The Assen circuit in the Netherlands hosted the eighth round of MotoGP this weekend. Here’s a look back at the performances of Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco.
After three weeks without a Grand Prix, MotoGP returned to the Assen circuit. It was a mixed weekend for the two riders from the French Riviera, despite finishing in the points.
Highlights for Fabio Quartararo
The weekend for the rider from Nice began with an engine change on his Yamaha. Placing in the top 10 during free practice and reaching fourth place suggested a promising weekend. Unfortunately, the hope was short-lived as he missed qualifying for Q2 by one position in the trials. Qualifying did not go better, finishing third in Q1, which was insufficient to move on to Q2. He therefore started thirteenth for the sprint race, and after a good start placing him in p10, he found himself somewhat alone throughout the race. The crash of Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaró resulted in him finishing eighth. A penalty after the race for Alex Marquez then moved him up to seventh.
Finally, for the actual race, despite a good start, the strategy of using a hard front tire and a soft rear tire was not the right choice. A battle against Miguel Oliveira for six laps was the only thing breaking the solitude of his race, as he was faster than those behind him and slower than those in front of him. The fall of Pedro Acosta in the last lap gave him p12. His disappointment was evident on social media despite earning seven points more for the championship.
Johann Zarco, top Honda rider
The weekend’s start was very challenging for the Cannes rider. He also had to go through Q1 after a seventeenth place in practice. As with his counterpart from Nice, Q1 did not fare well as he finished ninth, placing him in p19 on the grid. Knowing that points were unattainable, he chose to use the sprint race as a test and to gather data for the next day’s race. He therefore finished sixteenth in the sprint. With Aleix Espargaró and Lorenzo Savadori pulling out of the race, Johann Zarco moved up to seventeenth on the grid.
He gambled on double medium tires, which turned out to be a decent decision. After a good start, he steadily climbed but battled with quite a few riders. Joan Mir fell on the twentieth lap, offering him p15. He eventually lost it to Augusto Fernandez on the fifteenth lap but regained it ten laps later. Ahead, Miguel Oliveira received a penalty requiring a long lap, which he messed up by going into the gravel and had to repeat. This mishap offered the fourteenth place to the Cannes rider. The fall of Pedro Acosta also provided an opportunity for Johann Zarco to gain a place, eventually finishing the race thirteenth, earning 3 points.
