Tech3 rider Johann Zarco says he was left “confused” by the laptime he set in the closing stages of qualifying, which ultimately netted him a home MotoGP pole for the French Grand Prix.
The Frenchman set the benchmark pace at the start of the qualifying session with a 1:31.645s, and produced a record lap of 1:31.185s on his final run.
Zarco “couldn't believe” his lap, and says the “surprise” from it meant he was unable to replicate it on his final lap, which put him under threat from a charging Marc Marquez – though the Spaniard was over a tenth down in the end.
“When I saw this laptime on the dashboard, I didn't really believe it,” Zarco, who becomes the first French rider to start a premier class race on pole in 30 years, said.
“I was even wondering it it's a good time, I was a bit confused. I tried to do it again next lap, but almost because of the surprise from the lap before, it was difficult to repeat it.
“But was good enough, and I had the chequered flag, I saw my name in pole position, I saw also the crowd that they were quite happy.
“But, then, I was looking at the screen and seeing Marc was pushing, but on the big screen you can't see if it's a red helmet [fastest sector time] or not.
“You cannot see that, you just see the guy that is leaning in every corner, and you are thinking if he is the only guy the camera is filming, maybe he's going fast.
“So I say, 'Bon, second is going to be nice anyway'. But it was pole position, so very good, and just the best position to start tomorrow.
“The front row is important, and pole is like a bonus.”
Zarco – who sits second in the points table ahead of his home race – ended Friday's running at Le Mans fifth overall, but felt he was “missing” some rear traction under acceleration – a common problem for all Yamaha riders this year.
However, he admitted the issue was less prevalent than it has been at other tracks this year, and feels the team found “what was necessary” to fix the problem during FP4.
“Friday we started well the weekend, but what was missing was this feeling with the rear grip to use well the acceleration,” he added.
“At some tracks you feel that you have this problem and it's complicated to fix it. Since yesterday, I felt we have this problem but much less than usual and we can fix it.
“Was so good, because doing a few steps every time was working, and in the last session, in FP4, I got almost what was necessary and we could see with the new tyre it was working.”
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