Johann Zarco says the gearbox issue that caused him to crash out of the Portuguese Grand Prix from third and drop to fourth in the championship is “hard to swallow.”
Zarco came into the third round of the 2021 MotoGP campaign leading the points standings by four points over Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo after securing a pair of runners-up results in Qatar, the double Moto2 world champion looking to add more valuable points to his account as he ran solidly within the top three for most of the Portuguese contest after leading early on.
He started to struggle with front tyre wear in the closing stages though and was passed by for second by factory Ducati man Francesco Bagnaia before losing the front of his Desmosedici at Turn 11 with just six tours remaining, leaving Portugal pointless as a result.
With Quartararo scoring a dominant win at the Algarve International Circuit Zarco was set to lose the points lead anyway, though his non-score leaves him fourth overall and 21 points away from the Yamaha pilot heading to Jerez.
The Pramac rider says a “gearbox problem” twinned with a lack of “support” from his worn front tyre caused his late crash, leaving him “very disappointed” following his strong start to the year in Qatar.
“I’m very disappointed, I thought I made a small mistake as I shifted down the gearbox but we found out after we analysed the data that we had a small problem on the gearbox in that moment so I didn’t get the right gear when I shifted down,” said Zarco.
“That’s why I got a bit too much engine braking and I crashed, but we also saw that we were lacking front tyre grip so I was lacking support from the front.
“The race was quite tough and the last six laps were going to be quite hard but even with some tenths missing we were fighting for the podium and enjoying.
The Frenchman conceded that his Portuguese GP troubles were “part of the game”, but insisted that his “confidence is still there” that further improvements to his Ducati challenger over the coming races should allow him “to control races better” as he looks to mount a title tilt.
“Part of the game, not easy to swallow but we need to keep working to have more speed and be more comfortable in the next race,” continued Zarco.
“I’m still quite confident and it’s a pity to miss points because obviously even if we have problems when trying to get a podium its always better than bank points than crash, but the confidence is still there because the bike is going well and we can see huge potential on the Ducati as if it’s not me its Jack (Miller) or Pecco (Bagnaia).
“I really believe we will make improvements that will help me to control the races better, and this is the target looking ahead.”
