Sixth-fastest at the end of Practice at the Portuguese MotoGP confirmed a step forward for Johann Zarco that he felt already in Asia.
Zarco was able to be fast from the beginning of Friday in Portugal, ultimately ending as the second-fastest Honda behind Joan Mir, but comfortably inside the top-10 and only a-quarter-of-a-second away from the top of the times.
“Pretty pleased with how it went,” Johann Zarco summarised, speaking to MotoGP.com after Practice at Portimao.
“From the first laps of FP1 I was fast and this brings a good confidence.
“A good confirmation from Malaysia that I got this confidence back on the bike, so it means that I can push on it and try to do the lap time.
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“So, happy to get it, now I want to improve my pace, feel even better on the bike to keep the pace and get the chance of a podium for the races. So, let’s see tomorrow.
“So happy to be straight in Q2. If I have an opportunity to catch the first row I guess from there I will have a chance to smell the podium.”
Although Zarco started the season well – fourth in Argentina, then winning in the rain in France, and second in Britain – his form dipped mid-season.
The recovery in the last two races has been well-timed, the LCR Honda rider says, to avoid entering the MotoGP off-season with negativity.
“It’s pretty important to find the confidence back again because if you finish the season being scared to crash I think you can bring a lot of doubts during the winter, even if the winter is pretty short now,” he said.
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“But I’m happy for that. In Malaysia it was already a good step and it’s good to come back in Europe.
“We feel that we are doing many races, so I think we all feel that we want to finish the season. But [to] at least get this pleasure, to feel positive, is always important for a rider.”
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