MotoGP, Zarco: “I saw that the other riders were happy for me”

Johann Zarco's first MotoGP victory arrived at the age of 33 years, 3 months and 5 days. At Phillip Island he achieved his first success in the premier MotoGP class, beating Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio. A long-awaited, now almost unexpected, success for the Cannes rider, who in his seven seasons in the category had already achieved 19 podiums, without ever managing to climb to the top step of the podium.

A taboo dispelled on this Australian Saturday disguised as Sunday, in which the Frenchman put an end to a winless period that had lasted since November 2016, the year of the two-time world champion's last triumph in Moto2. Six years, eleven months and eight days of waiting, which did not take away the shine from Zarco, who returned to celebrate his success with his famous backflip.

“It feels good. Sometimes you always push and try to catch but sometimes there are other riders that have the pace and have this feeling. As long as you don’t catch it, it seems like you cannot win,” commented Johann at the end of the race, describing his emotions after crossing the finish line: "They asked me if I started screaming inside my helmet and the answer is no. I felt very calm at that moment, I said to myself: 'ok, it's done and it's fantastic'. Then I felt a bit of emotion. It made me very happy to receive congratulations from most of the other riders at the end of the race. They opened their visor, I looked into their eyes and I saw that they were happy for me and it was a very beautiful emotion."

2533 days after the last time, the Pramac team rider returned to savour the taste of success in a great classic like the Australian Grand Prix, dusting off his historic backflip for the occasion.

“I hadn't thought about it when I crossed the finish line, but after a few corners I said to myself that I should do the backflip, because I wasn't too tired and I should try. It wasn't flawless, because the landing wasn't perfect, since I had to put my hands on the ground, but at least I landed on my feet! I had thought about doing it in Parc Fermé, but it was nice to do it in front of the crowd. As I did in the past - commented Johann – As I said before everyone loves Phillip Island, so if you can win there you feel you are part of ‘the big one’. We could do it overall in 2017, it was a huge fight, and this one was different because Jorge went away and could do this race alone. Finally in the end he was there and we had these overtakes in this big group to finish. It’s anyway amazing to win, but with a little plus.”

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In fact, the choice of the soft rear tire made by his teammate Jorge Martin proved to be the key to the GP, but also the splendid interpretation of the race made by the Frenchman, who preserved the medium tire to launch his decisive attack in the last lap of the race.

“The choice of the medium rear tire was important. When I saw Jorge pulling away I thought it would be nice to at least be able to fight for the podium, fighting for second place wouldn't be easy, but it was possible. But in the last five laps when Jorge began to drop a lot I thought something even more special was possible today. I’m so happy to have done it. Special emotion. Maybe we can do long races on a Saturday for me. This is done anyway. We'll see for the future", said the Ducati rider.

With five riders fighting for victory, anything could have happened on the final lap of the Phillip Island race, but Johann still managed to secure victory, overtaking his teammate.

“I had to be behind Jorge on the last two laps or last lap because I saved my rear tyre and wanted to catch this acceleration on the last lap that I’m used to having. I could not do it earlier in the race because I would have used too much tyre. I did the manoeuvre at the right moment - stated the Pramac team rider – I understand with five laps to go that it was possible to catch Jorge. I thought I could also overtake him at turn six, like I did with Marc. But if I had waited at turn four I could have been attacked by another rider. It was important to attack to not be attacked.”

However, the 33-year-old Frenchman did not hide the fact that he himself had considered the possibility of fitting the soft tire on the rear.

“I thought about it after Qualifying, because in FP3 this morning I asked myself how I would have managed to ride with the medium on the rear, which was very slow. But it's also true that I was riding the one I had used the day before and it already had 14 laps under its belt and it was very difficult to control. In the afternoon, however, it was a little warmer than in the morning and there was also a little less wind, so I started to think that this compound could work, fitting a new tyre. Everyone opted for the medium except Jorge, but he could try because he was very fast. I preferred to do like the others, knowing that I can normally manage the harder compound quite well. I thought about the soft before the race, but also about the fact that I did a time attack with that compound and when I tried to do the second one I was a little slower: if it had dropped after one lap, what would it have been like after 27? The medium was good today, but it still required managing,” explained Johann.

“In some points I had something more than Pecco, but not everywhere and I was sure that he would not give up the fight for the podium with Bradl and Di Giannantonio. So, I told myself that even if I got to Brad and Fabio I wouldn't be able to break away with Jorge, because I didn't have that pace, so I told myself that it would be better to control and have something more to fight with in the end" added the Frenchman speaking to Sky Sport MotoGP, underlining the importance of having achieved this success before his move to Honda: “I am very happy to have won with the Pramac team. Paolo (Campinoti, ed.) wanted to sing La Marseillaise on the podium with me and we did it. We are pushing, but they are all competitive and it is very difficult and not having that moment of form that the others have was a bit frustrating for me, because I didn't understand why I wasn't able to get the best out of the bike like Pecco, Bezzecchi and the others do, but today it was a bit different.”

Seven years without ever winning are difficult to manage, but Johann never gave up.

“You always try to keep your hopes alive, but, even if you fight for the podium - which is always a good thing - sometimes you realize that when you could be fighting for the victory you always find another rider who is flying at that moment and you start to wonder what's happening and why you can't have that magical moment that others have. Today I experienced it a bit too - he commented in the press conference - I didn't go into a breakaway, but I finally managed to take advantage of my management of the rear tire to have an advantage at the end of the race, because today was a critical day for the tires and the pace I kept behind Pecco helped me. At times I found myself thinking that the light was still there, as was the hope. Also for the future with Honda, because as long as you are there with the others you can always have an opportunity in particular conditions, although the bike is not as competitive as the Ducatis at the moment. In normal conditions, however, you need a Ducati to be able to win."

What made the 33-year-old wait so long?

“It’s hard to say what was against me, but I always say that with this riding style I can sometimes get an advantage – observed Zarco – I could use it better in the past. Now the tyres improve a lot and the bikes also, and it seems the riding is a bit different that you have to have an amazing confidence in the front and lean the bike in the entry of the corner in a way that’s hard to believe is possible. And this is not very natural for me. So, when I try to do it I don’t really do it relaxed enough, and in a long race becomes difficult because if you are not relaxed at this level you get tired and you can’t fight. So, maybe it’s about the style. You try to change it but to reach a high level you have to change it but then you have to do it naturally. This is taking a lot of time. It’s still not 100% but here it worked well enough to get the victory.”