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On Sunday, Marc Márquez will need to reckon with, not one, but two Yamahas. At the start, the Spaniard will be right next to Maverick Viñales, whereas the M1 ridden by Johann Zarco will complete the front row.
Despite the half-second gap, the Frenchman was able to finish ahead of Andrea Iannone, forced to settle for fourth.
“These qualifiers were extremely stressful – the Frenchman began – Two minutes from the start, it began to rain, and I had slicks on. I asked myself: what do I do? Do I push or not? It was terrible. In fact, I was afraid, since the drops of rain frightened me.”
In spite of the inconvenience, Johann proved to be competitive.
“I tried to push, but at the same time to control the situation as much as possible since the first sector was wet, and the others were dry. I am therefore happy with my performance.”
His mind is now on the race.
“I think I have a good chance to finish on the podium – he advised – Unfortunately, my race pace does not allow for it yet. Performance in the qualifiers was definitely encouraging, so I hope to confirm the same sensations, trying to bring home a few points for the standings in the independent teams title, since Cal is not here.”
Johann also had his own predictions for tomorrow’s race and the Moto3 title battle.
“For me, Marc is still the favourite – he said – Iannone is very fast, but I am convinced that if he tries to pull the pin, Márquez will follow him. A Moto3 prediction? Martin and Bezzecchi are two different riders with ups and downs. I think Jorge is faster, but Marco has proven to be very smart in managing situations. I don’t have enough money and I couldn’t bet on either one of them.”
The final comment had to do with the time change that was discussed yesterday in Safety Commission for the 2019 GP of Australia.
“Personally, I think the schedule is fine – Zarco concluded – although I hoped to find better weather. I would rather have preferred to have the Phillip Island race moved up on the calendar.”
