Johann Zarco notes with emotion that the French public continues to support him, even when the results are not there.
On the occasion of the presentation conference of the 2025 French Grand Prix, Johann zarco spoke about the support he receives from the French public. A support he has earned year after year thanks to his results and his never-ending rise, from his 125cc World Championship runner-up title to his first MotoGP victory, including his two Moto2 world titles.
But when he signed with Honda last year, the Frenchman knew he was committing to a difficult period, during which results would not be forthcoming. He admits he was afraid the public would support him less and was pleasantly surprised to find that, regardless of his results, the fans responded.
"It really warmed my heart and impressed me last year because when the crowd supported us, we tried to get results, we fought for the podium, Fabio's MotoGP title was huge and it brought even more fans. I was always fighting for the podium, with the Ducati there was that opportunity.", he explained. "When I moved to Honda, I was afraid of feeling this 'oh dear Johann, why did you move to Honda, why didn't you stay at Ducati to fight for another title, to fight for victories, you moved to an easy option, you chose a contract, etc.' side, but not at all."
"I was told, 'Go ahead, Johann, congratulations on this challenge, you're going to bring Honda back to the highest level.' To have that from the public, we realize that it's not just the result and that they really encourage the riders, they support the French side. We see that there are a lot of bikers, a majority of bikers, who encourage the fact that there are few French riders and that they support them until the end. That's huge. And to have all this positive in 2024 when it wasn't a year of results, it was quite exceptional."
