Honda 'doesn’t know yet what is good to do' on 2024 MotoGP bike – Zarco

Despite overhauling its motorcycle for the 2024 season, Honda hasn’t been able to chip its way into the leaders after two rounds of the campaign.

Honda’s top result so far is a 12th position, scored by Joan Mir in Portugal and Zarco in Qatar.

After a Portuguese GP in which he struggled to 15th, Zarco says Honda hasn’t stumbled across set-up solutions that work for the bike yet.

“I really trust Honda, I see they are working so hard and at least, step by step, we all know what is not good to do,” he said.

“We don’t know yet what is good to do. But the more we are doing kilometres, the more we know what is not working.

“So, it will be always useful to go forward.

“For me, this weekend [in Portugal] is like I expected something good, I could not do it, I get more experience, but I could not really get a satisfaction in the feeling.

“So, it was not a weekend where I could enjoy a lot. I enjoyed to be able to fight just a little bit, but as soon as the other ones caught the pace it was not possible.

“So, this was a bit difficult to live.”

Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Mir’s riding style was highlighted by his Honda peers as the reason for his better pace over the rest of them, but Zarco feels copying this won’t be useful for him.

“It’s more about building the confidence, I would say, because we have different riding styles,” he added.

“It seems mine was working well in Qatar because I could control the situation and then go a bit faster in the end.

“I expected also to do this here [in Portugal], not for a very good position but in this group where Joan was fighting.

“[I thought] maybe I could control here and then save my tyre to push a little bit more in the end. But I was pushing all the race, so that’s why I had nothing left [at the end].”