Johann Zarco was on the spotlight earlier this season as he got super upset and was kicked out of a Race Direction meeting, following a crash with Aleix Espargaró at Jerez. Now the french revelead that he doesn’t have the most friendly feelings towards his rivals, despite respecting him, even coming to say that he wants… ‘to strangle him’.
First things first, we know Zarco doesn’t mean to do that literally, and there is a reason being such feelings, with the LCR Honda rider to explain first that he actually had a nice moment with his opponent, at Portugal.
In words to beIN Sports France, the rider was asked if there was a rider that he hated, and before getting to explain why, he had no issues in saying he it was, while recalling a nice moment depend both, at Portimão: ‘Well, it’s unfortunate, but no, I can name names (laughs). Because he’s the latest one on the list, it’s Aleix Espargaró. We didn’t talk much, we often disagree on some subjects, and after I opened my heart in Portugal by saying: «Dude, even if we don’t agree on some subjects, respect for your career, because you’ve been there for a long time, you’ve become a great athlete, and now you’re performing at the end of your career, well, you haven’t given up and now you’re in your place. And when I see you, you travel with your family, you’re with your wife, with your kids, you give off good energy». So I told him: «We’re not friends, we’re not the type to talk, but just because I don’t talk doesn’t mean I don’t respect you, and congratulations!»’.
Such polite words were accepted with open heart by A. Espargaró, who replied, according to Zarco: ‘So he says: «Thank you», he tells me that: «All this family life doesn’t help him to be champion», but: «’It’s not what I aim to be champion, and the way I am now, everything is going very well»’.
But then things took a complicated turn after both clashed on track, at the Spanish GP, as Zarco recalled: ‘And then, there’s an incident where he crashes, he takes me out with him in Spain. We’re called in to tell our story about the crash, and he blamed me! And he didn’t even apologize, he barely looked me in the eyes. In fact, he acted like a child who was going to be punished when he could have simply taken responsibility like a man. And then, he doesn’t even look at me to say hello anymore, so in the end, I’m the one who got angry’.
This led to Zarco became super angry, and being kicked out of the meeting with the Race Direction, leaving him with the desire to «revenge» on the Aprilia rider, saying: ‘So, I’m the one who got kicked out of the meeting, and I’m the one who got called back 15 days later to explain myself, when he’s the one who made me crash. And now I want to strangle him! Even a guy where I see that there’s good in him, well, it’s a shame’.