Johann Zarco analyses Honda's beneficial revised engine

Despite a strong challenge from Joan Mir, Johann Zarco keep his place as Honda’s fastest rider during the Sepang MotoGP test.

The Frenchman - who secured a rare Q2 place for Honda at last November’s Malaysia Grand Prix and was also eleventh in the main race - finished the test 0.711s behind leader Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati).

Factory rider Mir was only 0.075s behind, with Luca Marini in 15th and Zarco’s rookie LCR team-mate Somkiat Chantra in 19th but still within 1.64s of Marquez around the near two-minute lap.

“We can take this test as positive and even more positive than what I could expect,” Zarco began. “Because the [final day] performance was really good. And it's nice for the confidence to get closer to the top guys. The gap is not so big compared to the past.”

Honda had new engine, aero and chassis parts to try in Malaysia. Zarco, like Mir, seemed to favour the new engine but older aero.

“We tried many things during the three days,” said the Frenchman. “And today, we could put all those things together and it was working much better. So I’m happy for this.

“There are not [individual] things that are making a huge difference on the bike but putting them all together I realise I have a better control of the bike.

“Now we need the test in Thailand to keep trying those [new] things and chose which package will be the best to start the season, because we have to decide which parts to homologate.”

Johann Zarco notes Honda strong points

Engine and aero need to be homologated for round one, although Honda’s D concession raking means, like Yamaha, they can update both designs during the year.

With Zarco only 15th on the top speed charts, the RC213V is lacking some outright power at present while rear grip remains a weakness.

However, the revised engine character appears to help with turning.

“There are really some bikes that look very strong in acceleration and this is an area that when you follow someone you always feel that you are losing,” he continued.

“But when we analyse all the corner, sometimes [the exit] is not the biggest area to focus on. So we had other things to work on to give better feeling for the rider. Which I could find and that makes me pretty pleased.

“On the engine side, Honda is doing its best to have the most power possible, but also power that you can use.

“I hope we will have something better during the season, but I'm sure we can fight for top tens from the first races, which is one of my main targets at the moment.”