Johann Zarco has been in some fine form to start the 2025 MotoGP season and has comfortably been Honda’s best rider.
He has finished inside the top two in the last two races, even winning his home race at the French Grand Prix in front of a jubilant crowd.
Zarco is tied to the LCR team until the end of 2026, but it doesn’t feel like he will make it that long if he continues on his current trajectory.
The MotoGP rider market can change almost in an instant and there’s a strong possibility of things changing, particularly with Honda’s factory line-up as they continue to struggle.
Honda have offered Joan Mir to LCR and may have decided that they will be promoting him regardless of either rider’s performance across the rest of the season.
Reigning champion Jorge Martin has been linked to Honda, but it is understood that Zarco will still end up at the factory team even if he is nabbed from Aprilia too.
READ MORE: Honda have already decided what they’ll do with Johann Zarco if Jorge Martin joins from Aprilia
Joan Mir says Johann Zarco ‘doesn’t’ tell him anything about Honda’s improvements in 2025
Although they ride for the same manufacturer, Mir and Zarco don’t have a similar relationship to that of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Pramac’s Jack Miller.
Zarco made a sacrifice for Honda and was prepared to give up on his aspirations for riding for the factory team, as long as he is given a two-year deal at LCR.
His age is a slight worry, because he would be 37 at the end of that deal, but can anyone complain while he is one point from fourth in the championship? Mir can, according to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com.
“He doesn’t tell me anything,” said the 2020 MotoGP champion. “It tells me that they are doing a good job, that they have everything under control and that we, for some reason, are not yet.
“In terms of potential and pace we have shown in all the practice sessions that we can have a similar level, but then in the race something escapes us. It is experience and, above all, clarity.
“The management of the race, the set-up, the reason why the tyres are consumed for us and not for him, there is a bit of everything.”
Why Honda need to swap Joan Mir with Johann Zarco for 2026
To this day, Mir has won as many races as he has championships in the premier class, and seems to be involved in a new incident every week.
He needs to make the finish and score more points if he wants to keep the title of being a satellite rider for Honda.
Otherwise, being 19th in the standings on a bike which has won this year and consistently challenged for the top six isn’t good enough.
With more experience, Zarco may be able to bring more detailed feedback which could help future upgrades and bring them closer to the front too.
Lucio Cecchinello has praised the ‘amazing’ Zarco for his speed this season, and he deserves a reward for leading Honda to second in the constructors’ almost entirely by himself.
