Johann Zarco has lavished praise on Marc Marquez for achieving the results he did on his Honda RC213V after the Frenchman opined that he wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything like his rival’s results on it.

The Australian MotoGP race winner is preparing for his first season with Honda as part of the satellite LCR team following a switch from Pramac Ducati over the winter.

Zarco had a chance to ride the outgoing RC213V package during last year’s Valencia test before progressing to this year’s iteration, a machine he believes is very different to its predecessor.

Having sampled both bikes - and pronounced himself happy with the potential of his new machine - Zarco added that it gives him greater appreciation for the performance of former Honda rider Marquez on the tricky previous RC213V

For me yes [the 2024 Honda is more competitive], which is great because it would have been very complicated with the old bike. 

“I am so impressed with what Marc did with the old bike, he was always the one at the front, even if he was crashing or could not finish all of the races.

“He was always able to be fast and I think for me that was not possible with the old bike. I am pleased to get this new bike.”