From the last Sepang tests, Johann Zarco brought back with him two feelings giving a possible outlook for the MotoGP season which is coming. On the one hand, he expressed his belief that the arrival of Marc Marquez at Ducati could “ mentally disturb »Jorge Martin. On the other hand, as far as he is concerned, and after testing the new Honda motorcycle for 2024, he has hopes of a good season...
And for good reason: this RC213V is radically different from its predecessor, which represents a new challenge for Johann zarco after three years spent at Ducati. Join Honda in these circumstances is undoubtedly one of the most important challenges of his career. However, in an exclusive interview with L'Équipe, taken up by motosan, he reveals that the 213 RC2024V prototype gives him a lot of hope.
During tests in Valencia, it was observed that this new prototype Honda was a very different project, almost starting from scratch compared to the previous 2023 version. Johann zarco first tried the 2023 prototype to familiarize himself, but quickly realized that the performance would not be up to par. On the other hand, he saw a marked improvement with the new prototype, feeling much faster.
He attributes this improvement to the superior quality of the new model, pointing out the faults of the previous one, notably the difficulty in negotiating turns. This rapid development is very encouraging for zarco, especially given that Honda generally does not make major changes from year to year.
Johann Zarco praises his now distinguished colleague Luca Marini
The Frenchman also discusses the arrival of Luca marini in Honda, noting that it is “ much more technical » that he himself and that he brings a deep understanding of the functioning of the motorcycle, thanks to his careful analysis. He believes that the returns of Marini on aerodynamics and other aspects will be valuable for Honda, almost emphasizing his role as an engineer.
Regarding Marc Marquez, the tricolor recognizes that he will be a serious competitor and a contender for the title. However, he thinks that the eldest Marquez will represent a particular challenge for George Martin, which could destabilize it, unlike bagnaia, who could be more comfortable facing him.
Johann zarco also looked back on the previous season, emphasizing that despite the impressive performances of Martin, incidents such as the accident in Indonesia and unfortunate tactical choices in Australia prevented him from winning the title. He suggests that pressure may have influenced his decisions in those crucial moments...
Combined MotoGP test results:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
