Johann Zarco “expected to stay” with Marquez brothers in Argentina MotoGP sprint
LCR Honda rider Zarco reflects on strong sprint result
Johann Zarco says he “expected to stay” with Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez throughout the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix sprint as “I knew I could have the pace for the podium”.
The LCR rider delivered Honda its first front row in MotoGP since the 2023 Italian GP when he qualified his bike third on the grid.
Strong all weekend at Termas de Rio Hondo, Zarco was confident he could battle for the podium in the 12-lap sprint on Saturday afternoon.
However, he was forced into an early battle with Fabio Quartararo and Pedro Acosta after dropping to sixth off the line, and was too far adrift of third by the time he got back up to fourth.
Zarco was just 1.167s away from Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia at the chequered flag for Honda’s best sprint result since Marc Marquez was third in Valencia in 2023.
“I must be happy with the fourth position today,” he old MotoGP’s official website.
“Already the first row in qualifying was a good present for me and the team.
“And then I knew I can have the pace for the podium. I expected to stay with Alex and Marc, but I had to fight a bit with Acosta and Quartararo.
“So, it was good to overtake them and try to chase Pecco.
“But Pecco managed well the beginning of the race, the first five laps he took this third position and then he kept it, and then even if my pace was good it was tough to come back on him.
“That’s why I can be very happy with the P4 and still hope tomorrow with a different tyre choice to get some advantage and play for the podium.
“For sure with a better start, if I can stay in third position then I guess just having a few tenths better in the first three or five laps it would make a difference.
“But step by step I’m coming back to the top and at the moment I enjoyed it a lot.”
Joan Mir: Honda is in a “completely different story” to 2024
Honda managed to get two bikes in the points in Saturday’s sprint in Argentina, as factory team rider Joan Mir took eighth after a late battle with Acosta.
Though admitting the Honda’s lack of power means he can’t be “fully happy with this package”, he is “able to fight and this is something great”.
“Satisfied but not fully happy because I think we have a bit of margin to do something more,” Mir said.
“I made a bad start, I lost a bit of positions at the start. Then it was difficult to overtake, but we were able to have a consistent pace and being able also to be quite fast.
“Missing something still, missing something in the exit of the corners to be fully happy with this package.
“But the reality is we are getting there, I felt better than yesterday, we made a step today.
“But something happened in the sprint. I think we have a little bit more, to do a little bit more, in terms of pace. But we have to be happy because it’s a completely different story as the last season.
“We are able to fight and this is something great. I’m able to enjoy it on the bike and hopefully tomorrow we can make a small step forward to try to get into the top six.”
