This second MotoGP Grand Prix in Argentina had surprises in store for the French riders. Discover how their weekend went at Termas de Río Hondo.
After the first Grand Prix in Thailand, it was on the other side of the globe, in Argentina, at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo circuit, that the second weekend of this season took place. Marc Márquez once again took the victory ahead of his brother. It was a flawless performance for the newcomer at Ducati.
Nightmarish weekend for Fabio Quartararo
It was a rather average weekend for Fabio Quartararo, but nothing surprising given his bike. He had already warned that the start of the season wouldn’t be brilliant, and he was right. Nevertheless, his team decided to equip him with a new chassis: “we tested it in Malaysia, but with a somewhat larger modification. More than results, the aim is to try to find a bike that can truly be adapted to all circumstances, not just when there’s grip.” Based on this, the free practice 1 took place, where he finished thirteenth.
Regarding the tests, he was seen very upset when, ten minutes into the session, he stopped on the track due to a problem. Fortunately, he was able to restart and even set the tenth fastest time, allowing him to narrowly advance directly to Q2. He finished tenth in free practice 2. Finally, for the qualifications, he secured the seventh spot.
In the sprint race, he made a very good start, gaining three positions and finding himself fourth at the first corner. Pedro Acosta managed to overtake him in the next lap, leaving the rider from Nice at the mercy of the rider from Cannes. It didn’t take long for him to be overtaken by his compatriot. Rider number 20 lost another position to Fabio Di Giannantonio on the fifth lap. In the span of two laps, he found himself in tenth place, overtaken by Bezzecchi, Morbidelli, and Mir. He thus finished in tenth place. The Yamaha rider explained a rhythm issue: “I pushed a lot in the early laps, but the pace dropped, especially in the second part of the race. But this morning in the fast lap I was fine. I expected it to be the opposite: a good race pace, and less so on a single lap.” Therefore, he didn’t expect much for the race.
The race was indeed complicated, but not due to the lack of rhythm. Right from the start, Fabio Quartararo collided with Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian crashed, but the Frenchman managed to continue, albeit at the back of the field. Enea Bastianini crashed in the second lap, allowing the Yamaha rider to move up a position. What ensued was a very long race for the rider from Nice, where he struggled to claw back a few positions. He finally finished in fifteenth place.
It was with a bit of fatalism that the rider responded to questions on Canal+: “I wasn’t lucky at the start, but the rhythm and performance weren’t there. […] I thought we’d made a step forward, but we didn’t in the end.”
A wonderful weekend for Johann Zarco
It was almost a dream weekend for Johann Zarco. After a solid second place in free practice 1, he set the seventh-fastest time in practice, allowing him to also advance directly to Q2. He remained strong in free practice 2, posting the third-fastest time. But he knew the qualifications were what mattered most. Nonetheless, he clocked the third fastest time, with a 1:37.546, just 0.6 tenths behind Marc Márquez for the pole position. The Frenchman was delighted with this pleasant surprise and wanted to capitalize on his situation: “It feels really good. Happy as can be, and if there’s a podium opportunity, we really need to try to seize it.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for the sprint race. He made a bad start, unlike his compatriot, and lost three positions. A battle ensued between the two French riders. After a nice inside brake maneuver at the corner, he managed to pass the rider from Nice and secured fifth place. On the fifth lap, he executed the same maneuver on the young rider Pedro Acosta for fourth place. After managing the sprint race effectively and maintaining a good pace, he succeeded in holding that position and thus finished just outside the podium.
The start of the race went better for Johann Zarco, who only lost one place. A battle erupted with Francesco Bagnaia for this third place. He lost slight contact with the Ducati, allowing Franco Morbidelli to overtake him. While he was fifth, he lost this position in the final corner of the last lap, to Fabio Di Giannantonio.
He reflected on his battle with the double world champion: “The problem was there were a lot of vibrations at turn 11. It prevented me, even though I was good in the next two turns, from positioning myself well enough to overtake. And it made me lose a lot of time.” This dark cloud amidst all the positives didn’t stop him from experiencing “a dream weekend.” He scored valuable points over the weekend, allowing him to move up to sixth in the championship.
