Johann Zarco’s second MotoGP win couldn’t have arrived at a better time as he won his first race for Honda in front of his home crowd.
Zarco beat Marc Marquez across the line by a whopping 20 seconds, to send the home faithful into pandemonium.
The result lifts the LCR team rider up to sixth in the MotoGP standings, just two points behind Fabio Di Giannantonio for fifth.
Honda are now back up to second in the constructors’ championship, as their renaissance through the pack continues.
Zarco found Marquez’s old Honda data ‘very interesting’ and may have used it to beat him in convincing fashion this weekend.
It was only two weeks ago that Zarco felt Honda had a ‘missing ingredient’, before utilising the mixed and unpredictable conditions to his advantage at Le Mans.
READ MORE: Luca Marini should be worried by what Honda are now giving Johann Zarco behind the scenes
Lucio Cecchinello praises ‘amazing’ Johann Zarco for being faster than Marc Marquez
Flag-to-flag races often involve a lot of chaos, and the Grand Prix of France was no exception. Two championship protagonists crashed multiple times, showing how tricky the conditions were.
Before the halfway point of the race, Zarco inherited a nine-second lead and doubled that advantage before the end.
His pace over Marquez behind was sensational. He had a far better understanding of his bike in the wet conditions.
Speaking after the race, his team boss Lucio Cecchinello praised him for being as much as one second per lap faster than the championship leader.
“We didn’t expect such a result. He did an amazing race, he was lapping one second faster than Marc Marquez,” he said on TNT Sports.
“We were hoping that he would slow down a little bit because he’s got a 20-second margin. Anyway, we finished a fantastic race, we will remember this race for the rest of our life.”
READ MORE: Lucio Cecchinello says Johann Zarco is doing something he’s ‘never seen’ behind the scenes at Honda
Which MotoGP rider will fear for their future after Johann Zarco’s continued success
Johann Zarco has performed so well in 2025 that just six races into the season he may be turning heads for 2026.
It goes without saying that one of them is Honda, who may want to replace Luca Marini at the factory team at the end of the season.
He hasn’t performed to the standard they would expect, and their recent recovery means that their seat is becoming more coveted by the day.
Pedro Acosta and Toprak Razgatlioglu have a chance of being in the conversation, but it feels that Marini’s exit is inevitable at this stage.
He would have to start scoring regular top 10 finishes, with the odd podium if he wants to convince them that he is the solution for the future.
