Johann Zarco is, together with his teammate Takaaki Nakagami, the best placed rider in the general standings of this 2024 MotoGP season despite competing in the satellite team of the Japanese manufacturer. Both have 21 points, six more than Joan Mir and 20 more than Luca Marini, the last of the Honda riders.
The Japanese manufacturer has been trying to relaunch itself for some time, almost years, but the first signs are still not visible. In the manufacturers’ standings, the Tokyo manufacturer is in last place with 37 points. Yamaha is also ahead, with 72 points, despite having half the bikes on the grid.
Honda has huge traction problems, which won’t be solved just with the fancy fairings used in the post-race Misano tests on Monday.
With the direction of the prototype engine decided, the electronics division has a lot of work to do to try to ensure that horsepower is not wasted. As Honda continues to develop the powerplant for its 2025 bike, which will be unveiled in Valencia on the Monday after the 2024 season concludes, riders are busy turning laps at every opportunity to gain half a tenth of a second and get closer to the benchmark Ducati.
Johann Zarco, LCR Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“What happens is that the problems we have are not solved with a fairing,” summed up Zarco, who finished 18th, 1.3 seconds behind fastest Pecco Bagnaia.
Nakagami finished 19th, more than a second and a half behind the reigning champion. “With the new fairing I had a different feeling. I think it allows us to open our minds in other directions. The improvement is clear in the corners, because the bike wants to turn more. We’ll see how it all comes together in the second race in Misano,” said the Frenchman, who finished 12th on Sunday, more than a minute behind winner Marc Márquez.
“The worst thing is the lack of traction, and not just grip,” added the two-time Moto2 world champion, who is nevertheless grateful for the efforts of Honda’s engineers. “Even if you can’t consider what Honda brought to the test as a new bike, if you look at what they brought before, it’s like it’s a new bike,” added Zarco.
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