Johann Zarco placed his Ducati on the fifth pit of the grid, almost two tenths of a second behind his boxer colleague. Five races before the end of the championship, the Frenchman is fourth in the ranking with 137 points. A gap of just 20 points or a little more separates him from Mirs Suzuki (157 pts.) And Bagnaias Ducati (161 pts.), Who are third and second, respectively, while Quartararo’s Yamaha is tall with 214 points and seems to be racing for the title .
“Fifth place is a good result. After two weeks in Q1, it was nice to get into Q2. I think I can do well. My race pace was also good in FP4, and my arm doesn’t cause me any problems also because I didn’t do many laps. Knowing that I can fix this problem by next Wednesday also calms me down. Both Pecco and Fabio are very strong, ”continues Johann. “When the race is dry I’ll try to keep up with them, which would be good because here in Misano there are only a few drivers who can keep up this pace.”
What went wrong in Aragon and why are the Ducatis so strong here in Misano?
“We had a problem in Aragon and when you race at these levels it takes very little to get nowhere. Here in Misano, on the other hand, I have excellent feelings. I think part of the reason the Ducatis are so strong here is because a lot of their testing takes place here and that helps a lot with calibrating the bikes for the race. “
So Wednesday’s arm surgery gave you a new boost?
“Knowing this will be the last race I have arm pain in even when I am losing strength gives me a lot of confidence. The pain wasn’t particularly bad today, which is comforting. Tomorrow the race will be long, but for the moment I’m staying positive. My race pace is good and to be in the top group with five Ducatis is a good feeling. “
Dry racing or wet racing?
“Based on the results of FP2, I think I have more chances in the wet. I would like to win or finish on the podium, but I better not make any plans in advance and look at the track conditions tomorrow. “