RiderTua.com – Johann Zarco hopes that Marc Marquez’s speed at Portimao in 2023 will be a positive sign for Honda when the MotoGP race takes place in the Algarve this weekend. Last year, the 31 year old rider won pole position in the season opening race and then climbed the podium in 3rd place in the sprint. Marquez returned to the lead in Sunday’s main race, but lost control under braking and crashed into Miguel Oliveira. This made Alex Rins (still at LCR) who finished in 10th position Honda’s best rider.
But Zarco at least hopes that the roller coaster circuit in Portugal will be more suitable for Honda than in Qatar, where he was the best RC213V rider after finishing in 12th position. Zarco said that some 0.1 seconds are lost in each lap, but this will happen as time goes by and the bike will improve. But the way he rides his bike looks very comfortable. So that is already a good thing, explained the 32 year old rider.
Johann Zarco: We know that right now the bike is not ready to go on the podium
Johann Zarco added that all the information is becoming more and more real. So you can see what it’s like in Portugal with a different layout. Zarco was quite impressed with Marc’s speed there last year. This means that perhaps Honda’s weaknesses are less than on a very fast track like in Qatar.
“So if we have a slight advantage in Portugal over Qatar, this will be good information to understand our strengths and weaknesses. The race weekend in Qatar is a real foundation for us. Because even though we have time during the test to do long distance runs, we will never have the same information as when racing.”
“We need to use this opening race as development, because we know at the moment that the bike is not ready to be on the podium. But clearly, this is much better than the project of the last 2 years. We have some leeway (thanks to concessions), so more testing and more parts to try. And this will definitely be useful,” he said. There is some balance to bikes, although it’s not a big secret. But every rider has to find this balance, and Honda is on its way in that direction, said the French rider.
Team-mate Takaaki Nakagami finished 19th in Qatar, at least finding more consistency in the main race than in the sprints. But he is still looking for rear grip, especially on new tyres. “Joan (Mir) and Zarco recorded a time of 0.2 seconds per lap and they were a little faster than my speed. So in the end they got some points and I lost points,” explained Taka.
“Of course we lost in ride and traction, we didn’t move forward and the bike spun a lot. So it was difficult. Layouts like this are always very complicated and once again we lacked rear grip. This is the main problem for us. Of course I’m disappointed, but this is only the first race. Now I’m looking forward to Portimao, the normal time schedule and the return to European race tracks.”
Takaaki Nakagami also said that everyone will be able to see where their level is. “Because in Portimao, Honda riders will get several new or different parts on their bikes, so hopefully the motorbike’s balance and performance can improve and the results can be seen,” concluded the rider from Chiba, Japan.
