French rider Johann Zarco, out of contract with Ducati-Pramac, will continue his MotoGP career with the Honda-LCR team, he said on Sunday after taking 13th place in the Austrian Grand Prix at Red Bullring.
“Ducati offered me the possibility of continuing for a year but without the guarantee of being at Pramac, while Honda offered me a two-year contract and even another project for the future, but it is too early to think about it” , explained the Avignonnais, currently fifth in the provisional classification of the world championship.
“These last two years, even with good results, it has been difficult to continue with Ducati and it’s stressful every year not knowing if we’re going to continue… For a 33-year-old athlete, it’s nice to have some stability. As long as we are competitive, we want to stay in MotoGP and I am so it is good to have the assurance of continuing for two years, ”he added.
Johann Zarco will therefore join the satellite team of the Japanese manufacturer, thus recovering the handlebars left free by the Spaniard Alex Rins, who signed up in early August with Yamaha, the team of Fabio Quartararo, the other Frenchman on the grid.
The native of Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) had already evolved in this stable during the last three Grands Prix of the year 2019, when he had slammed the door of KTM and terminated his contract during the season.
Zarco, who is competing in his seventh season in the premier category of motorcycling, has already driven for four manufacturers in MotoGP: Yamaha (2017-2018), KTM (2019), Honda (2019) and finally Ducati (2020-2023).
“I spent four years at Ducati, including three at Pramac, and I’m very happy with what we’ve built together. At the end of the year, I will leave with a smile because Ducati gave me a lot and we fought together to achieve great results. But first I want to end the season in the best possible way,” said Johann Zarco in a statement published by Pramac.
Double Moto2 world champion (2015, 2016), the French rider competed in 114 Grands Prix in MotoGP and won 8 pole positions and 19 podiums but no victory.