MotoGP is already back this week with the ninth round. Did Germany and its Sachsenring circuit bring luck to Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco? Let’s review their performances.
Based on last week’s Assen Grand Prix, the Sachsenring Grand Prix offered little hope for our two Azurean riders, Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco.
A Hundredth Grand Prix to Forget
That’s how Fabio Quartararo began this weekend, marked by this symbolic number. He was competing in his hundredth Grand Prix in the premier two-wheel category. A far cry from his title in 2021, which remains one of his best memories, he finished fourteenth in the first free practice. To end the Friday, he came in at a meager 14th place in practice. Therefore, he had to go through Q1 for the seventh time this season. Free practice 2 seemed promising for Yamaha as Fabio Quartararo finished in eleventh place. During Q1, he slipped mid-session. He gave it his all and improved his time, but it was not enough. He ended fourth in Q1 and thus starts p14 for the two races. Next comes the sprint race, where he gains a place at the start but is overtaken by Pedro Acosta shortly after. A battle with three other riders drops Fabio Quartararo back to fifteenth place. An error by Pedro Acosta and an overtaking maneuver allow him to finish the sprint in thirteenth place.
Finally, in the main race, he had a very good start and gained three places. A very tight midfield made him slip back to fourteenth place. On the fifth lap, Maverick Viñales ran straight into the gravel, allowing Fabio to move up to p13 and then p12 by overtaking Fabio Di Giannantonio. He finished in eleventh place after Jorge Martin crashed in the penultimate lap, securing 5 points for the championship.
No Progress for Johann Zarco
The weekend was not any better for Johann Zarco. The Cannes native started with an eighteenth-place finish in the first free practice, behind his teammate Takaaki Nakagami. He was sixteenth in practice, but crashed on his last lap at the last corner, preventing him from improving his time. He too had to go through Q1 the next day. Free practice 2 didn’t show any positives as he finished p18. This result was confirmed in Q1, finishing ninth, and he thus started nineteenth for the two races. His strategy for the weekend was already set. He mentioned to Canal+ that the medium tires at the front were good for attacking. If the heat came into play, the hard tires would be used for the rear. The sprint race was a ghost race for Johann Zarco. He passed his teammate in the first lap and gained only one more position due to Pedro Acosta’s error.
The main race did not fare any better. He found himself last due to a poor start, but managed to claw back some positions throughout the race. He finished his race in seventeenth place.
