Johann Zarco experienced a challenging afternoon to finish the Japanese GP down in eighth place. The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider started from pole position as the rain continued to pour but unfortunately he was swarmed at the start and quickly lost first place.
Then, after relentlessly battling at the front of the field for the opening laps, he settled into a formidable rhythm as he battled against the gruelling conditions.
Eventually, he powered across the finish line in 8th and is now on his way Down Under for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
โIt was a tough race. I had a good start and the feeling was quite ok at the beginning,โ he said. โHowever, the rear was sliding a little bit but I was able to control it and overall, the front felt great which allowed me to brake how I wanted to.โ
โI was slightly limited with the corner entry yet, on the whole, it was positive. Some riders overtook me but I managed to stay with them, even if I lost a bit in acceleration. This means that we are doing a good job as we can make this same step in the wet as well as the dry.โ
โI waited when I was running in 4th and I thought that I would get more confident with the front and then catch the leading group. Yet, the opposite happened and despite the fact that I always felt good on the brakes, the tyres wore, which limited me.โ
โBy the end of the race, there was a lot of spinning and even though I tried my best to find a solution on the straight by carefully opening and closing the throttle to catch some grip, the other riders got past me. This was why I lost the positions at the end but we will try again in Australia."
