It’s a really good moment for French motorcycling, which has been fun for the past few weeks Johann Zarco, the first in the world championship and Fabio Quartararo, who has already won a race and is only 4 points away from his compatriot. Today the two French were again in top form with the Yamaha rider on pole position and the Ducati rider in third place. It’s all looking pretty good for France …
“Fabio and I actually come from schools other than the French one: Me from the Italian and he from the Spaniard – Zarco said at the press conference – The fact that we are among the best in MotoGP here is always very nice and it is the demonstration that does it It is also possible that the French Federation will achieve very good results only through more access to these levels. We have the great examples from Spain and Italy, there are a lot of strong drivers from these countries. “
Today Zarco managed to interpret the Portimao circuit in the best possible way, although the Ducati rider also suffered a crash. Beside him there were many falls during these two days, including one for Jorge Martin in which he picked up several fractures. Is Portimao a dangerous route?
“There are bumps and we might have to surface some corners in a few years but despite the lack of stability we are all improving our times compared to what we did in November. The crashes we saw this weekend are due precisely to that: We are faster than last year. As for Martin, I think his fall was due to the new tires: on this track, putting new tires on is always an unknown factor and you have to be careful when pushing hard. For me the track is good, we have good grip and even if we were a bit scared I think this is not a dangerous track.
As for Martin’s accident, you were in the garage today and the pictures were on. In a few minutes you had to get out for the last attempts How does a driver feel under these circumstances?
“I believe that If they show the pictures of the accident, it means that the driver is fine. Obviously it is not easy for us to see certain things ”.
How did qualifying go today and what do you expect from tomorrow’s race?
“It’s nice to be in the front row after that little crash. Luckily I went back to the garage and had time to calm down and take a deep breath before grabbing the second bike and pushing on. I have a good step made it to the front and was surprised today by the sensations I had with the rear tire. Fabio is running really well and we’ll see how the pace will be tomorrow. I have to drive my race, try to get off to a good start with the Ducati and stay in front for a few laps. I can keep up with Fabio and stay close to him.