Pramac's Johann Zarco says Aleix Espargaro's embarrassing last-lap gaffe at the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix was "a nice gift", as it allowed the Frenchman to finish on the podium.<br />Zarco was the only rider in the leading group to run with the hard rear tyre as he hoped it would offer him a late-race advantage when those ahead on the medium started to suffer tyre wear.<br /><br />But the degradation on the hard rear proved more than Zarco was expecting and was resigned to finishing fourth in Sunday's race.<br /><br />But Espargaro's blunder in miscounting how many laps he had left and believing the rad had finished a lap early allowed Zarco to pinch third.<br />Teammate Jorge Martin also benefitted from Espargaro's mistake, jumping up to second, though the Pramac rider – who underwent a successful arm operation on Monday to correct a nerve issue – believes he had enough in hand to battle the Aprilia man on the last lap.<br />"I thought I had something for the last lap also, even if he closed the throttle," Martin, who returned to form in Barcelona after switching to an older front suspension set-up, said.<br />"I was trying to come back to overtake, maybe in corner 10, where I was feeling strong.<br /><br />"So, happy with my result. A podium is amazing after three difficult races, but my bike now is standard like the first races.<br />
