LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco believes Yamaha’s expansion to four bikes for 2025 will motivate Honda further to get back to the front of the grid.
The Frenchman indicates that Pramac choosing Yamaha from 2025 will motivate both Japanese marques on its quest to bridge the gap to the front in overall bike competitiveness.
It’s safe to say Honda has had a difficult first half of the year. All four riders collectively acquired a lacklustre 36 points.
Both manufacturers have seen their performance levels significantly drop in the last year, and they have struggled to fight back despite the new concession system allowing as much testing as possible in between races.
Pramac announced the end of its 20-year agreement with Ducati at the Dutch Grand Prix, with former rider Zarco voicing his opinion on the matter.
““It will be good for the Yamaha project. They need more bikes to develop and get more information,” he said.
“It’s good to get more Japanese bikes in the championship because now the European bikes, the Ducati, [they] get too much advantage so it finds a little bit better balance. And I hope that the Japanese will reduce the gap with the Ducati.
“[With] Marc and Pecco for next year in the top team, they will be impossible to reach and they will fly all year.
“But at least from third position to the 10th position, there will be some changes and that will be good.
“And I think Yamaha doing improvements and getting more bikes on the grid will push Honda also to make the changes or push themselves to find solutions.”
Zarco states that Honda needs to develop a brand-new bike to stand any chance of competing at the front again.
“[We are] still too far. The bike is still not competitive enough to make a step in the top 10,” the 33-year-old said.
“I look forward to a new bike that will give this performance. I try at the moment to improve myself and this [Sachsenring] weekend I could try to use the strong points of the bike because there are some areas where the bike is not too bad and I tried to use it to the maximum.
“I don’t know [when the new bike will arrive]. But I wait. I don’t want to know [when it will it arrive] because it will not change my concentration for all the races. But at least I would like to [do] as well as possible over what I have control.”
