps try. » 

Ducati and Aprilia vs fabio quartararo ? 

Once again, Fabio Quartararo managed to stand up to the Ducati, just like the Aprilia. The Frenchman is also the first non-Ducati representative in the hierarchy in fifth position. “I am not surprised by Fabio,” Zarco stressed. All the Ducati being in difficulty with a fairly precarious grip, he, who is much more consistent, was able to find good points and he was ultimately the fastest. The Aprilia also behaves well like that. The fact that they (Aprilia) improved little with the soft tire means that they were already very good with the medium. For us, it had the opposite effect. »