"A top-10 finish in the championship" will be Johann Zarco's primary objective in Valencia

The Valencia Grand Prix marks the end of the 2025 season. MotoGPwhich was rich in emotions for Johann Zarco. Between his victory at the French Grand Prix, his podium at Silverstone, and his setbacks during the summer, the Frenchman's year was eventful to say the least.

As the season draws to a close, the Honda LCR rider has set himself one final goal: to finish in the top 10 of the Riders' standings. This is a challenge he set for himself at the beginning of the season, believing he could rely on consistent performance throughout the 22 rounds. However, a closer look reveals that it was the Frenchman's individual successes that made the difference. Heading into the final race weekend, the Cannes native sits 12th in the overall standings, just one point behind Brad Binder in 11th and two points behind Raul Fernandez in 10th. So, anything is still possible…

"So for Valencia, the goal is to finish in the top ten in the championship," Johann Zarco told the media present at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on Thursday. That would be great. There's also the goal of remaining Honda's top rider. That was an objective at the start of the year. We're only two points behind Binder and Fernandez, which helps to give that final push for Valencia, because after 22 races, you sometimes feel like you just want it to be over. But you know, I like having a kind of competition, a challenge. Binder surprised me; he was very good in Portugal and that earned him quite a few points.

Honda better than KTM in Valencia?

Johann Zarco has never raced in Valencia on a Honda. Last year, the race was canceled due to flooding that hit the region shortly before the Grand Prix. In 2023, he participated in the final round of the season on a Ducati. He even sees this as an advantage over the machine of one of his direct rivals.

Nevertheless, number 5 is not worried about his ability to adapt to the circuit: “I think it could be interesting. A bike that performs well can perform everywhere. I hope KTM might have a few more problems here; it’s true that when you look at almost all the bikes, the KTM seems to be the one that handles the worst. So it’s a track where it needs to be fast, and it’s possible the Honda could have an advantage over the KTM.”

For Johann Zarco, the goal will be to qualify for Q2 during Friday's practice session to ensure a smoother start to Saturday. To do this, he will need to finish the afternoon session in the top ten.

Interview by Luca Bartolomeo in Valencia. 

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