Johann Zarco's maturity and experience are essential to the development of the RC213V at Honda, according to Lucio Cecchinello.
Since joining the LCR team last year, Johann zarco has become the leader of the Honda riders, despite his status as an "unofficial" rider not riding for the factory team. The Frenchman has been racking up results and is the brand's best rider in the championship for the second year in a row. A performance that allows him to have much more weight at Honda, and to have become essential to the development of the RC213V, according to Lucio Cecchinello, the boss of the LCR team.
"Johann is now a mature driver, which we need more than ever, because we need a boy with experience, who will help us develop the RC213V and reduce and close the gap with our rivals.", Cechinello told GP One. "Johann has experience with four different brands in MotoGP and can provide very precise statements and information, so the engineers know what to focus on first. We are very happy with Johann because he is at the best moment of his career. He is in excellent physical and mental shape."
While his teammate Somkiat Chantra is new to the category, the two official Honda riders Joan Mir and Luca Marini have already had several seasons in MotoGP under their belts, and are far from being beginners. However, Johann zarco is seven years older than them, and these seven years weigh in the balance of experience and maturity.
Seven years ago, the Frenchman was riding for Tech3 and was about to move to KTM, where he would experience the most difficult period of his career. Looking back, he now realizes he lacked maturity at the time. "He himself recognizes that he is more mature compared to his time at Tech3 and KTM.", added Cechinello. And this maturity changes everything when it comes to facing the difficulties encountered by Honda.
Then there is necessarily "the right choice at the right time." Cechinello was able to offer zarco the project he was looking for at a time when he didn't feel he was being recognized at his true worth at Ducati. And the alchemy, combined with the rider's maturity, worked. “I was particularly struck by Johann’s approach in 2023. He had a clear offer from Ducati Pramac for the following season, but only for one year. So I offered him the perfect two-year project, which suited his motivation.”, continued the Italian.
"We then developed a program for 2024 and 2025, which he and his manager evaluated positively. Currently, we are achieving even better results than last year, and together we will become even stronger during this season. And we hope that Johann will continue to work with Honda and with us in the future, but discussions have not yet begun."
