Zarco: “Positive for us that there will be no Marquez this weekend”

Last year at the German GP, ​​Johann Zarco managed to put an end to the hegemony of Marc Marquez by taking pole position; the third of a Ducati rider with Casey Stoner in 2007 and 2008, and above all the first of a representative of a clan other than that of Honda since Jorge Lorenzo in 2010. 

In the race, it was a little more complicated for the Ducati rider who gradually fell down the hierarchy to reach the finish line in eighth place. “I don’t have much to say,” declared the Frenchman ahead of this weekend at the Sachsenring. I have good memories of last year with pole position. The race was interesting, but I didn't have a very good race. We were missing something, it's a shame and I have this feeling: I want to recover from these kinds of mistakes last year. The strategy we put in place with the team did not work well. It's a special circuit. »

First #GermanGP laps ✅ on two… and even four wheels!! 🏍🏎

A different kind of start for a @MotoGP race weekend for @garciadols11 😏🤘 pic.twitter.com/CXhJgp7Ljv

— Aspar Team (@AsparTeam) June 16, 2022

For this 2022 edition, Marc Marquez will therefore be missing. And so for the first time since 2012, a driver other than the Catalan will win at the Sachsenring. “It’s positive for us that there is no Marc (Marquez) this weekend, clearly,” he admits. It's one more place on the podium, perhaps to make history by winning after him (laughs). This is the first thought before starting the weekend. Now I know my bike better and better. We saw in Barcelona that I can try different things and I'm quite fast with different settings. This means that I am more and more comfortable with the bike. I hope we will work even better here. »

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Less than 10 days before the long summer break, Zarco is still not sure about his future, but the French driver says he is confident. “With Ducati, I think we are well aligned,” he believes. There is also this situation with Bastianini, Martin and I am also there. I think Ducati has a choice and is in no hurry to make a decision. Also because joining the factory team is something big and it would be too simple to only take into account the results. It's too big a company to judge on that alone, there are so many other things to consider. For my part, with Pramac, I'm pretty good and that should continue. We see that there is one more place. »

Can we imagine that the second helm of the official structure goes to the French? “If I win the next two, it might be a problem for the factory to say 'ha, here's another one',” he smiles.