LCR Honda in 2025

Johann Zarco will be looking to defend his top H♓onda status during his second MotoGP season at LCR Honda, when he will be joined by a new team-mate in the form of rookie Somkiat Chantra, m♛aking history as Thailand's first MotoGP rider.

LCR Honda’s MotoGP history

Lucio Cecchinello took on rare rider and team manager duties by forming LCR (Lucio Cecchinello Racing) for his third 125GP season in 199ඣ6.

The te🦄am later expanded to a team-mate in 1998 and into the 250cc class in 2002, with a certain young rookie called Casey Stoner as one of its riders.

Cecchinello retired at the end of 2003, with seven grand prix victories, while the partnership with Stoner (♈who remained with LCR aside from a single 125cc campaign with Red Bull KTM) continued until the MotoGP class in 2006.

Stoner impressed with a pole and podium during his rookie MotoGP season and, when h left for Ducati and world championship glory, Honda’s single-bike project with LCR went to Carlos Checa (2007) and 𒉰then Randy de Puniet.

The Frenchman put LCR back on the podium for the first time since Stoner in 2009, but six barren years followಌ🀅ed before the team’s next silverware, by Stefan Bradl, in 2013.

2015 was aꦕ landmark season for the team, which expanded to two riders for the first tim🌳e in its MotoGP history, including Cal Crutchlow, who would take the team to new heights.

On the podium in his first LCR season, spen💟t alongside rookie Jack Miller (on the ‘RS’ bike, the Englishman made LCR history with victories at Brno and Phillip Island in 2016.

Despite Marc Marquez’s ongoing title success, riders such as Crutchlow and Dani Pedrosa were increasingly warningﷺ HRC that the RC213V was becomingꦜ more and more difficult to ride.

Ped🌃rosa’s MotoGP wins dried up in 2017, while C💜rutchlow’s final victory came in Argentina 2018.

LCR’s results continued to decline after Crutchlow retired at the end of 2020, a season in which team-mate Takaaki Nakagami, Hon♐da’s new hope for a home MotoGP star, came frustratingly close to the podium on several occasions.

The rostrum wait continues for Nakagami, who noneth൲eless was a close match for Alex Marquez in 2021 and 2022. But it would take until COTA 2023 and new LCR signing Alex Rins for a Hond༒a rider other than Marc Marquez to take a MotoGP victory.

However, just a few months later, frustrated at the 🥀slow transfer of new technical parts from Repsol to LCR, including the new Kalex chassis, Rins accepted ♎Yamaha’s offer of a return to factory status for 2024.

Zarco, signed to HRC on a two-year deal, was briefly linked with replacing Marqꦛuez at Repsol Honda, but such a change of plan was soon ruled out.

Zarco carried Cecchinello’s team above the factory Repsol Honda squad in the 2024 🌌riders’ and teams’ standings, dur𒁏ing an otherwise grim year for the RC213V.

Althou🌌gh often fighting for scraps left by the European machines, the Frenchman feaཧtured in Qualifying 2 and took Honda’s only top ten Grand Prix finishes.

Zarco deserved more than his 17th place in the world championship. But with team-mate Nakagami also outscoring the Repsol riders in his final MotoGP campaign, the LCR duo collected almost triple the points of the official team. A feat un🅷thinkable just a few years ago.

Nakagami will reluctantly switch to test ri🤡ding duties for 2025, with Thai Moto2 race winner Somkiat C🦩hantra picked to partner Zarco.