The curtain falls on the 2025 MotoGP season. For this final meeting in Valencia, Spain, the Maralpins riders experienced a complicated Grand Prix, reflecting the challenges of the year.
A season marked by feats. That’s a quick yet realistic way to sum up the year 2025 for Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco. This weekend again, the riders from the Côte d’Azur shone right from the start. Not by their qualifying positions (Fabio Quartararo 6th, Johann Zarco 11th), but through direct comparison with their teammates. Alex Rins, on the other Yamaha, didn’t do better than 19th and found himself very far all season. Somkiat Chantra was last with the LCR Honda team bike also ridden by Johann Zarco. The Cannes native was at the same level as the official Honda riders, having gone through Q1. This is proof that the Frenchmen are among the best in the world in the premier motorcycle category.
However, good race results were rare this season. This weekend in Valencia was yet another illustration of this. In the sprint race, despite a good start (4th), the rider from Nice never managed to keep up with the leaders. Overtaken from all sides despite some fierce battles at times, Fabio Quartararo once again suffered from the lack of power in his official Yamaha. This issue is expected to be addressed next year with the introduction of the much-awaited new V4.
Johann Zarco, who favors different tire choices from his competitors, remained cautious as usual, waiting to see if his differing opinion might pay off. At the end of the race, he finished one position ahead (10th) of his starting position but quite far from the points, while “El Diablo” completed his 13 race laps in 7th position, holding off the threat behind him.
By the end of the day on Saturday, Fabio Quartararo was frustrated: “the pace wasn’t there and we know that we are doing more defending than attacking […] I think we don’t have the potential to attack. I have only one thing to do, defend. Unfortunately, we see the riders escaping in front of us. Many of them are making mistakes. We are not making any mistakes, and we still can’t catch them. It’s difficult. I am really looking forward to this ending.”
On Johann Zarco’s side, the assessment wasn’t any better: “I know that even the medium tire, after thirteen laps, is already worn. It might give me some warning for tomorrow. When the tire degrades, I don’t particularly lose traction but the bike becomes even more difficult to ride. It worries me for tomorrow. I know how to manage the tire, with the throttle. However, if I can no longer ride my bike, the top 10 seems hard to achieve.”
No miracle in the race and a crash for Fabio Quartararo’s 200th start
In the final Grand Prix of the season this Sunday, things once again turned sour for the French team. A poor start for Fabio Quartararo, as a celebration of his 200th start in MotoGP, placed him 12th at the first corner, just ahead of Johann Zarco, who made a dive bomb on Francesco Bagnaia. As a consequence, the Cannes native was penalized with a long lap, placing him second to last and thus with no hope of finishing in the top 10 in the world championship.
Ultimately, we’ll remember that the rider from Nice kept pace with the KTM and Honda ahead of him, right until his fall four laps from the finish. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco made a nice recovery after his mistake to conclude his season in 13th place behind Joan Mir on the official machine.
In the world championship standings, Fabio Quartararo finished in ninth place with 201 points out of the 267 scored by Yamaha… Johann Zarco ended up as the top Honda rider in 12th position (144 points) ahead of Luca Marini (133 points).
Now, the riders have a meeting with the first tests for the next season starting on Tuesday, hoping for some noticeable improvements to come back stronger in 2026!
