Why Johann Zarco’s “positive” fight in Argentina MotoGP was a double-edged sword

Johann Zarco says the fact he could fight with Pecco Bagnaia in the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix was “positive” but also meant he “could not use” his “extra speed”.

The LCR rider gave Honda one of its best weekends in well over a year after he qualified on the front row and managed fourth in the sprint.

Feeling he had podium pace in the grand prix, Johann Zarco ultimately finished sixth after a battle with Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia.

While Zarco beamed at the fact he was able to fight with a factory Ducati on his Honda, he admits that Bagnaia’s robust defence meant he couldn’t use the speed advantage he felt he had in the early stages.

As a result, his tyres dropped off too much in the final laps and left him powerless to stop VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio from snatching fifth from him.

“Very nice weekend, almost a dream weekend,” he began.

“From the first lap on Friday till the race on Sunday, getting this possibility to fight with the top guys was so nice and has been pretty positive for us.

“Clearly I did everything to have the podium.

“ The strategy on Sunday was better than on Saturday because I got a better start in this long race on Sunday and I was in a better position to be in third position and try to go with Alex [Marquez] and Marc [Marquez].

“But I was fighting with Pecco and he was defending pretty well.

“So, the extra speed I could have at the beginning of the race it’s really that I didn’t use it - I could not use it properly because of the fight with Pecco.

“But it’s so positive to say I’ve been fighting with Pecco.

“But then the race has been quite tough because not overtake him made the bike a bit more tough to ride and at the end of the race I got a lot of movement on the bike that I could not hold Di Giannantonio from coming.

“So, I finished sixth but if I take it overall I can be happy.”