The Racing Gods are in Favour of Zarco

Johann Zarco has had a solid few weeks on the track, as the Prima Pramac rider continues to improve, and a new Ducati agreement appears to be on the horizon as an appropriate reward for his efforts. The Frenchman is third in the Championship standings and the best rider from the Borgo Panigale factory, following his fourth podium of the year at the Sachsenring.

Zarco’s P2 position at the German GP is only the third occasion in his premier class career that he has finished on the podium twice. He’d done it once previously, on the Desmosedici, at Qatar double in 2021, and the other time was in Yamaha colours during his rookie season when he finished 2017 with victories in Malaysia and Valencia.

He currently has 111 Championship points, 11 more than his Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGPTM) and 30 more than factory riders Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller. Though he still has a long way to go to catch up to runaway Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPTM), Zarco believes he is in the best position of the eight Ducatis to challenge his compatriot.

Zarco has been a picture of consistency throughout 2022, except for a handful of blots on the copybook in Argentina and Spain. Except for those two DNFs, the Pramac driver has consistently finished in the top ten in every race he hasn’t won. As Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti stated after Saturday’s action in Germany, his performance should earn him a new term with the Ducati satellite team.

Zarco has been in a predicament similar to the one he is now in on several occasions. If we go back a year, he was also the top Ducati rider, sitting second in the championship when we entered the summer break. When the season started, he struggled to find form, finishing just in the top 10 in the first six races, but he is eager to learn from his mistakes and retain the same level of desire he has now.

Shortly, Zarco will be concentrating his efforts on Assen. On the back of an excellent run of form that has seen him steadily increase his finishing position from P5 in France to P4 in Italy, P3 in Catalunya, and P2 in Germany, he’ll be hoping that trend continues at Assen as he seeks his first MotoGP triumph.