Espargaro's last-lap Barcelona MotoGP blunder "a nice gift" – Zarco
- 2 tahun yang lalu
Pramac's Johann Zarco says Aleix Espargaro's embarrassing last-lap gaffe at the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix was "a nice gift", as it allowed the Frenchman to finish on the podium.
Zarco was the only rider in the leading group to run with the hard rear tyre as he hoped it would offer him a late-race advantage when those ahead on the medium started to suffer tyre wear.
But the degradation on the hard rear proved more than Zarco was expecting and was resigned to finishing fourth in Sunday's race.
But Espargaro's blunder in miscounting how many laps he had left and believing the rad had finished a lap early allowed Zarco to pinch third.
Teammate Jorge Martin also benefitted from Espargaro's mistake, jumping up to second, though the Pramac rider – who underwent a successful arm operation on Monday to correct a nerve issue – believes he had enough in hand to battle the Aprilia man on the last lap.
"I thought I had something for the last lap also, even if he closed the throttle," Martin, who returned to form in Barcelona after switching to an older front suspension set-up, said.
"I was trying to come back to overtake, maybe in corner 10, where I was feeling strong.
"So, happy with my result. A podium is amazing after three difficult races, but my bike now is standard like the first races.
Zarco was the only rider in the leading group to run with the hard rear tyre as he hoped it would offer him a late-race advantage when those ahead on the medium started to suffer tyre wear.
But the degradation on the hard rear proved more than Zarco was expecting and was resigned to finishing fourth in Sunday's race.
But Espargaro's blunder in miscounting how many laps he had left and believing the rad had finished a lap early allowed Zarco to pinch third.
Teammate Jorge Martin also benefitted from Espargaro's mistake, jumping up to second, though the Pramac rider – who underwent a successful arm operation on Monday to correct a nerve issue – believes he had enough in hand to battle the Aprilia man on the last lap.
"I thought I had something for the last lap also, even if he closed the throttle," Martin, who returned to form in Barcelona after switching to an older front suspension set-up, said.
"I was trying to come back to overtake, maybe in corner 10, where I was feeling strong.
"So, happy with my result. A podium is amazing after three difficult races, but my bike now is standard like the first races.