The 2023 MotoGP season finally brought Johann Zarco his first victory in the premier class – debuting in 2017. The future LCR Honda rider had long been seeking this result, which came at the Australian GP.
Speaking to France Bleu Vaucluse, the Frenchman discussed the significance of this triumph: ‘It symbolizes that I am one of the good ones in this category. It’s not that I doubted, I knew I was one of the good ones, but it didn’t materialize. When you truly dedicate yourself to the sport, you tell yourself that it doesn’t matter if you don’t win, that doesn’t make your performance any less good. But in reality, when you perform well for a long time and the victory doesn’t come, as it happened to me, people only think about the victory and you have to endure how people look at you‘.
Zarco was burdened with the expectation of his first triumph, admitting to being questioned several times by fans about when he would win for the first time. Despite the time that has passed, #5 admitted that he still hasn’t absorbed the victory in Australia: ‘You always want more, but I am already enjoying what I have achieved. I could notice, but not yet. The nostalgic moment when you look back, that comes, or when you’re at home you try to let yourself go. It’s a long process‘.
