After a positive French Grand Prix, the Alpes-Maritimes drivers Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo had a meeting in Catalonia, at the Barcelona circuit. A weekend that started perfectly and ended less well with Johann Zarco’s heavy crash.
In Catalonia for this sixth race of the MotoGP season at Barcelona, Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco had measured ambitions. Building on their good French Grand Prix last weekend, it was time to confirm. Both qualified in Q2, the Azurean drivers achieved their best session of the season with a very good 5th place for Johann Zarco, far ahead of the other Hondas, and a 7th position for Fabio Quartararo, also well ahead of the Yamaha drivers.
They now had to confirm during Saturday’s sprint race, an exercise often risky for the Nice native, who struggles to keep up with the leading machines when he has to complete lap after lap. On overheated asphalt, Johann Zarco made an almost perfect start by securing second place at the end of the first lap, while Fabio Quartararo lost a position by avoiding a crash ahead of him. Still struggling on the straights because of his machine which loses about 15 km/h in top speed, El Diablo was relentlessly losing positions to find himself 11th after the first laps.
Johann Zarco, a step below the leaders, took advantage of the battle ahead of him to stay with the leading group. In the top 5 after the first third of the race, the Cannes driver was losing ground as the laps went on. With a good margin over the driver behind him, the Honda LCR rider went into management mode, as he knows how to do so well. Fifth at the finish, Johann Zarco was satisfied after the sprint: “When you start ahead, you can have better races and learn by being behind the best. This podium pace, I don’t have yet. There, more than that, I couldn’t do. Tomorrow, everything I can take at the start, like today, I have to take it.”
As for Fabio Quartararo, fighting in a small group, he couldn’t do anything. Thirteenth at the end of this race, he seemed resigned: “You can imagine the sensations. We saw in the straight the speed difference with the others. We also know that we struggle to turn and don’t have much grip. I gave my all.”
A black Sunday for Johann Zarco
While Johann Zarco had had a perfect day Saturday, his Sunday unfortunately went very badly. Despite a correct start, the Honda LCR driver found himself alongside Fabio Quartararo before recovering 4th position at the end of the first of the 24 laps of the Catalunya circuit. Running well, the Frenchman had an ideal start to the race even going for a provisional podium by overtaking Álex Márquez, winner the day before. Very aggressive, the Cannes driver stayed in the fight like the day before. Until lap 12, fatal to Álex Márquez, victim of an impressive crash. A few seconds behind him, Johann Zarco was apparently hit on his left foot by debris. Helped by his mechanics to get off his machine, the Alpes-Maritimes driver gritted his teeth to take the second start and defend his fifth place.
Unfortunately, the Frenchman found himself involved in another crash at the first corner. Entangled with Francesco Bagnaia’s bike, the Cannes driver remained on the ground for a long time before being evacuated by the circuit’s medical teams, apparently conscious but not in a critical condition. After the race, his LCR team announced that “Johann Zarco is transferred to the Hospital Universitari General de Catalunya, in Sant Cugat, for further examinations of his left leg.” It remains to be seen how serious his injury is, with the nature of it to be announced later in the day. Speaking to Canal+, his team manager Lucio Cecchinello was reassuring: “we helped him remove his suit, we cut it of course. He was very calm, very professional. He explained a bit to me what happened at the start. Fortunately, he still has a positive attitude. We’re trying to take the positive in this difficult moment.”
On the Yamaha side, despite a good start by Fabio Quartararo, the pace wasn’t there this weekend. Fourteenth before the first red flag, the Nice driver benefited from the race circumstances to climb back into the top 5 after the third start and thus score some good points. But the lack of pace from his Yamaha only allowed him to finish 7th at the end.
Now, the MotoGP drivers will meet in two weeks in Italy, at Mugello. However, it’s impossible to say whether Johann Zarco will be taking part.
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