Johann Zarco (LCR): Clearly the fastest Honda rider in the Qatari desert

Just over a year ago, Johann Zarco underlined the positive progress being made in the Honda MotoGP garage at the desert circuit in Qatar. Zarco was consistently among the top eight in the spring of 2025. Despite crashing out of the Sprint race, the number 5 rider confirmed the RC213V’s competitiveness with a fifth-place finish in the Grand Prix. He also picked up points for fourth place, as Viñales was demoted to 14th after crossing the finish line.

A year and a half later, Johann Zarco picked up where he left off. The LCR bike, which was once again the best Honda on the grid, finished 10th after 45 minutes in FP1. From the GP veteran’s perspective, this was a disappointment. “I was actually very surprised at first by how much time I’d lost to the front-runners. I’d hoped we’d start the session with a smaller gap. But you have to realise that the top three riders were significantly faster – I hadn’t expected that either.” Put into figures: the Frenchman was 1.086 seconds off Marc Marquez’s first benchmark time.

Zarco had to worry about qualifying for Q2 after a failed attack

Under the floodlights, the Honda customer team’s lead rider closed in on the front-runners. However, the Ducati riders Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez, as well as Aprilia ace Bezzecchi, remained out of reach. In eighth place, he was still 0.895 seconds off the pace after an hour of free practice. Zarco was puzzled by how Friday had unfolded. “When the first timed run began, the feeling was very good – the first lap went really well too. Zarco had clocked a 1:51.3 – faster than in the 2025 qualifying session, but still two tenths off his Q2 best.

Then Zarco kept us in suspense: “On the second attempt, I thought it would be very difficult to improve any further. But the potential was there. However, I made mistakes myself – under the pressure, the chance was gone. Normally, you’ve got a real problem if you don’t manage to improve on your second attempt as well. The risk of being knocked out of Q2 was far too great – but I was lucky.”

The MotoGP Honda remains “very demanding”

Zarco’s view ahead of the upcoming qualifying session: “I need to build even more confidence in the bike and improve in that regard, because the foundation for more is there. However, I’m satisfied with my performance so far and will try to repeat that in Q2. The field is very tightly matched in this regard, though, and getting the full potential out of our strong package remains very challenging.”

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MotoGP World Championship

07.11.2026 - 10:25

There’s no doubt that Zarco knows his stuff. Luca Marini was 0.3 seconds slower and, like rookie Moreira and stand-in rider Jake Dixon, must compete in Q1. Once again, it falls to the 36-year-old to fly the flag for Honda.