The Misano circuit in Italy is hosting the MotoGP for the second time this year. This comes following the cancellation of the Indian Grand Prix and the Kazakhstan Grand Prix, providing another opportunity for the two French riders to shine.
Only fifteen days after the first race of the season at the Misano circuit, MotoGP is back at this track. The previous weekend was positive for the two Maralpine riders, and the hope that this one will be as well is on everyone’s mind. Let’s look back at the weekend of Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco.
Always Higher
This weekend starts very well for Fabio Quartararo. After a ninth place in free practice session 1, he secures fifth in practice. This allows him to access Q2 for qualifying for the second time in a row. Free practice session 2 couldn’t have gone better. He is at the top of the standings until the last moment. Pedro Acosta displaces him in the final flying lap, making him finish second. For qualifying, even though he feels comfortable with the bike, the deficit is noticeable. He settles for a modest ninth place. However, this doesn’t prevent him from making a very good start in the sprint race. He gains a place straight away, and a fight in the opening corners with two other riders ensues. He overtakes Marco Bezzecchi in the first lap, not without difficulty. Nevertheless, the Nice native receives a warning for track limits on the fourth lap. The battle with Marco Bezzecchi continues on the twelfth lap, but Fabio Quartararo holds his position. He finishes seventh.
As for the race, Fabio Quartararo also gets a good start by taking a position. Brad Binder crashes on the second lap, allowing him to move up to p7. Pedro Acosta crashes on the tenth lap, benefitting the Nice native as he takes sixth place. Francesco Bagnaia also crashes on lap 21, placing Fabio Quartararo in fifth. A fuel problem in the very last lap causes him to lose two places. He therefore finishes seventh, equaling his best result of the season and the one from two weeks ago. For once, the rider seems satisfied with his bike: “The pace was very good, we did almost every lap in 1:31, so I am quite satisfied.”
No Improvement
A mixed weekend for Johann Zarco. After an eighteenth place in free practice session 1, he finishes twelfth in practice. He just misses progressing directly to Q2 by a tenth. By finishing eleventh in free practice session 2, a possible Q2 entry for qualifying seems plausible. However, this does not materialize a few hours later as he finishes fifth in his Q1 group. This places him p17 for both races. With this grid position not helping, the rider from Cannes makes a very poor start in the sprint race. Despite feeling confident about sticking close to the group between the top 10 and top 15, he loses three places, placing him in twentieth.
He overtakes Augusto Fernández on the second lap. He battles with Joan Mir for eighteenth place for several laps. Joan Mir takes a long lap penalty for track limits, allowing the Frenchman to overtake him. To conclude his sprint race, he receives a warning for track limits on the penultimate lap. He finishes eighteenth.
A rather average start for Johann Zarco as he loses a place. He regains it with the crash of Brad Binder on the second lap. By overtaking Augusto Fernández on the third lap, he takes sixteenth place. He moves into p15 after Pedro Acosta crashes. An error on the seventeenth lap causes the Cannois to lose two places and receive a track limit warning. He finishes seventeenth.
