Q2 in Qatar for Zarco
Lusail International CircuitJohann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) ended the opening day of action at Lusail in eighth place, securing a place in Q2 tomorrow
At one of the most iconic venues on the calendar, Johann Zarco enjoyed a strong Friday under the lights in Qatar. Feeling comfortable on the bike and making steady improvements from the first session to Practice, the Castrol Honda LCR rider ended the day satisfied with eighth place and a direct spot in Q2.
Luca Marini spent the majority of Friday comfortably in the top ten, able to consistently drop his lap times to keep up with the pace of those around him. Ending the day with a best lap time of 1’51.548 put him just 0.2s from Johann Zarco who led the Honda charge and saw the Italian less than 0.15s from the top ten – another tantalisingly close result. Although initially dirty from the sand, Marini praised the grip offered by the 5.38-kilometre-long circuit as the outright lap record fell. A night of rest and recovery now awaits Marini as he aims to recovery as much energy as possible for Saturday’s Qualifying push.
Although Pro Honda LCR's Diogo Moreira made a positive start to the weekend at the Lusail International Circuit, the evening Practice session proved to be more challenging for the Brazilian. Despite feeling good on the bike, Diogo was unable to put everything together to secure a place in Q2 and ended the day in 17th place.
It was not a straightforward return to the premier class for Jake Dixon who suffered a fall early in the first session. Unharmed, the British rider returned to the Honda HRC Castrol garage to continue the day. Despite the troublesome start to the day, Dixon would eventually achieve his first target of ending within two second of the leader – a 1’52.393 putting him just two tenths behind Diogo Moreira on the LCR Honda. Working well with Honda HRC's engineers, the #96 is aiming for continued improvements throughout the weekend as he looks to close the gap to the other Honda riders further.
I felt good on the bike today, and I’m happy with the work we’ve done. We made steady improvements throughout the day, and I’m feeling confident heading into qualifying. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into tomorrow and have another strong session. Let’s see what we can do!
I felt good on the bike today, and I’m happy with the work we’ve done. We made steady improvements throughout the day, and I’m feeling confident heading into qualifying. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into tomorrow and have another strong session. Let’s see what we can do!
When I push to my maximum, on a fast lap for example, I am struggling with my physical condition. Doing laps and trying things, I feel perfect but today I was only able to put together one Qualifying stint right at the end. Very strange, so we keep resting and improving as much as we can. The bike is working well, and we made some improvements, but Qatar is a track where the performance of the bike makes a lot of difference.
When I push to my maximum, on a fast lap for example, I am struggling with my physical condition. Doing laps and trying things, I feel perfect but today I was only able to put together one Qualifying stint right at the end. Very strange, so we keep resting and improving as much as we can. The bike is working well, and we made some improvements, but Qatar is a track where the performance of the bike makes a lot of difference.
It’s been a really tough day. I felt good in the morning and everything was going well, but things changed in the afternoon. The bike was working well, so I think I just couldn’t put everything together. We need to look at what happened, understand where we can improve and try to turn things around tomorrow. Let’s see!
It’s been a really tough day. I felt good in the morning and everything was going well, but things changed in the afternoon. The bike was working well, so I think I just couldn’t put everything together. We need to look at what happened, understand where we can improve and try to turn things around tomorrow. Let’s see!
We did not have the best start to the day it has to be said, I’m really sorry for the guys but it’s such a professional team that we all bounced back and go to it. All of the Honda HRC engineers helped me a lot between sessions to understand the bike better and show me where we can improve. I am happy with the speed we showed today and tonight it’ll be about seeing what areas and points and going to make the most difference. Crutchlow has also been a huge help, giving me great insight and being very clear – it’s really helpful to have someone with his experience in this situation.
We did not have the best start to the day it has to be said, I’m really sorry for the guys but it’s such a professional team that we all bounced back and go to it. All of the Honda HRC engineers helped me a lot between sessions to understand the bike better and show me where we can improve. I am happy with the speed we showed today and tonight it’ll be about seeing what areas and points and going to make the most difference. Crutchlow has also been a huge help, giving me great insight and being very clear – it’s really helpful to have someone with his experience in this situation.
