The twelfth meeting of the season in Aragon was an opportunity for our Maralpine riders to have some new features on their machines. And the overall outcome is positive.
On a tricky track in Aragon, the riders had to deal with unpredictable weather in the first part of the weekend. The first satisfaction comes from Johann Zarco. Very comfortable in free practice, the rider from Cannes achieved his best qualification of the season with a first entry into Q2 (10th). Equipped with a new engine, the LRC rider had a good chance of scoring points this weekend. But right on the first lap of the sprint race, he was knocked off by Jack Miller. “It was very violent,” Johann Zarco commented on Saturday afternoon. “It’s a shame because I was starting in the right place.”
Disappointed, the Honda rider noted his compatriot’s good start: “I was very impressed by Fabio, who made an incredible start. When I saw him there, I thought ‘wow’. I saw that he had a lot of confidence, so I didn’t try to attack him.” Qualifying 17th, the rider from Nice was struggling since the beginning of the weekend. But thanks to a strong start, he gained seven places and found himself on the verge of the points. In a fine battle with the reigning double world champion at the end of the race, he finally finished in a respectable 8th position. “A lot of riders were making mistakes in front of me. I managed not to lose too much. I think we did our best. The most important thing is that I had fun.”
A More Complicated Sunday
The next day, things had finally returned to “normal” for the two French riders. Struggling with his tires, Johann Zarco fell down the rankings. Fourteenth at the end of the first lap, he found himself with Fabio Quartararo. Unfortunately, the duel did not last very long as the rider from Nice crashed in turn 5 after just six laps of the race. “It was clearly a disaster from the start,” summarized Quartararo on Canal+. “We had no rear grip at all. I tried to give my maximum. I saw the group in front of me, I tried to ride a bit faster. I lost the front, we don’t really know why. We clearly have big grip problems on this circuit.”
The last French representative, Johann Zarco never found the rhythm on this very slippery track. Isolated, he finally finished 14th. “Of course, it’s disappointing. It would have been nice to stay with the right group and have some sort of continuity. I couldn’t fight with the others, so I tried to compensate by braking later. But I made a lot of mistakes and lost positions.” But the rider from Cannes did not leave Aragon discouraged: “The only good thing is that we unlocked the situation on Friday. I think we’ll be able to get into Q2 more often for the rest of the season. It gives me confidence, the pace might be there.”
Answers will begin as early as next weekend for the San Marino Grand Prix.
