FFM backs Johann Zarco, warns media to show ‘caution’

The French Motorcycle Federation has urged the media to show ‘caution’ in the reporting of Johann Zarco’s collision with Franco Morbidelli ahead of a crunch meeting with the FIM to determine the facts of the now infamous incident.

Zarco has come under fire from fellow riders – namely those involved in the near-miss – after colliding with Morbidelli on the run up to Turn 3, which in turn resulted in Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales almost being struck by their wayward bikes.

While all three have accepted Zarco’s actions – which occurred when he came across Morbidelli in defence of his position and braked – were not intentional, they have intimated they want to see action taken against the Frenchman

As a result, the FIM governing body has arranged a meeting on Thursday establish exactly what happened using rider testimony and data.

For its part, Zarco’s Avintia Ducati team says its telemetry shows he braked later than previous laps, suggesting therefore he did not ‘brake-test’ him to catch him unawares.

"After the dispute of the Austrian Grand Prix, telemetry has shown that, at the time of the accident, Zarco brakes later in Turn 3 than in the rest of the laps of the race, so from this analysis it follows that at no time is his intention to impair Morbidelli's braking and close his line."

With Rossi since taking to social media to say Zarco showed ‘a serious error of judgement’, the FFM says it is backing Zarco, before adding it wants greater caution shown in apportioning blame before the facts have been established.

“Last Sunday, an accident with potentially dramatic consequences involved two riders, Franco Morbidelli and FFM rider Johann Zarco, during the Austrian MotoGP Grand Prix,” read a statement.

“While a large part of the Grand Prix riders present or past consider that this accident is an unfortunate fact of racing , the French Motorcycle Federation wonders about certain accusations, the motivation of which is not well defined, concerning the responsibility of Johann Zarco in this accident.”

The President of the FFM , Mr. Jacques Bolle, added. "When you view the images, nothing shows that Johann had any responsibility in this accident, on the contrary. So the media should be cautious in this matter. In any case, the FIM Stewards will study the issue within a few days and I have full confidence in their analysis. "

“The French Motorcycle Federation will provide all the necessary support to Johann in this matter.”