Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) had a more difficult Italian GP than last time out, when the Frenchman had been on the podium at home - but the rookie insists he's happy with seventh at Mugello and learnt a lot throughout the weekend.
Man on the move with 13 laps to go is #JZ5 as #JL99 falls down the order!
— MotoGP™ ???????????? (@MotoGP) 4 June 2017
Up into 7th. #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/HkG9c4bvOV
Zarco made it through Q1 but then lined up in P11, having a steadier comeback through the field and then able to hold off five-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) to keep his P7 over the line.
Johann Zarco, P7: “I’m happy about this seventh position; starting from eleventh it has been a difficult race and now at the end, I’m quite tired because I was not comfortable enough on the bike to be fast. So, I get tired, and fighting with this group is complicated. Usually I can start the race well and overtake my opponents, but today with the tyre I could not start as fast as I usually do so I had to wait a little bit, and that complicates things. In the end I’m happy, in the last five laps with this tyre I put in a good performance, and when Lorenzo was coming back I could push and save this seventh position. It’s very good. As I said, I’m still learning and today, all of the weekend, it’s good experience to understand the tyre, the bike, and also what we need to do with the team to get better performance and fight for the podium.”