Source: Supplied.

Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Johann Zarco managed to finish fifth for the second race in a row, despite a clash with championship leader Valentino Rossi at Circuit of the Americas.

The dual Moto2 world champion was once again impressive in his third premier class appearance on Sunday, challenging among the front-runners and barely missing out on P4 to Cal Crutchlow.

“I wanted to follow the top group, so I pushed to stay close to Valentino and I was able to fight with him, which was fantastic,” Zarco explained. “We came very close at one point, because I had a bit more speed than him in the third corner, and maybe it was a bit too tight but fortunately, nothing serious happened and he went on to finish second.

“I really didn’t want to cause a problem for Vale and I know that I can learn a lot from him so luckily, we both recovered. After this, I continued to do my best and at the end of the sprint, Crutchlow was slightly faster, but nevertheless, fifth is just awesome and I am pleased because the podium was close today.”

The result has boosted Zarco – who crashed out of the lead at Qatar’s opening round of the season last month – to seventh in the championship standings, due to his consecutive top five results.