Race-leader Zarco falls from grace
Yamaha Tech 3 rookie Johann Zarco burst onto the MotoGP stage in spectacular form, by leading not only the first lap of his premier class career, but opening a gap at the front. It all looked to be going so well until he crashed out of the race. “Despite the end result, I am happy and it was so good to lead the field in my first race. When the race 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. 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 sixth lap, I decided to relax, and maybe I went off the racing line a little bit and then I fell at the second corner. This is a shame and there’s a little pain in my heart, 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.” And with his rookie status comes the confidence for Zarco to continue the approach he’s used throughout testing and maintain his experimental approach – something that almost paid off big time in Sunday’s race for the Frenchman. “I said to the guys that I want to play with the soft tyre for the race. I was maybe not the only one to do it, but why not try it? I have nothing to lose, I’m a smooth rider and I’m learning. I need to stay positive about what I did, remain positive for the future and the results will come.”