Zarco “pretty pleased” if “best option” Marini joins him at Honda

Johann Zarco’s Pramac to LCR move was officially confirmed in August while VR46’s Luca Marini is now hotly tipped to take over Marc Marquez’s vacant seat at Repsol Honda.

If so, Zarco would be “pretty pleased.”

"I respect Luca a lot and he's a super technical guy," Zarco said. "He works with a lot of method and I think even if he did fewer years on the Ducati than me, maybe he knows the Ducati better than me.

“He can also always bring good information and with the good [working] method he has, it can be a great way for Honda to begin a new page.

“If he's the one, for sure it’s maybe the best option and I'm really pleased if this happens.”

Zarco, who broke his MotoGP victory drought at Phillip Island, added that while other riders might have more natural talent, Marini works twice as hard.

“It seems sometimes that he has less gift than the other riders, so to be at the level he has to work twice [as hard]. I think that can be an advantage to develop a bike, to understand what's happening,” Zarco said.

“Because he had to do all his career just by the work this pushed him to learn to do everything step by step and now he clearly has this MotoGP level, always fighting for the top 10 or top 5.

“It means he is not doing things by hazard [chance]. It means he understands a lot. Maybe sometimes [being] too technical can block him, but at least to give a base of work, it's clearly important.”

Zarco is currently fifth in the world championship with Marini, who missed three races due to a collarbone fracture, in eighth.

Once confirmed, Marini would join Zarco in riding for Honda at the Valencia post-race test on November 28.