ZARCO TESTS HONDA FIREBLADE AS HE PREPARES FOR RETURN FROM KNEE INJURY

LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco has moved his MotoGP return forward, confirming that he plans to come back at the MotoGP event at MotorLand Aragón at the end of August. The Frenchman had initially been expected to return later, with Misano Adriatico originally pencilled in. Zarco, 36, suffered a serious left knee injury in mid-May at the Barcelona race after a collision at the start with Pecco Bagnaia’s bike. Since then, Cal Crutchlow has been filling in for him at LCR Honda.

Ahead of his comeback, Zarco used the week to carry out a private test on a Honda Fireblade. The session took place at the Pôle Mécanique Alès Cévennes circuit near Nîmes in southern France, where the track operators have worked with the two-time Moto2 world champion for years. That relationship allowed him to test away from public view.

Zarco described the Fireblade test as a deliberate “stress test” for his body and specifically for his knee. “It was something completely different than what I had last time with the Supermoto bike, where you have a more comfortable riding position. But that’s exactly why this test was planned,” he said. He added that he has already been training again for two months and that the test consisted of “two days with really private tests.”

On the performance side, Zarco said he was satisfied with what he saw on track: “Lap times were also in order. It was important to see how I feel in the racing position on the bike.”

The key issue for him was the extreme body position required on a superbike. “The body adapts quickly, but it doesn’t forget that strongly bent position,” he explained. He said the discomfort in the knee was manageable during the session: “The complaints in the knee were tolerable. As for the position, it doesn’t bother me further. The pain actually comes when I get small bumps, when the bike starts to slide and I try to catch those moments. All these little bumps cause the pain.”

After the two test days, Zarco drew a positive conclusion. “Rehabilitation is going quite well, and it feels amazing to be back on track—especially in Alès, where I feel comfortable. With the CBR you can’t really rest on a tight circuit like Alès. That really helps to understand where I stand, and I can see that it’s going pretty well.” He also stressed that recovery remains part of the plan: “I also always pay close attention to cooling the knee.”