The hoped-for podium did not materialize, but Johann Zarco sent a strong signal for Honda in Termas de Rio Hondo – the best result for the brand since fall 2023
Johann Zarco achieved the best Honda result in Argentina in a good year and a half. In the fall of 2023, Marc Marquez finished fourth in the sprint in Thailand and sixth in the Grand Prix. At the finale in Valencia, he still managed to finish third in the sprint. This is Honda’s last podium finish so far.
Now Zarco finished fourth in the sprint at Termas de Rio Hondo. He came in sixth in the Grand Prix after being overtaken by Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) on the last lap, narrowly missing out on a top-5 finish.
Zarco’s deficit of just seven seconds after 25 laps was remarkable. “A positive weekend and a great Sunday too,“ said the Frenchman. ‘I tried everything to get on the podium.’
”Compared to Saturday, I had a better start and was in a position to get third place. I tried from the start. I think I passed ‘Pecco’ nicely twice, but he defended well and immediately counterattacked – in turn 9.”
“I had problems with vibrations in turn 11, which made it impossible for me to attack in turns 12 and 13 – exactly where I actually felt strong. That’s how this constant back and forth with ‘Pecco’ came about.”
This duel and the pursuit of Bagnaia also came at a price, though: “My front tire was getting too hot, so I couldn’t try anything anymore. I spent a lot of energy trying to find a place to overtake, but it was just too difficult,” Zarco explained.
That was also the reason why Di Giannantonio was able to catch up with him in the final phase. Zarco was the only rider to fight the Ducati armada in Argentina. If he had managed to get past Bagnaia at the start, third place might have been possible.
At least that’s what the LCR rider believes: “One hundred percent. I was very fast at the start of the race. The new medium tire gave me an extra bit of speed at the beginning. I could have easily set low 1’38s and kept up with Alex and Marc.”
“I would have had Morbidelli’s position, but that’s racing. ‘Pecco’ defended very well. I tried again to find a way to catch up with him, but towards the end of the race the bike was moving more and more.”
Has Honda turned the corner?
Noteworthy was Zarco’s fastest race lap of 1:38.700 minutes. This was only half a tenth of a second slower than the best laps of Bagnaia and Morbidelli. However, the Marquez brothers were almost half a second faster.
“All in all, it’s pretty positive,” beams Zarco. ”We almost had a dream weekend, we were up front the whole time. I really have no regrets about this race because I did everything I could to get on the podium.”
Third place on the grid was already a highlight in qualifying. It remains to be seen whether Termas de Rio Hondo was an exception or whether Honda can also compete in the top 6 at the upcoming tracks. Overall, the Honda camp is buzzing with optimism.
“I can only hope so,” says Zarco, looking ahead. “It was good to have a strong performance here in Argentina. Austin will be a very different track. If we can show a good performance there again, that would be positive.“
”I think we had a great chance of a podium this weekend. But it won’t be like this every time. Like I said, it was almost a dream weekend for us compared to what we experienced last year.”
Three Honda riders made it into the top 10 in Argentina. Joan Mir and Luca Marini were classified ninth and tenth after Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia) was disqualified. Rookie Somkiat Chantra (LCR-Honda) finished last in 18th place.
