Johann Zarco put aside physical and mental tiredness at the end of a particularly satisfying Saturday in the Indonesian Grand Prix. “I’m very happy,” said the Frenchman, confirming the potential he had shown since Friday in Mandalika, first securing direct access to Q2, then qualifying seventh and finishing eighth in the Sprint, with two points under his belt.
“The Sprint points are a real pleasure,” he declared without hesitation on French television Canal+, underlining the intensity of his race on the Mandalika circuit. “With the pace I kept during the race, I was happy it was over, I was at the limit. The race was fast because Franco Morbidelli was trying to catch Maverick Viñales. I’m glad I resisted, but it drained me!”
“I managed to pass Viñales, he got out of the way a bit, passed me again but that’s how the race went. In the end I tried to pass him again because he was losing a bit of pace, but I couldn’t. At the same time, I had to hold on to Fabio Di Giannantonio because I didn’t want to lose a position”, continued the LCR rider, describing his hard-fought race in the group fighting for the top 10.
The battle in this compact group, although tiring, allowed Zarco to confirm many of the points he had already clarified since Honda received the updates at Misano. By setting some of the fastest laps, he was able to see what his bike is capable of, even if it lacks some of the industry benchmarks.
“I’ve seen a lot of things with Ducatis and Aprilias, and this allows me to confirm a little of what I see, and to say it even more clearly,” he enthuses. “It went well, I’m curious to see tomorrow. Double laps will be complicated, but the pace will be more around 1’31, which will give a bit of margin.”
Leaving remains a low point for Honda.
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Not a perfect start
The Frenchman believes he benefited at Mandalika from the conditions he expected, namely a greater disparity between the riders’ feeling levels on a track that certainly offered grip, but not like at Misano in the last two Grands Prix. Among the weaknesses, his average start, which initially cost him four places, needs to be reviewed, but it could be down to Honda’s difficulty in this area.
“In terms of feeling, I think I started very well compared to the other races,” said the Frenchman. “But once you get into second gear, you let go of the clutch, and no matter how hard you push, if you put more power you go backwards, and that’s when the others pass. This means that our bike isn’t squeezing enough, but at the moment the Honda doesn’t want to compress more, or it’s going a little at a time, and we’re missing almost 2 or 3 cm, and this is huge because we don’t have the effect dragsters.”
The main question the LCR driver wants to answer is whether he can reproduce a similar performance for the duration of a Grand Prix. Ahead of Sunday’s event, caution and optimism are mixed: “If I manage to finish in the top 10 again, it will be fantastic. When I see that others aren’t able to make the best use of the rear grip, that’s when I feel at ease. If I do it from the third part of the race, I can maintain a certain margin and then challenge for the top 10.”
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