Johann Zarco's victory at the 2025 French Grand Prix in the rain at Le Mans marked a historic moment for LCR Honda, breaking Ducati's 22-race winning streak and giving Honda its first victory since Alex Rins at Austin 2023. LCR boss Lucio Cecchinello shared his emotion in a moving interview, describing the triumph as "incredible" and revealing the behind-the-scenes story of an achievement driven by Zarco's passion, consistency, and vision.
Lucio Cecchinello, the team boss LCR Honda, delivered a particularly emotional reaction after the historic victory of Johann zarco au 2025 French Grand PrixA moment filled with emotion for the Italian, for his team, but also for an entire nation focused on their homeland of Le Mans.
« Winning at Le Mans with a French driver is simply incredible. ", said Cecchinello à GP One. " I had tears in my eyes, even though I'm not French. But I shared the joy of thousands of people who had been waiting for this moment for 71 years. »
The last Frenchman to have won a French Grand Prix was Pierre Monneret in 1954. In 2025, Johann zarco enters history, in the rain, in front of a delirious audience. And Cecchinello, by his own admission, felt the " magic of MotoGP " as rarely.
At times it was difficult to keep up with the chaos at Le Mans! 🤯
Enjoy some thrilling scraps you may have missed from France! 👀#FrenchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/AuleNR2RHo
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) May 14, 2025
Lucio Cecchinello: “ We went through difficult times, but we believed in Honda and our team »
The Italian boss also recounts the last laps of the race with tension. zarco, in great shape, widened the gap on Marc Marquez of one second per lap: " Normally, it's Marc who does that! We were very worried, we were afraid he would do too much »
From the pit wall, the team tried to calm the Frenchman down: " We were gesticulating like crazy to make him slow down. But Johann was in a tunnel... If you take him out of there, everything can collapse. »
This victory is not only symbolic: it puts an end to the incredible series of 22 consecutive victories of Ducati et reminds that Honda can still win. The last victory Honda dated back to 2023, already with LCR and Alex Rins in Austin.
Cecchinello emphasizes the importance of loyalty to Honda, despite external proposals: " We went through difficult times, but we believed in Honda and our team. If you look at the photos from 2007 and today, they are almost the same faces. »
I wish the entire LCR also demonstrated technical adaptability. After missing Q2 with settings tested in Jerez, the engineers had the courage to return to basics: " This return to the settings at the start of the season was decisive. “And to conclude:” We were hoping for a top 4 if it rained... and then we won ».
The victory of Johann zarco Le Mans is much more than just a racing success. It is the culmination of 20 years of efforts for LCR, a symbolic rebirth for Honda, and a legendary page for French MotoGP. For Lucio Cecchinello, it is the confirmation that believing, learning and persevering always ends up paying off.
