Signs of life from Honda: Thanks to Johann Zarco, the struggling MotoGP manufacturer makes it straight into Q2 at Aragon – What the Frenchman does differently to his colleagues
Honda is mainly making negative headlines in the 2024 MotoGP season with its disappointing performance. But Johann Zarco provided a real ray of hope on Friday’s practice session in Aragon: He was the first rider from the Japanese brand to make it into Q2 direct this year.
The LCR rider finished the afternoon session at Motorland Aragon in a strong eighth place with a personal best time of 1:46.732 minutes. By comparison, the next best Honda rider, Luca Marini, finished in 17th place.
In fact, Zarco is the first Honda rider ever to line up in Q2 this season. This is because no one has yet managed to make it past Q1. Zarco achieved the best qualifying results to date with two 13th places on the grid.
In MotoGP practice this afternoon at Aragon, with 20 minutes left on the clock, he was one of the first riders to launch a time attack on fresh tires and move into second place for the time being. However, his rivals followed suit shortly afterwards, meaning that Zarco was initially passed in the standings
Q2 move “like a small victory ”
At the time of Marc Marquez’s new track record, he was only in 16th place. However, the Frenchman managed to improve on his last attempt, which earned him ninth place.
“It’s almost like a small victory,” said Zarco about his eighth-place finish. “But I don’t want to get too excited. I would like to confirm it tomorrow in qualifying and the sprint race and on Sunday in the long race. Only then can I be happy and say that I am satisfied with the feeling here in Aragon.”
“The track is very strange, but I was perhaps less surprised than the other riders because I was able to practice here with the CBR 1000 and get to know the asphalt a bit,” he explains. Because the track in Aragon has been resurfaced
Ride of the day!
Awesome work from @JohannZarco1! AragonGP pic.twitter.com/Ml2ValnYCS
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) August 30, 2024
In addition, Zarco was riding with the latest version of the Honda engine on Friday, which he said gave him extra performance: “The time attack was good and I think the new engine we used helped me to get a bit more performance on fresh tires.”
“That’s what we were missing in Spielberg. So that’s positive. Tomorrow we will try to make another step, but we have to focus on how we can manage the tires in the race. That could be complicated. “
What Zarco has in mind for Saturday
When asked where exactly the engine helps, Zarco says: “We have weaknesses in turning and acceleration. With the new engine, the cornering seems to be a little better and we can make better use of the fresh tires. That’s so important on a Friday for the rest of the weekend.”
With his direct entry into Q2, Zarco already knows that he will at least start from row four. That is his best qualifying session with Honda to date.
“But of course I hope that I can finish around eighth place again – or maybe even better. That can help me on the first laps of the race,” says the LCR rider. “But this track is quite special.”
“I hope that I will have a good start in both races so that I don’t lose so much time. Because if you get off the line, the bike can easily start to slide and you lose time. So that’s the goal for the races. “
The Frenchman was also able to impress his brand colleagues with his Friday performance. “Johann drove a fantastic lap in the afternoon. We will take a close look at his data and try to improve tomorrow morning,” said Marini, for example, who was half a second slower.
Marini analyzes difference to Zarco
When asked about an explanation for the difference, the Honda factory rider admits: “I can’t say at the moment because we haven’t had the meeting with our engineers yet. We will certainly find an answer there.”
“I think Johann has generally been the rider with the better feeling on the Honda since the start of the season. It looks like he can brake and corner better than with the Ducati.” Zarco previously rode this at Pramac-Racing.
“Back then he lost time on the brakes, but with the Honda he is good on the brakes and at the same time maintains his strength on corner exit. He is the best rider on corner exit. He rides very well on this track with the long corners,” Marini explains where Zarco makes up time.
“That could be the case,” Zarco reacts to this analysis. “At the beginning of the season, you could see the difference at the exit of the corners. In the last few races it was a bit smaller.”
“But yes, it’s my style. But I also try to adapt and use the good points of the bike. Acceleration is the weak point, so even with my advantage I lose time there. I try to make up for it elsewhere. “