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There is no doubt: he is having a golden moment. First the podium in Le Mans, now the pole at Assen. Johann Zarco continues to astonish in what is his début season in the premier class. Tomorrow the French rider will start from the front of the grid and he could have a joker to play.
The Tech3 rider makes no secret of his satisfaction.
“I am very happy to be in pole position. It rained today, but I was able to gain more and more confidence as time went on. In FP4 I had almost considered putting on slicks - he revealed – but then it started raining again. All of these situations were useful for the qualifiers, despite the fact that there was very little time to make changes.”
In Q2 Zarco certainly did not hold back.
“I tried to stay on the track as long as possible, trying to push – the Frenchman commented – At a certain point I even thought about changing the tyre. I must say that in these conditions my tyre wear is less than the other riders.”
Starting from the front row, many expect to see him on the podium again.
“Maybe even something more - he joked - Obviously I will have Marquez alongside me and he told me to push. I’ll try to do that, well aware that a second podium will be a nice result anyway. Let’s just say that, starting from the front, I have the chance to get there, even more so with pole position.”
And then there is the unknown connected to the tyres.
“With a dry track we will see whether to use the soft - he pointed out - The choice will be important based on the temperature. Tomorrow it will be quite cold, so I could opt for the soft. Given the experience in Moto2, as I already said, I am able to stress the tyres less.”
Zarco is certainly surprised by the performance provided from the season start.
“I would never have imagined this situation - he revealed - Unfortunately, in Barcelona I struggled in free practice, finding myself in a rookie situation. The goal is to stay on the podium and then to battle for the win.”
Once again, his M1 is ahead of the two Factory machines and he has very clear ideas.
“The factory bike makes a difference when conditions are constant throughout the weekend – he analysed – In this case, the situation is different.”
Despite the pole, he prefers keeping his feet planted firmly on the ground
“I prefer not to give myself marks after the result today, but if I were to win it would be a 10. I am still learning in the dry - he added - I don’t think there is a magical setup; there is just great potential to be exploited in this bike. The weather would be ideal if it were colder.”
The final comment is on when we will see him astride a factory M1. His reply is simple.
“When I am also able to develop it.”
