Johann Zarco has hailed his third-place finish in the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix as a “fantastic present” for his chances of securing the independent riders' championship and fifth overall.
Zarco launched from pole after inheriting it from eventual race winner Marc Marquez, who was demoted six places after qualifying, and ran inside the podium places for the entirety of the race, only just missing second after a late move from Suzuki's Alex Rins.
The Tech3 rider now moves into top spot in the independent riders' standings on 149 points, one more than the absent Cal Crutchlow – who is expected to miss the finale in Valencia – and five ahead of Danilo Petrucci.
Zarco now also has a chance at securing fifth overall in the standings, and is tied on 149 points with Rins, though admits his main “target” is coming out on top in the independent race.
“After Valentino [Rossi] crashed I was second again with a big gap to the third, I thought I could control it but with four laps from the end or five laps to the end I saw on the board that Alex was coming maybe five tenths faster than me lap by lap,” he said.
“I tried to push but I was not fast enough, and in the last lap when he overtook me in Turn 4.
“I wanted to overtake him again and fight a little bit. But it was not possible, and I almost crash in 11. So finish third is a fantastic present.
“That's why I say it's a nice present, to catch these 16 points for third place to be now in the position first independent rider, try to keep it in Valencia.
“It's true that same points as Rins, it means the one who finish in front can be in the top five of the championship. So this would be nice. Main target I think is the first independent rider.”
Zarco says the “key” to his podium charge at Sepang on Sunday was his “great start” as it allowed him to follow leader Rossi to “go away and save” his first podium finish since the Spanish Grand Prix in May.
“The strong beginning of the race was the key for the podium,” Zarco added.
“I had a great start from pole and this helped me to go well in the first two corners. Valentino was then pushing a lot and going so fast, I wanted to overtake him but I was unable.
“Finally, following him was good enough to go away and save that podium. I did this mistake in corner 14, Marc overtook me very clean and then I tried to stay behind him.
“I expected he can catch Vale quickly. Finally, he was moving away step-by-step: me, I was losing a little bit but I was able to keep a good pace and have a big gap with the guys behind me."
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