Johann Zarco “almost hit” Quartararo when he ran out of fuel

After spending 20 laps starring at the back wheel of Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha, Johann Zarco was suddenly gifted eleventh place when his compatriot ran out of fuel within sight of the finish in Sunday’s Japanese MotoGP.

Both Frenchmen had been chasing down Jack Miller and Aleix Espargaro in the closing stages before Quartararo’s sudden loss of power out of the final corner forced Zarco to swerve around the spluttering M1.

“I did almost my whole race behind Fabio, but I could not go faster because the front tyre was a little bit high in pressure and then you cannot slow the bike,” Zarco said.

“I also knew that we would catch Aleix and Miller on the last laps, but it was also difficult to attack them.

“Then at the last corner, Fabio ran out of fuel. I was very close to him, I almost hit him.

“But I got 11th because of his lack of fuel.”

That meant Zarco was not only the top Honda rider but the leading rider representing a home Japanese manufacturer.

“I’m happy with 11th position. It is a good target for us and good points,” said Zarco.

“We have moved up into a better group compared to the beginning of the year.

“We still miss acceleration and we are not using well the rear tyre in the right moment.

“I don’t know what will be the next steps to improve but at least I can have some better races than the beginning of the season.”

Zarco is 17th in the world championship, as the top Honda rider, one place and eight points ahead of team-mate Takaaki Nakagami who finished 13th on Sunday.