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If anyone still had any doubts, Zarco was not a flash in the pan. What he did last year represents a solid base on which to build the 2018 season. In Thailand, along with his M1 with the 2016 frame, he is proving to be the fittest Yamaha rider.
Not so much for his 5th place in the standings, but because of the pace he managed to maintain throughout the day. Viñales beat him in the finale, but the factory team seems to be in much more trouble than the Frenchman.
“I am very happy. The position is much better than yesterday and I felt good straight away from the morning. I did not turn a lot of laps, but I was fast on all of them, so I am happy” Johann summarises.
However, not everything turns out as it should.
“Maybe because of the new tyres, I was unable to do a perfect lap and drop below the 1’30 mark. However, considering my sensations in the saddle and the work we have left to do, I think I will be able to tomorrow” he says optimistically.
There is still another day left to put the final pieces of his puzzle together.
“First of all, we need to sort the gearbox. Today we used a different one and there are some things to sort - he explains - Then we’ll need to work on the tyres. Usually, compared to my rivals, I am able to use a softer compound and in any case do race distance, but Michelin advised us that in October, for the GP, there will be different conditions.”
And so the tyres will also be different.
“We won’t have the same soft tyres that we have now, but one of the things that I liked the most about today was that I did the time of 1’30”6 on a tyre that had done 15 laps. I was unable to improve much with the new tyre, but this result gave me peace of mind”, he concludes.
