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Zarco was ready for a duel with Acosta, but the Honda’s mechanics let him down

The first part of Saturday’s sprint was also dominated by LCR Honda ace Johann Zarco. But in the sprint, the fast Frenchman was forced to pull the plug. ‘JZ5’ made no secret of the reason.

MotoGP

24.10.2026 - 14:16

This article is an automatically generated English version. The Original Article was published in German.

Runde 4 des Phillip-Island-Sprints brachte das Aus für Johann Zarco
© Gold and Goose

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For the world’s largest motorbike manufacturer, which also boasts the most successful history in Grand Prix racing, the Australian Grand Prix turned into an all-round disaster. Firstly, it became clear that the Honda HRC works team would once again have to do without Joan Mir. Then, on Friday, rider number 2, Luca Marini, was ruled out with a viral infection. Finally, on Saturday, technical issues thwarted any attempt at salvaging the situation by Johann Zarco, who was riding with fierce determination.

Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman had no trouble finding his feet on the now-wet track on Saturday morning. Following a fifth-place finish in FP2, the Honda rider from the Ceccinello team put in a stellar performance in Q2 – securing front-row starting positions for LCR-Honda.

And even as the final MotoGP Phillip Island Sprint got into full swing, Johann continued to be in the mix at the front. Right from the start, he set his sights on Alex Márquez with determination, but had to back off and battle it out for fifth place with KTM frontrunner Acosta. However, the duel was over quickly – on lap 4, Zarco let the RC213V coast to a halt.

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Zarco didn’t take long to explain: “The problem was a faulty sensor near the gearbox. As a result, the electronics could no longer determine which gear I was in. The gearbox was working mechanically, but the electronic control system wasn’t. With such a complex electronic system, which also manages traction and engine braking, that’s a real problem. The bike felt strange, too.”

Auf nasser Piste fuhr sich Johann Zarco auf Startplatz 3
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Even for the seasoned MotoGP rider, it was too much: “When everything stops working in unison on a bike with that much power, it simply becomes dangerous.” The result – Zarco pulled the prototype over and called it a day. Something the thoroughbred racer from Cannes certainly regretted: “I took a lot of risks in qualifying; I was desperate to be on the front row – I wanted that feeling of battling it out at the front.”

That was also why Zarco opted exclusively for the medium front tyre for the 13-lap sprint – all the other riders had the softest compound fitted at the front as well. “The idea was to apply a lot of pressure right from the start. It was risky, because the conditions changed again just before the start – it got warmer again. I don’t know how it would have ended, but I think a battle with Acosta for fifth place would have been possible.”

His team-mate Diogo Moreira was slower but managed to avoid any punctures. Thanks to his rivals’ problems, the rookie was also able to celebrate scoring points for 8th place in the end.

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