Zarco: “Motegi is a circuit that I really like”

This Saturday was not the easiest for the drivers MotoGP in Japan. The rain was among the protagonists and quickly complicated things. The second free practice session took place in the wet, so Johann Zarco was unable to progress directly to Q2.

He therefore had to go through repechage, but, faced with these precarious conditions, the Ducati rider indicates that this helped him to assess the condition of the track. “Going through Q1 was very useful,” he said. There was a lot of water in the first minutes of Q1 and it was tricky, but when the rain stopped, we noticed that the water level was dropping. I knew there was something to be done in the wet in Q2. The rear rain tire wears out quickly here, I opted for this good strategy of changing the rear in Q2 and doing a good lap at the end, when there was less water. It worked well. If we had to cancel qualifying, I would have started 11th, so finishing second is a good thing. »

Towards a first victory for Zarco?

Zarco has four pole positions at Motegi and two victories (one in 125cc and another in Moto2). We can therefore imagine that the place of his first success in MotoGP could fall in the stronghold of Honda. “I hope so,” he smiled. Motegi is a circuit that I really like. In FP1, I had a good feeling with the medium. If we go with it, I can imagine good things. I was 11th in FP1, but between the time and the race pace, there is a difference. I hope this good session on Friday will be enough to fight for the podium. »