Johann Zarco (13th) explains Honda’s lacklustre performance at Mandalika

The next MotoGP race takes Johann Zarco back to the venue of his first victory in the premier class. The Frenchman claimed his maiden victory at Phillip Island in 2023. However, riding his current Honda RC213V, the LCR rider does not expect to repeat that success under normal conditions. The fast corners of the Australian circuit are a cause for concern – and make Aprilia the favourite in his eyes.

At Mandalika, Zarco finished the race in 13th place, 26.3 seconds behind winner Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia). Behind Luca Marini in 12th place, he was the second-best Honda rider. He counted the fact that he managed to complete the physically demanding race distance as a positive aspect of the weekend.

“I’m glad I managed to finish the race. It’s always a challenge here. Physically, I coped well with the challenges of this weekend, which is a good thing. That makes me happy,” said Zarco.

Why Zarco deliberately held back

Zarco was generally satisfied with his lap times. However, he was unable to maintain his pace consistently without, in his view, taking too many risks. “My race pace was good. But I had to build in a lot of a safety margin to avoid mistakes and crashes. That frustrated me. That margin cost me many tenths of a second per lap. I’m sure I could have been faster despite the poor starting position.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Mandalika

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Pedro Acosta

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Alex Márquez

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez

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Start des Rennens

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Jorge Martin

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Ai Ogura und Pedro Acosta

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Luca Marini

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Raúl Fernández

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Quartararo und Binder

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Ai Ogura und Marc Márquez

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Enea Bastianini

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Alex Márquez und Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Marc Márquez und Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Fernández, Bezzecchi, Martin

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Mandalika

© Gold & Goose

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In the closing stages, he also had to defend himself against Enea Bastianini. At the same time, unusual behaviour from the rear tyre caused further uncertainty. “I gave it my all, but Bastianini was stronger towards the end of the race and was able to attack. In the final laps, I also experienced vibrations from the rear tyre. I was worried I’d got a puncture. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. With three laps to go, I had a five-second lead over Morbidelli. I wanted to finish the race without crashing.”

Zarco expects another Aprilia show in Australia

Following Aprilia’s historic quadruple victory in Indonesia, Zarco expects another strong performance from Aprilia at the next race. In his view, the characteristics of Phillip Island should suit the manufacturer. For Honda, on the other hand, he foresees a difficult task.

“It’s a circuit with fast corners. We have problems in the fast corners. Aprilia will be at their best on this circuit. Under normal conditions, we shouldn’t be able to win there,” explained Zarco with a laugh. “It would be a big surprise, at the very least.”

His memories of his first MotoGP victory therefore do nothing to alter his down-to-earth expectations. Nevertheless, he does see one possibility for upsetting the balance of power. “I’m not going there with the aim of winning the race. But perhaps it’ll be wet or damp. Then I’ll change my mind,” said Zarco.