Paris (AFP)

French MotoGP rider Johann Zarco, who had surgery on his right scaphoid on Wednesday and will not participate in free practice for the Styrian Grand Prix on Friday, responded to criticism on Thursday about his role in an accident at the same Spielberg circuit last Sunday.

Question: Johann, how are the weekends going?

Answer: "The rules are that after an operation there is a medical check-up 48 hours later. So I won't be on the bike tomorrow. I hope I can then get on it and do a few laps. Miss free practice tomorrow. (Friday) is not a big deal because we have all the information from last week. The Ducatis are going fast here, I had good speed so if I am well I can qualify on Saturday ".

Q: You were heard by the race marshals on Thursday about Sunday's accident. How did it go ?

A: "I explained how I experienced the accident and what I did before passing Morbidelli and after. We have telemetry to prove what I'm saying. They asked me questions and they go then wait to see what Franco says. In my opinion, there should be no sanctions because I didn't do anything crazy and I hope they understood it ".

Q: Were you hurt by the criticism you received after the accident with Franco Morbidelli?

A: “I know I got a lot of criticism this week but I was also very busy with my wrist surgery. I didn't look at social media because I didn't really want to respond to all of these criticisms. I preferred to wait for today's meeting with the marshals to really express myself. I know that pilots like Franco and Valentino (Rossi) criticized me quickly but I went to see them right away. that I am naive but I prefer to do it like that. For me it was clear and if there are other pilots who think of something else, you have to know that you never try to push someone out of the track and I think on the track nothing will change. If they want to punish me, they can't do anything either. You can't think like that on a motorbike because they would fall too. one thinks that I am dangerous, it is not possible to be it on these motorcycles but we cannot do this sport if we do not want to take risks ".

Interview at a press conference.

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