Penultimate round of the championship this weekend in Malaysia. After a major twist for the title, how did Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco fare?
The Sepang circuit hosts the last Asian Grand Prix after three consecutive weeks of racing. Even though the Valencia Grand Prix is ultimately canceled due to the deadly floods affecting the city, Jorge Martin has not yet been crowned champion despite his considerable lead gained this weekend. The final race of the season will take place in Barcelona, with the date yet to be determined. Meanwhile, let’s look back at the performances of the two French pilots.
Big Points in Hand
The weekend begins with yet another fuel problem for Fabio Quartararo. Toward the end of Free Practice 1, he even had to be helped back to the pits. A beautiful moment of French solidarity as it was Johann Zarco who helped him. He finishes with the eighth-fastest time.
Regarding the practice sessions, he finishes sixth, advancing directly to Q2. Hopes for a good qualification are present as he finishes third in Free Practice 2. This would eventually lead to a solid eighth-place finish in qualifying, signaling a chance for big points in the two races. In the sprint, the Nice native makes an excellent start despite the risk of collision with his teammate in the first corner. He gains a position. He overtakes Brad Binder at the end of the first lap and is thus sixth. Francesco Bagnaia falls on the third lap, allowing Fabio Quartararo to move up to fifth. He maintains this position by following the rider in front of him and thus finishes the race fifth. He declares to Canal+: “I have greatly changed the way of taking the throttle, we are much smoother at opening them […] I think we made some progress.”
In the main race, Fabio Quartararo makes a fairly average start and finds himself in the middle of the pack. One of the KTM riders crashes and takes the Nice native with him. Fortunately, the accident is not serious for the riders, and a red flag is waved. The French rider can restart with the initial starting grid. Since his bike had not been brought back in time, he has to start with his second bike, equipped with worn tires.
He makes another good start and immediately gets into a battle with Álex Márquez, positioning himself seventh. Pedro Acosta overtakes him on the fourth lap, placing him in eighth. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Márquez crash on the eighth lap, allowing Fabio Quartararo to move up to sixth. He gradually closes in on the rider ahead but eventually loses pace and finds himself alone on the track in this sixth position. He finishes the race in sixth, marking his best Sunday race result. “I didn’t think I’d do so well […] we couldn’t fight for fourth place, but I think we had a good race,” he says.
A Weekend to Forget
Johann Zarco finishes seventeenth in Free Practice 1. A slight improvement in the practice sessions lands him in thirteenth place. He will therefore have to go through Q1 in qualifying. Free Practice 2 does not go any better, as he finishes again in seventeenth. In qualifying, he encounters a problem on his second flying lap, which places him near the back. Fortunately, he manages to recover and sets the fastest time in Q1, moving him into Q2. He lines up in eleventh place for both races.
In the sprint race, the Cannes native makes a very poor start, finding himself in sixteenth by the first corner. He regains a position at the end of the first lap. Francesco Bagnaia’s fall on the third lap allows Johann Zarco to regain a position. A small on-track battle erupts with Aleix Espargaró for thirteenth place, and both overtake Maverick Viñales. Unfortunately, the LCR Honda rider’s race ends there. He suffers a engine failure on the eighth lap, preventing him from finishing the race.
The main race goes better. Johann Zarco makes a fairly average start but has to avoid the crash between the KTM riders and Fabio Quartararo. He thus finds himself in twelfth. A red flag is waved, signaling the end of the session. There is a second start using the initial grid after the debris is cleared. Unfortunately, Johann Zarco doesn’t exit the pit lane in time for the restart and has to start from there.
He quickly regains his eleventh place. Marco Bezzecchi manages to overtake him on the fifth lap, putting him in twelfth. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Márquez crash, giving the Cannois rider the tenth position. He directly overtakes Marco Bezzecchi and moves up to ninth. A battle with Marco Bezzecchi and Augusto Fernández breaks out on the twelfth lap following a mistake by the Frenchman for p9. Despite his lack of straight-line speed, Johann Zarco holds his ground for a lap before being overtaken by both. He falls back to eleventh place and finishes the Grand Prix in that position.
