Despite a lack of top results, Johann Zarco feels renewed energy at LCR-Honda and can imagine taking part in the switch to new regulations in 2027
When Johann Zarco was informed during the 2023 MotoGP season that his time at Pramac-Ducati was coming to an end, he did not know how much longer he would be racing in MotoGP. In the meantime, he thought about retiring, but then changed his mind.
In August 2023, Zarco signed for two years with LCR Honda, Lucio Cecchinello’s team. When he did so, he did not necessarily assume that he might even extend this contract in the future. Now, however, he sees the issue differently.
“I want to be honest: When I signed Lucio for two years, i.e. 2024 and 2025, I thought that I was perhaps marking the beginning of the end. I thought that these might be the last two years of my career”,
“But now,” continued the 33-year-old Frenchman, “I’m really living this project with Honda. I’m putting all my energy into this project and I could imagine maybe riding until 2027. I am sure that I will be able to adapt very well to these new rules. In a way, it will be a return to slightly simpler motorcycles.”
“Now that I’m living this [Honda] project and learning new things, I see myself writing a new chapter, but it’s not the last one yet,” says Zarco, bursting with energy and looking ahead: “I believe that as long as you perform, you can keep riding.”
In terms of results, the switch to LCR-Honda has not yet paid off for Zarco. In the first seven race weekends of his two-year contract with the team, he has scored a total of nine world championship points, but has yet to finish in the top 10. In the current 2024 MotoGP standings, only three regular riders are ranked lower than him, two of whom (Takaaki Nakagami and Luca Marini) are also on a Honda.
However, Zarco does not want to be dissuaded from his path. “Sure, at the moment our performance doesn’t meet our expectations. But if Honda continues to believe in my work, then I would be very proud to continue on this path together,” says the MotoGP veteran, already thinking about the time after 2025.
