The French MotoGP rider Johann Zarco, at the end of his contract with Ducati-Pramac, could commit to Honda, we learned on Saturday from the sporting director of Ducati. “He has not given his decision yet. But we are offering him a year in MotoGP and then going to (championship) Superbike, while Honda is offering him two years plus an optional MotoGP. So if he wants to stay (in this category), he should choose Honda,” Paolo Ciabatti told AFP.
Johann Zarco’s agent confirmed this information to AFP, before adding, however, “there is nothing official yet”. “It’s a shame not to have had a real offer from Ducati yet. It’s weird because you might think that good results are enough. But it seems not. Or maybe they’re not good enough. As a result, discussions with Honda are continuing to have at least two options. It’s a good thing to have a choice,” the tricolor driver, currently fifth in the provisional world championship standings, told AFP on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Avignonnais could join the Japanese manufacturer’s satellite team, Honda-LCR. He would thus recover the handlebar 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. Zarco, who is competing in his seventh season in motorcycling’s premier category, has been riding for the Ducati-Pramac team for three years. Double Moto2 world champion (2015, 2016), he competed in 113 Grands Prix in MotoGP and won 8 pole positions and 19 podiums but no victory.
