“Maybe I’d been waiting for eight hours,” Johan Zarko joked after being left behind in the back of a four-rider fight at Austria’s MotoGP on Sunday.
The LCR Hondastar, who won the prestigious Suzuka Endurance race alongside Takayama Takahashi during the summer holidays, admitted that he hadn’t realized it was his last lap when he crossed the line from just 0.056 on the 12th at Franco Morbidelli.
“I was a bit disappointed that after a good start to save fuel, I couldn’t stay with my previous group, but this weekend I obviously didn’t have a pace,” Zarco said.
“We couldn’t get better control over the rear grip. You’re already sliding, even before you open the throttle.
“When you know you can get out of the corner, you can also enter the corner with more freedom.
“I didn’t have this freedom during the race because if I missed the top, I lost even more. This was the most difficult.
“I tried to be with Alex Marquez, but I couldn’t. I wanted to be with Morbidelli and pass him, but I was hoping to attack Alex and Raul (Fernandez).
“I didn’t see it being the last lap. I saw L5, L3… I probably waited 8 hours! Because today the 40-minute race was too short!”
Zarko now joins his rival and heads to the unknown challenges of Hungary and Balaton Park.
“I want to discover the track, but the (regular) top rider will be the top,” Zarco said.
“Overall, I think the Ducati riders have had a good test of Pirro in MotoGP. Plus, they all rode alongside Panigal so certainly there are benefits to them.
“But the experience that all MotoGP riders have makes even us who haven’t tried the tracks able to adapt very quickly.”
Zarco will begin the weekend when he lost eighth place in the eighth Red Bull Ring podium finisher Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) in the MotoGP Championship.