Johann Zarco, official date set for MotoGP return: he will also have to serve a penalty

Johann Zarco will be present at the MotoGP Grand Prix in Aragon on the weekend of August 28–30. Naturally, the Castrol Honda LCR rider will have to undergo the usual Thursday medical check to determine his fitness to get back on his RC213V, which he abandoned after the nasty crash during the race in Barcelona.

The plan had been to return in September, but the condition of his left knee has progressively improved in recent weeks, and the doctors who examined the Frenchman have given the green light for an early comeback at the end of August. MotoGP’s medical staff will then assess whether he can actually take on the race weekend at MotorLand. The decisive check will take place on Thursday, August 27. In the meantime, the two-time Moto2 world champion has gotten back in the saddle on a supermoto and a Honda CBR1000RR.

Zarco is eager to get back to racing in MotoGP. On May 17, during the second start of the race in Barcelona, he was involved in a crash that he himself triggered, which also took down Pecco Bagnaia and Luca Marini. The three riders ended up in the gravel and, unfortunately, the Frenchman’s left leg got wedged between the wheel, the seat, and the exhaust of the Ducati Desmosedici GP26. The pain was so intense that it made him scream, and in that position it wasn’t easy to help him, even though the rescuers did their best to secure him as quickly as possible.

The Castrol Honda LCR rider suffered tears to the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments of his knee, the medial meniscus, and a small fracture of the fibula near the ankle. Surgery seemed likely, but in the end it wasn’t required.

On top of the physical damage, there was also a sting for Zarco. Having been deemed at fault for the crash in Barcelona, he was handed a penalty to be served at the first available Grand Prix: a double long lap penalty. The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel could not turn a blind eye just because he was injured on the occasion. If he is cleared to race at Aragon, he will serve the two long laps.