The Pramac Ducati rider finished the first nine races of the 2021 season as Fabio Quartararo’s closest rival in the championship standings 34 points behind after four podium finishes.
But Zarco had two disappointing events in Austria in a stronghold for Ducati, finishing sixth in the Styrian Grand Prix while Quartararo finished third and crashed out of the Austrian GP.
As Quartararo’s lead grew to 47 points, Zarco was cut off 49 points behind Francesco Bagnaia and Joan Mir ahead of Sunday’s British GP at Silverstone.
After a largely difficult weekend at Silverstone, Zarco has not given up hope for the 2021 title – but says that since Austria he has had to reassess his approach to the rest of the season.
“I have to get it out of my head because I put too much pressure on myself when I come back from summer; consciously or unconsciously, it’s hard to say, ”said Zarco when asked whether his disappointing Austria double header made him change his approach to the title fight.
“I wanted to shift up a gear so that I could keep up with Fabio better, and this gear is not finished anytime soon.
“So you have to know what to aim at, and afterwards that doesn’t mean you lose hope. A lot can happen.
“But Fabio manages to keep his rank and I, on the evolutionary phase that I believe in” [must be done], need more time or analysis on many things. “
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Zarco will start Sunday’s British GP from ninth on the grid after surviving Q1, while Pramac team-mate Jorge Martin will start from fourth.
At the end of Q2, Martin temporarily drove one lap eight tenths faster than the others to pole position, which was however erroneously registered when the Pramac driver broke the Vale chicane while heading for place on the for his final flying lap Route sought.
The rookie was downgraded to sixth after the timing screens were readjusted before eventually being promoted to fourth.
“I definitely made it in qualifying [cut Vale] to find a good place because I’ve seen [Marc] Marquez was up front so I thought it would be the perfect place [to follow him] for the last lap, ”said Martin.
“I knew from the start that it wasn’t pole position, but I didn’t know the position [I actually qualified]. So I think P4 is good enough.
“The pace is good and we can fight for the podium. I really enjoyed the Parc Ferme.
“As soon as I got there I said, ‘It’s not the pole, you need to check it out and let me go to my box’. But then I had to go back because I was independent at first [team rider].
“It was nice to talk to Fabio, Pecco [Bagnaia] because they laughed and said that you couldn’t manage this time. “