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Honda seems well on its way to abandoning its role as the ugly duckling of the MotoGP, especially when it's led by Johann Zarco who, in the FP1, surrendered only to Marc Marquez and ended his pre-qualifying with a 7th place and a good dose of confidence. The LCR team's French rider couldn't be more satisfied at the end of the first day of the Argentine GP. "It's a good day," he confirmed. "It was really nice to be leading the FP1 and finishing behind only Marc. It's a good track for me. I wasn't able to take advantage of the Ducati here two years ago, and I'm happy to do it with the Honda. My riding style is improving, and everything is going quite well."
Fairly?
"The time attack was difficult. The other riders are fast, and I couldn't improve as much as I expected. I'm in the Q2, though, and I take it as a confirmation of my progress. I hope I'll have the same good sensations tomorrow and do a good qualifying because, if that happens, it looks like I'll get the chance to get on the podium in both the sprint and the race on Sunday. A good position on the grid would help me."
Are you surprised about your performance?
"In being so fast, yes. It's a confirmation of the sensations in the race in Thailand. I analyzed it well, and I believe that, with a good qualifying, I can be with the best, like Ogura did in Buriram. I'm aiming for at least the top five."
Bagnaia said you were the one who impressed him the most today.
"It's a nice compliment, and I thank him. Pecco is a reference for me, because he has very good analytical skills. It's nice that he said those words, but especially being so fast on the track, because it allows you to work on the details."
What's your secret at Termas de Rio Hondo?
"This morning, I was very fast in the last sector, while I didn't have that advantage anymore in the afternoon, but I was competitive in general. We still lose a lot in the straights, and that could be a problem in the race, to overtake and not get overtaken. It could be tricky."
Where do you need to improve for tomorrow?
"I want to be able to make better use of the soft tire because keeping the right trajectory isn't easy. We need to improve the set-up of the bike to be able to do that."
