The MotoGP landed in Hungary this weekend. On the new track at Balaton Park, Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco missed the opportunity to shine.
For this thirteenth event of the season, the MotoGP riders discovered a new track in Hungary. On the brand-new Balaton Park circuit, many riders aimed to make their mark. Fabio Quartararo was eagerly hoping for better performance than last weekend. Johann Zarco hoped for no less! He is in the fight to secure a seat with the official Honda team next season…
However, things didn’t go as planned for the Cannes native in qualifying, ending up only 18th on the starting grid. Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo felt more comfortable with his Yamaha, achieving a solid 6th place. A result that promised exciting battles on track for “El Diablo”.
False start in sprint
Unfortunately, the sprint race on Saturday afternoon was very short-lived for the Maralpins riders. One turn for the Niçois and half a lap for Johann Zarco. After a good start, Fabio Quartararo completely missed the first braking point. A rather optimistic braking point, a dirty track, and riders to avoid ahead of him were his undoing. The Niçois narrowly avoided taking down Enea Bastianini in his fall. An incident that seemed predictable to the Maralpin rider but was evidently not anticipated enough: “honestly, I expected something to happen in the first corner, but I didn’t think it would happen to me! We arrive in third gear into a first-gear corner where you really have to brake hard… It’s already a slow corner for Moto2, so imagine for MotoGP.” In the end, “El Diablo” was penalized with a long-lap to be completed during Sunday’s Grand Prix.
As for Johann Zarco’s misfortunes, there was a common denominator with his compatriot. His name is Enea Bastianini. The Italian, after being contacted by Fabio Quartararo at the start, found himself just behind the Cannes native and violently collided with him a few corners later. A dangerous maneuver impossible to avoid for Johann Zarco, who could consider himself lucky not to have been injured. Upon his return to the paddock, the Honda rider was not gentle with the Italian: “he often does that, extreme things. Often it goes, but it’s borderline. I’ve already thought several times: he’s never going to make the corner, and it goes with luck. There, he took me out.” The rider was penalized with a double long lap to perform on Sunday.
No performance in long stints
This Sunday, the two Maralpins riders gained a place on the grid with the demotion of Fabio Di Giannantonio. From the 5th and the 17th positions, there was no miracle for the Azuréens. Fabio Quartararo, with an average start, then observing his long lap, did not have all the cards to capitalize on his excellent qualification from the previous day.
Johann Zarco, meanwhile, could not keep pace with the riders ahead of him and settled for picking up positions while staying on his Honda, until five laps before the end of the Grand Prix. Battling with Ai Ogura for the 12th place, Johann Zarco lost the front in the very fast turn No.8. Fortunately, it was more fear than harm, but it resulted in a double retirement this weekend for the Cannes native. A difficult result to swallow during a period of contract renegotiation.
Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo settled for the 10th position at the finish, far from the battles in front and behind him. A clean race but quite frustrating, considering the performance shown in qualifying.
Next MotoGP event: in Catalonia, on the Barcelona circuit in 15 days.
