For the second time in many MotoGP weekends, Johann Zarco disobeyed the trend in tire choices and felt it backfired.
After choosing a medium wet rear tire in the Saxenling Sprint, he fell seventh from the front row against his rival soft rear – the Frenchman went his own way at Brno again in dry conditions.
The ninth-qualified Zarco was the only rider to choose the soft rear slick for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
This choice was based on promoting long-term performance in morning warm-ups, where they recorded competitive times with 16 laps old soft tires.
However, the temperature on warm race days meant that gambling was not rewarded.
Nevertheless, the LCR Honda Rider still set the best lap of the race on the final lap when they crossed the line on the 13th.
“It’s a tough race. It’s a shame we didn’t get a good result after a good Saturday,” said Zarco, who was eighth in the soft rear of the sprint.
“I didn’t want to go to medium rear tires because I believed something soft would work, because yesterday it looked very good in the sprint and wasn’t very expensive to consume.
“But it was very hot today and even the front tires weren’t working very well, so I couldn’t get the advantage of the rear and after half-race it started to get very difficult.
“So it was a wrong choice and I didn’t really get it.”
Despite the disappointment, Zarco will finish 8th in the World Championships, heading for the only Honda Rider in the top 14.
“At least I scored a few points to close the first half of the season, which was very positive and I came in eighth place,” he said.
“I have also checked on multiple occasions, including two exceptional outcomes in France and the UK, and on two exceptional outcomes and the top 10 goals that we announced at the beginning of the year.”
While many of his MotoGP rivals head for a three-week summer break, Zarco’s focus now shifts to the prestigious Suzuki eight-hour endurance race, defending the victory of the HRC team last year.
“I’ll take a four-day break in Osaka and then take a week off in Suzuki,” he said.
Pramac’s Jack Miller will join Suzuka’s Zarco, who will be competing in Yamaha.