Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Johann Zarco accepts that his crash whilst leading the Qatar Grand Prix is part and parcel of his adaptation to MotoGP, and is nonetheless satisfied with his debut appearance.
The Frenchman makes the step up to the premier class this season following two title-winning years in Moto2. Impressive in testing, Zarco continued to vindicate Herve Poncheral’s decision to promote him with a second row start.
Happy on the bike in warm-up, Zarco knew he he could get amongst the leaders at the start, and remain in the hunt in the opening stages with his soft rear Michelin.
“My feeling was very strong (in warm-up) and my grid position, which was fourth, was close to the top,” he said.
“When the GP finally commenced, I was focused and I could see that I was not far from first, so I wanted to take the opportunity to do well.”
Zarco made good use of his early grip advantage and rocketed into the lead at Turn 6, before pulling out a gap of over a second whilst the chasing pack roughed each other up.
Setting a consistent and fast pace at the front of the field, and with almost two seconds in hand, Zarco decided to settle down seven laps in. However, just as he began to relax, he slid off at Turn 2.
“I know that my starts are strong and I overtook some good riders at the first corner, and I then got into a consistent rhythm.
“I kept pushing, but on the seventh lap I decided to relax, and maybe I went off the racing line a little bit and then I fell at the second corner.”
Though disappointed about the end result, Zarco acknowledges that these mistakes are all part of his learning process as a MotoGP rookie and felt leading was ‘important’ for his confidence heading into the next round.
Twitter: Zarco crashes out of the LEAD of the #QatarGP! Dovizioso leads!
#RiderOK https://t.co/TF06IjdB5m (@MotoGP)
“This is a shame but we are always on the limit and I still need to learn the category, so this kind of mistake is part of my lesson as a rookie in MotoGP.
“I am happy in the end; it’s a pity about the result, but it’s important for my confidence and I am excited for the Argentina round.”
Zarco’s team-mate Jonas Folger, also making his premier class debut, enjoyed a strong second half to the 20-lap encounter and took the chequered flag in 10th.
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