Can Quartararo or Zarco convert their hot streaks into a victory at the Cathedral?
Recent results suggest that Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) will be difficult to beat in this weekend’s Motul TT Assen. Quartararo won and Zarco finished second, days ago at the Sachsenring, and they now hold first and third respectively in the MotoGP™ World Championship standings. Ahead of Free Practice at the TT Circuit Assen, we hear from the fast Frenchmen about the season so far and the weekend coming up at the Cathedral.
Reflections at the halfway mark
The summer break might not start until after this weekend, but with 10 rounds now completed and 10 to go this year, we have reached the halfway point of the 2022 MotoGP™ season. It’s a similar story for Quartararo and Zarco, starting slowly but coming on strongly since the return to Europe for the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Quartararo: “It has been a great first part of the season. Qatar, Argentina, and Austin were quite tough – I think I was complaining a little bit too much about my top speed and I was not focused on my riding. Then when we arrived in Europe, I could really focus on my riding and had great results. From Portugal to now, we have been on the podium almost all the time – just in Le Mans, we finished fourth – but I think that we have had a great first 10 races, exactly the same points as the same stage last year, so I think we are going in a great way.”
Motul TT Assen: Pre-Event Press Conference
Zarco: “I’m pleased with how it’s going for me, this first half, because I didn’t start as well as I started the ’21 season with two podiums in a row in Qatar last year. But, trying to get focused really on each weekend, give the maximum energy that I can, and I try to control well this Ducati bike. The 2022 bike is sometimes a bit more difficult to fix, so then the races are becoming sometimes a bit more difficult, but the results were coming in recent races and just for this, I’m really…