Johann Zarco is one of the riders who has experimented the most with new manufacturers in MotoGP in recent years, and in 2024 he has a new chapter ahead, now with LCR Honda, a team he has already been with for three rounds. It remains to be seen what the Frenchman can bring to the structure, which runs with one of the most prominent bikes in the category, but not necessarily for the best reasons.
After four years at the helm of the Desmosedici, and having been one of the riders who experienced one of the biggest leaps in competitiveness of the Italian bike, Zarco can therefore be an important element in the evolution of the RC213V, a bike that he already had the opportunity to test in three occasions in 2019.
#5 brings with him a lot of experience in the category, as well as with other manufacturers: this will be the eighth year for the rider, who already rode with Yamaha in 2017 and 2018, then with the colors of Monster Yamaha Tech3. He would eventually move to the factory team of KTM in 2019, but things did not go well there, with Zarco never justifying the performances he had with the Yamaha M1, and he ended his contract with the Austrian team prematurely. It was after that that he had his first experience with Honda.
Then came Ducati, with Avintia receiving the rider, before he moved to Pramac. Now comes a new moment in his career, becoming a rider for LCR Honda, which raises the question: what can Zarco bring to the Japanese manufacturer?
In addition to his experience in the category, Zarco also has know-how from other manufacturers, notably the most competitive bike on the grid in recent years, and he is going precisely to a structure that is more than ever in need of “fresh blood,” both in terms of riders and their own perspective and ideas about the evolution of the bike, and it is precisely there that the Frenchman can be decisive.
Dopo aver ottenuto la sua prima vittoria nel MotoGP, Zarco può essere considerato un pilota versatile e fondamentale per la crescita della Honda. Ha dimostrato in diverse occasioni di saper essere ponderato in pista, ma anche altrettanto aggressivo, con questo che è forse il tratto più distintivo della sua personalità in pista, qualcosa che nel 2023 si è visto poco nella Honda, ad eccezione del “sospetto” di sempre, Marc Márquez, che nel 2024 segue il percorso opposto passando alla Gresini Racing.
Takaaki Nakagami sarà il compagno di squadra del pilota nella LCR, ed è quello con più esperienza, ma una filosofia diversa, unita all’esperienza, potrebbe fare di Zarco un elemento chiave per il futuro della Honda, insieme al contributo di un pilota più giovane e fresco di idee, anche proveniente dalla Ducati, Luca Marini, nel team ufficiale.
E sembra che finora le prime impressioni del pilota siano positive, dato che durante i test di Valencia ha percepito un’evoluzione rispetto al modello del 2023 e del 2024, quindi è da confermare se ciò accadrà durante l’anno, con il feedback del pilota, unito all’esperienza e alla filosofia che la Honda dovrà necessariamente adattare.
