Marc Marquez Fights Off Brother Alex to Take Sprint Win in Termas
The Marquez brother continue to dominate MotoGP and take yet another 1-2 ahead of Pecco Bagnaia in the Argentina Grand Prix sprint.
Honda enjoyed a rare moment of glory on Saturday at the MotoGP event in Argentina when Johann Zarco delivered a stunning performance in Q2, securing a spot in the top three.
The Frenchman then narrowly missed out on a podium in the sprint race – a result few had anticipated from Honda this early into the new MotoGP season.
Zarco qualified in third at Termas de Rio Hondo, finishing just +0.288 seconds behind polesitter Marc Márquez.
However, after a botched start and despite his strong grid position, the Frenchman lost touch with the leading trio at the start of the sprint.
“Third place was the magic moment of Saturday,” Zarco said. “I really believed a podium was possible, and yes, it was within reach.”
“You can’t say my start was bad – it was decent – but the others just did a little better.”
The two-time Moto2 world champion ultimately finished fourth. “The positive thing is that even when I dropped to sixth, I was able to pass strong riders like Pedro Acosta and Fabio Quartararo,” he explained.
“I expected to have a better pace than Pecco [Bagnaia], but it wasn’t enough.”
In the opening laps, the Ducati riders were able to maximize the grip of the fresh rear tire, an advantage Zarco admitted Honda couldn’t quite match.
“The first three were really strong in the first four or five laps. The Ducati guys can extract more from a new rear tire early on.”
“KTM and Pedro were also strong initially but then dropped off. We can be consistent, but we’re still missing that final piece to really fight at the front.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s main race, Zarco remains optimistic, that Sunday could be even better for him and his Honda. Ultimately, the podium is still within reach according to thr Frenchman.
“I hope that with a different tire choice, I’ll have an even better shot at the podium,” he said.
“Warmer temperatures are expected for the race, and the medium rear tire might give me an advantage. Hopefully, the plan works out.”
Zarco is also targeting Ducati’s top runners. “It would be great if I could stay close to Marc and Alex [Márquez].”
“Pecco should be in the mix too. Marc and Alex have been strong all weekend—just like me. If I can stick with them, I might have an edge.”
