Johann Zarco managed to close the gap to the winner of the Netherlands MotoGP to 17.4 seconds during this year’s Grand Prix, but his 12th place finish still left him 24.875 seconds behind Marc Marquez. Zarco is among the 11 riders who completed races in both 2024 and 2025, and he is one of the five competitors who came close to this year’s winner.
“I’m glad to earn four points after scoring none in Aragon and Mugello,” said Zarco, who was also the highest-placed Honda rider after Joan Mir retired. He added, “I was in eighth place behind Di Giannantonio when a rider crashed, presenting a great chance to move up, but following him proved impossible.” Zarco acknowledged the difficulty of the weekend, stating, “Despite the progress, the gap to the leader hasn’t decreased significantly. Last year, we were 42 seconds behind the winner, but this year it’s 24 seconds, so it’s not all negative. However, I’m struggling to get a good feel for the bike and to keep up with others. Every bit of progress one day seemed to be lost the next. We might have hit a limit we cannot yet understand or fix.”
Both Zarco and Marquez improved their race times at Assen from last year. Meanwhile, riders like Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo (who lost seven seconds while avoiding Fermin Aldeguer’s accident), and Raul Fernandez were close to winning despite slower race times. Conversely, last year’s winner Francesco Bagnaia was one of six riders who posted slower times over 26 laps this year. Enea Bastianini, riding for Tech3 KTM, saw his gap widen from +7 seconds in 2024 (3rd place) to +23 seconds (9th place) in 2025.
The included tables show detailed race times comparing the 2024 and 2025 Netherlands MotoGP events, highlighting the improvements and setbacks of various riders.
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Fan Take: Zarco’s efforts to narrow the gap, despite challenges, highlight the fierce competition and technical hurdles in MotoGP, keeping fans on the edge of their seats. This evolving dynamic signals an exciting future for the sport, as riders and teams push to overcome limits and achieve breakthrough performances.
