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After the 2019 season and the premature separation from Red Bull KTM, Johann Zarco was worried about the continuation of his MotoGP career. He then had to essentially start all over again at Avintia Ducati, the financially weakest MotoGP racing team, without a Crew Chief and riding used motorcycles from Borgo Panigale.
But the Frenchman persevered, was transferred to Pramac Ducati after 2020 with the support of Gigi Dall'Igna, and managed a return to success there from 2021 to 2023 – with fifth, eighth, and another fifth place overall in the World Championship, as well as his only MotoGP victory to date, at Phillip Island in 2023 (here first part).
Afterward, Ducati only offered the then 33-year-old veteran a one-year contract, with him set to move to the Superbike World Championship after 2024.
But Johann felt too young for Superbikes, reached an agreement with HRC instead, and switched to LCR Honda for two years – succeeding Alex Rins.
After seventh places in Buriram in 2025, sixth in Termas, and fourth in Lusail, Zarco is by far the best placed Honda rider in an astonishing sixth place in the World Championship. And team owner Lucio Cecchinello agrees 100 percent when you assume he couldn't wish for a better rider than the number 5 right now.
The southern Frenchman has had a long career, which only got off to a slow start in the 125cc World Championship after winning the first ever Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2007, due to years spent in second-tier teams before achieving his first World Championship runner-up finish in the 125cc class with the Ajo Derbi team in 2011 – with his first and only victory in the smallest class at Motegi (Japan).
Zarco later returned to the Ajo team, won the Moto2 World Championship in 2015 and 2016 and found refuge in Hervé Poncharal's Tech3 MotoGP Yamaha team for two years in 2017.
For a while, Zarco had a reputation for sometimes being too blunt in his criticism of the equipment and losing his temper under time pressure, for example, when things didn't go as planned on the first run of qualifying. Loud comments and even verbal insults in the pits were also occasionally heard.
But since Zarco started racing for the family-run yet highly professional LCR team, the winner of 17 GP races has been making only positive headlines. By the way: Zarco already competed in three Grand Prix races as replacement for the injured Cal Crutchlow in the fall of 2019 after the fall-out with KTM in early September.
"Yes, I agree. Johann is a mature racer now, a guy we need more than ever," admits Lucio Cecchinello in an interview with GPOne.com. "Because we need a guy with experience to help develop the RC213V in order to narrow and close the gap to our rivals. Johann has experience with four different MotoGP brands and can provide very precise declarations and information, so the engineers know which parts to focus on first. We're very happy with Johann because, as you said, he's in the best form of his career. He's in excellent physical and mental shape. He admits himself that he's more mature than he was during his time with Tech3 and KTM."
"I was particularly impressed by Johann's approach in 2023. He had a clear offer from Pramac Ducati for the coming season, but only for one year. I then offered him the right project for two years, which suited his motivation. We then developed a program for 2024 and 2025, which he and his manager viewed positively. Now we're achieving better results than last year, and together we'll get even stronger over the course of this season. And hopefully, Johann will continue with Honda and us in the future. But the discussions about the future haven't started yet."
Lucio Cecchinello has observed with satisfaction that, at 34, Johann Zarco is not as subject to mood swings as in the past. "Johann Zarco has not only matured. He has also surrounded himself with a group of professionals in recent years. I have never seen a rider who has worked with so many renowned specialists. Like every MotoGP rider, he has an assistant, a trainer, a nutritionist, a mechanic who looks after his training bikes, and he employs a mental coach. Johann is also training his vision for high performance, which is a kind of gymnastics for eye movement. This allows him to visually absorb as much information as possible in a short time, both at close range, for example from the dashboard, or from a greater distance. This group of specialists, who alternate between coming to the races and the pits, advises Johann very professionally."
But the ambitious and sometimes hot-headed Frenchman has not transformed into an eternally relaxed and calm person. "Last year, Johann occasionally exploded," Lucio grinned. "But that always happened behind closed doors and when there was reason for his frustration. So we were always understanding of these outbursts. I must also emphasize: When a rider vents his disappointment, it's not out of a lack of respect. It means much more that the rider has the absolute desire to achieve the best possible result. Johann has his own personality – like every athlete. And he's got his emotions pretty well under control these days."
Does Cecchinello expect Zarco to successfully defend his sixth place in the World Championship in the remaining races, even though rivals like Bezzecchi, Quartararo, Ogura, and World Champion Jorge Martin surely have other intentions?
"Of course, it would be very welcome if we could maintain this top-six World Championship position; that would be fantastic for us. But the season is long; we still have 18 Grands Prix ahead of us," Cecchinello calculates. "I think the Aprilia is a very good bike. They haven't had the best start to the season, but they pose a serious threat to us."
