Johann Zarco: 2024 Honda project “doesn’t work, we need to open new doors”
“This 2024 project doesn't work... it's not competitive."
Ahead of Monday’s official Misano MotoGP test, Johann Zarco emphasised the need for Honda to make big changes to the current RC213V package.
Zarco finished as the top Honda rider in Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix, in 12th place and over one minute from race winner Marc Marquez.
The mid-race shower helped shake up the order and Zarco had been the top Honda in just 16th during qualifying - with Luca Marini, Takaaki Nakagami and wild-card Stefan Bradl filling the back of the grid.
A ‘full package’ of upgrades has been touted for Monday’s test, offering what will probably be the last chance for major progress this season.
“I know we'll try aerodynamic things and chassis, because we need to change big things to make well the bike,” Zarco told MotoGP.com.
“The project at the moment, this 2024 project, doesn't work at all. I mean, it's not competitive. So we need to go in another direction to open new doors.”
Team-mate Nakagami, who will switch to test riding duties in 2025, added: “The Monday test is really important. We got information from HRC that we will test a new aero package.
“Of course, there are many other things that we need to improve, like some stiffness of the chassis. We are missing a lot. So we will try to improve the performance of the bike.”
The LCR riders - tied on points for 17th and top Honda rider in the standings - might be called upon for extra testing duties if Repsol team-mates Marini and Joan Mir, who missed Sunday’s race due to sickness, are still unfit to ride.
Test rider Bradl - assumed to have been trying some of the new parts during the race weekend - retired from the Sprint before scoring two points in the grand prix - but was last on the timesheets in every other session.
“It’s another weekend where we are working on different things, different ideas and concepts. The objective isn’t the lap time," Bradl said after the Sprint.
The Sunday points, which put him ahead of Marini in the standings, were then a pleasant surprise.
“Coming into the race today I wasn’t expecting much but when there are some spots of rain, you never know what can happen and experience counts for a lot," he said.
"We had nothing to lose in these conditions and the sky did not look dark enough for the rain to stay so I continued on slicks. I am really happy to get 14th and some points, not just for me but also for the guys I am working with in the Test Team.
"We do a lot of work at these wildcards and also behind the scenes, so I am really pleased to give them something to enjoy.”
Meanwhile, Repsol announced on Sunday that it will end its 30-year title sponsorship of the factory Honda team at the end of this season.
After 13 of 20 rounds, LCR is ahead of Repsol Honda, but both are at the very bottom of the teams' standings.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
