How Honda Surprisingly Returned to Winning Ways in MotoGP

Honda's first MotoGP win in over two years had everything as Johann Zarco surprisingly claimed the second premier class win of his career in a dramatic French GP.

The chaotic flag-to-flag race, which Zarco ultimately won by 20 seconds from championship leader Marc Marquez, was the first win by a French rider on home soil since 1954.

Heavy rain prior to the start resulted in the entire field heading down the pit lane to swap from dry to wet tyres at the end of the warm-up lap. This caused a delayed start for the second time this year after another dramatic start procedure took place in America a few weeks ago.

But the drama wasn’t over when the race restarted as the circuit was then considered dry enough as some riders came back in at the end of the formation lap - although Zarco decided to stay out with his wet tyre gamble.

If that wasn't enough, Zarco was nearly wiped out on the opening lap when a collision between Francesco Bagnaia and Joan Mir saw the Honda rider sent off track.

But Zarco soon regrouped before more rain fell, which led to the dry-weather runners heading for another bike swap, while the LCR rider instead carried on and built a considerable lead.

Previously a race winner with Ducati, Zarco's triumph at Le Mans was his first since claiming victory at Philip Island in 2022, and it was also his first podium since leaving Ducati for the Japanese company.

"I feel very special and proud, because I love motorcycle history and to write this line as a French rider winning the French GP, it’s just magic,” said Zarco post-race.

“I always push myself, hoping that I can win races or be on the podium. But today was also about making this choice for the rain tyres.”

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