Ultimately not equipped with the new V4 engine on his Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo still harbored high ambitions for this Italian weekend. Johann Zarco faced more difficulties.
For this 16th meeting of the MotoGP season, Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo met at Misano. A fairly technical circuit that favored the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo. Ultimately not equipped with the new V4 engine tested earlier in the week, the Nice-born rider managed to secure the third place in qualifying. Johann Zarco, on the other hand, never really found his rhythm in the qualifying laps and came in only 18th.
At the start of the 13-lap sprint race, Fabio Quartararo got off to a good start but lost a position. As for Johann Zarco, he did better by gaining five positions in the first lap, taking 13th place. The racer from Cannes even managed to overtake the double world champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Fabio Quartararo, on his part, didn’t hesitate and pushed to catch up with the Marquez brothers. Unfortunately, the Nice rider had no margin and made a mistake while cornering, bringing him down after only three laps. At the finish, the rider explained: “No, I wasn’t even at the limit,” he told Canal +. “We had a technical problem with the rear tire where clearly we had difficulties. It didn’t start immediately; it built up gradually, ultimately making a big difference. It wasn’t a fall from pushing to the limit, but rather from huge vibrations.“
This fall allowed Johann Zarco to gain an additional position and get closer to the points zone. Then, two laps later, he gained another spot after Marc Marquez crashed in front of him. However, the Honda LCR rider struggled towards the end of the race and lost ground. He was overtaken by Enea Bastianini and finished in 11th place.
By the end of the race, the Maralpin rider was perplexed: “I feel like I’m ready to fight, and once others get into their rhythm, I can’t keep up. I don’t understand why it becomes so difficult to ride the bike. Maybe I’m at a limit, and at some point, I can’t do more. It’s not fun to say it’s inhuman to do better than 1’32 because I see I can ride and battle, but at some point, I can’t. I’m forced to let others go and fight with those behind.“
A Fall and Some Reasons for Hope
This Sunday was not much brighter for Johann Zarco. The Cannes native fell after just four corners, fighting with Joan Mir. Although he remounted his bike after a few seconds, his hopes for a good result once again evaporated.
Only Fabio Quartararo was left to save the honor of the French riders. With a start similar to the sprint race, he came out in 4th place at the end of the first lap. Struggling in the initial laps, “El Diablo” found it hard to keep up with the leaders’ pace. Under pressure from the two VR46 riders and then Pedro Acosta, the Nice rider resisted as best as he could. In the 6th lap, the KTM rider got a better exit from a corner and overtook Fabio Quartararo (5th). Unable to keep up, the Azuréen rode three to four tenths slower than the riders around him.
Though he benefited from Pedro Acosta’s retirement, the fourth position was hanging by a thread. But unlike the day before, he didn’t push too hard. Under pressure from Franco Morbidelli, the Frenchman gave up a little after the midway point. As the laps went by, the situation worsened, and the Yamaha lost more pace. Fabio Quartararo was overtaken by three riders in one lap and slipped to 8th position. Being two seconds off the leader’s laps, he struggled to finish this Grand Prix. Nonetheless, he managed to keep those behind him at bay and scored some good points despite being 20 seconds behind the race winner at the end.
Behind him, Johann Zarco benefited from numerous crashes to climb to the 16th place, just outside the points. Another weekend to forget…
The MotoGP will meet in two weeks in Japan at the Twin Ring Motegi.
