The Moto GP returns this weekend for the San Marino Grand Prix. After a very poor weekend in Aragon last week, the two French riders are hoping to make amends.
This is the first Grand Prix of this year on the Misano circuit, as it will host another Moto GP Grand Prix in two weeks’ time (replacing the Indian Grand Prix, editor’s note). It’s an opportunity to redeem themselves and find the right bike settings for Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco. Here’s a recap of their weekend.
Hope is Reborn
The weekend has rarely gone this well this season for Fabio Quartararo. He set the fifth-fastest time in the first free practice. It could have been seen as a stroke of luck, but the practice sessions confirmed this good result. Despite debris issues at the start of the session, the Nice native put in good lap times and ranked ninth. This allowed him to go directly into Q2 for the qualifications, which hadn’t happened since this year’s French Grand Prix. The second free practice didn’t go as well, with him finishing in eleventh place. The qualification held no surprises, and he still qualified in tenth place for the races. In the sprint race, Fabio Quartararo didn’t get a good start. Still facing grip issues, he received warnings for track limits by the second lap. Marco Bezzecchi crashed on the fourth lap, allowing the French rider to gain a position. He finished in ninth position. “If the riders in front don’t make mistakes, we can’t overtake,” he confided to Canal+.
Regarding the main race, Fabio Quartararo got a good start, gaining two positions. He found himself battling with Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez for tenth place. Rain started in the seventh lap, helping him gain a place as Aleix Espargaró entered the pits. This led to a flurry of rain bike changes disrupting the standings. He chose not to pit despite the rain, which proved to be the right decision as it didn’t last. By the ninth lap, “El Diablo” was in a tight battle again with Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez. Positions solidified for everyone, leaving Fabio Quartararo in p8. He received a track limit warning three laps from the end. An error by Jack Miller allowed him to pass in the final lap. He finished in seventh place. In the championship standings, he is fourteenth with 61 points, just 4 points behind the rider ahead of him.
Rain Saves His Weekend
The weekend was quite different for his compatriot, Johann Zarco. The first free practice placed him in fourteenth position. The other practice sessions weren’t better, with him finishing in fifteenth place. He would have to go through Q1 for the qualifications. The second free practice was worse, with no grip and setup issues placing him in p20. In qualifications, the Cannes rider stopped in Q1, finishing sixteenth. He managed a decent start for the sprint race. Despite a lackluster race, he completed an overtake and benefitted from Marco Bezzecchi’s crash to finish in thirteenth place.
In the main race, Johann Zarco had a poor start, losing two positions. Nevertheless, he made an overtake on Miguel Oliveira at the second turn. He lost another position at the start of the second lap, placing him in p18. Rain began in the seventh lap, which didn’t benefit the Cannes rider as he lost a place. Augusto Fernandez crashed in the eighth lap, allowing him to gain a position. He too decided not to pit despite the rain, putting him in twelfth place. Positions became fixed for everyone, and his choice proved beneficial, finishing the race in twelfth place.
