Johann Zarco in trouble at Aragon GP with Honda’s confusing MotoGP problems

The rainy French Grand Prix was a big moment for Honda, taking its first MotoGP win since 2023 with Johann Zarco. Silverstone was also positive when the Frenchman finished second in the grand prix, this time in dry conditions.

The tide was allegedly changing for the Japanese manufacturer according to fans and some members of the media, so imagine their surprise when Zarco found himself at the back of the grid in the sprint race at Aragon. The LCR rider was pretty downbeat about his performance and what the team can do to boost the bike’s pace.

“So clearly disappointed because there was no way to do better,” said Zarco. “Already we could see it in the qualifying that I don’t have the step to go faster, and then the race, [there was no] way to bring the bike where I want.

“I tried to do the best that I could, but I could not and just had to accept it. It was very interesting when I catch this feeling of ‘I can do nothing’ [in terms of performance]it’s very similar to last year, which is not normal.

“I think I do not turn like the others. I could complain about the grip, but it would be too easy and it doesn’t make sense. Everybody complains about grip, so I just cannot ride the bike like I want. If I brake more, I lock the front; if I try to turn more, we have vibration – and vibration was over with this bike, so that’s why.

“It really means when something doesn’t work, all the problems are back. It’ll be interesting when we understand why, but it’s kind of frustrating to see that we didn’t understand it. To have this problem means we didn’t understand.”

Fellow Honda rider Joan Mir wasn’t having any more luck. Admittedly his race never really got under way after an early clash with Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller took the HRC man out of the running, but he wasn’t feeling happy about his bike’s behaviour regardless.

“A mix of everything,” said Mir when describing his problems. “We tried to go in a similar direction as yesterday when we made a step, but I was not very comfortable with the front, I was not feeling great. I wanted to go a little bit more, a little bit more and I crashed, but honestly, it was a pretty hard one.”

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Regarding his incident with Miller, the Spaniard didn’t want to get drawn into specifics without seeing all the evidence.

“It will be better to ask him what happened,” said Mir. “The consequence of his action was my DNF, I did not complete the race due to this action. He was completely out of control and we both touched and I go straight into the wall, I had to brake in the gravel and then I crashed. I know the consequences but I don’t know the reason.”

Things aren’t looking great for the Honda riders as they appear to be stuck in the lower midpack for the Aragon Grand Prix. All of a sudden, that Le Mans triumph seems aeons ago and proves once again that a race or two doesn’t make a season.