Johann Zarco is preparing his retirement from MotoGP: "I would be surprised to extend my contract."

Veteran of the 2026 grid MotoGPJohann Zarco is already thinking about the next stage of his career, aware that every lap counts a little more than before. In 2026, he will enter the first season of a two-year contract with Honda LCR, which could be his last contract extension in MotoGP.

Two years that will be anything but calm in the premier class. While his two previous teammates, Takaaki Nakagami and Somkiat Chantra, were far from Zarco's performance level, the reigning Moto2 world champion, Diogo Moreira, is making a dazzling debut in the top category. Also signed to a two-year contract with the Honda satellite team, there's no doubt the young Brazilian will push the Frenchman to his limits, neither of them wanting to be outshone by comparison.

"He's exceptional, I love him," Johann Zarco rejoices in front of the media present at the French Grand Prix press conference, including AUTOhebdo. And you can see he picks everything up very quickly. It's impressive at 21; he's already incredibly mature. And a true off-road prince. Really good at speed. He's going to perform, and that's great. It's good to have a teammate like that. Because I think that with, as I said, the energy I have inside me, the burning desire to perform, I'm going to continue to lead the LCR team. Because it's also a source of pride, and at some point, it's my competitive spirit.

Professor Johann Zarco

By passing on the experience acquired in nearly 20 Grand Prix seasons, including about ten in the premier class, Johann Zarco hopes to help the rider develop into a great champion of tomorrow. “Passing the torch to Diogo would be a good idea,” He continues. "He might be the one to join the factory team in two years, I don't know. But if I retire from MotoGP at the end of 2027, it would be a good way to say that I've given it my all in these last two years."

A speech that reeks of the end. As he himself admits, number 5 would be "surprised to extend"The deadline doesn't worry him, however. Indeed, at almost 36 years old, he has ticked virtually every box a rider dreams of ticking during their Grand Prix career. A two-time Moto2 world champion in 2015 and 2016, a pole-sitter and winner in MotoGP thereafter, the Cannes native even tasted victory on home soil last year, making history at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans.

So, when it comes to thinking about what he still has to accomplish in the top class, he lacks ideas, but not ambition: “You can always say that a world title would be the best ending. Otherwise, ending my MotoGP career with the feeling that I really did everything, that I got the results I wanted, without thinking about wins or titles. I enjoyed the podium and other things. Finishing when you feel there wasn't really anything more to do, that's the right way to retire, I think.”, concludes Johann Zarco.

"Strolls with friends"

Johann Zarco, on the other hand, already has plenty of ideas for life after MotoGP. Not far removed from competition, he would like to participate in endurance races, among other things. Having already won the Suzuka 8 Hours twice, he could thus add to his repertoire. Le Mans, the Bol d'Or or the 8 Hours of Spa are among his achievements.

“I can still continue riding motorcycles, but perhaps I want to experience motorcycling in a different way,” the person in question added. Given the level I can reach thanks to MotoGP, absorbing that level that propels you to another planet, all the other bikes I can ride, for example in endurance racing, become a pleasure, like a ride with friends. And if I can enjoy a ride with friends, but while winning races, that will be pure pleasure.

These were rides with friends which – although far removed from the extreme pressure of MotoGP – lasted between eight and twenty-four hours. They nevertheless allowed Johann Zarco, then 38 years old, to further extend his career in world motorcycle racing.

Interview by Luca Bartolomeo, in Paris.

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