Johann Zarco and LCR together in 2024

It was only a matter of time before the LCR Racing team officially confirmed the arrival of Johann Zarco.  On Sunday, the Prima Pramac Racing team announced the imminent departure of the French rider, who has now accepted an offer from Honda that will see him continue on in MotoGP for at least two more seasons.

Honda a long-term bet

Johann Zarco decided to accept the Honda offer primarily because it allows him to continue in MotoGP for at least two more seasons. As confirmed by Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati would have been unable to offer Zarco more than a one-year contract but could propose a two-year contract as a factory Aruba.it rider in SBK for 2025 and 2026. HRC in the meantime offered a two-year MotoGP contract with an option for the 2027 season. This then, for a rider like Zarco who turned 33 on 16 July, was the deciding factor that will see him embark on this new adventure with LCR Racing.

A return to Cecchinello’s squad after the races of 2019

The two-time Moto2 champion is currently competing in his seventh MotoGP season, having made his debut in 2017 aboard the Yamaha of the Tech3 team. Over two years he was able to score six podiums with the French squad. In 2019, Johann married the KTM project, but the two parties soon split after the rider struggled to adapt and was less than complimentary when speaking to the media about the Austrian manufacturer. For the final three races of the season, team LCR chose the Frenchman as a replacement for Takaaki Nakagami. Riding the Honda that won that season's world title with Marc Marquez, Zarco was clearly more comfortable than he had been aboard the KTM, immediately scoring points in Australia. At Sepang, he qualified directly for Q2 but crashed just a few laps from the end of the race while lying ninth, just as he did in the last race of the year at Valencia.

Once the season was done and dusted, Ducati made contact and offered him a ride with the Avintia team for 2020. With the Spanish squad, Zarco reached the podium four rounds into the season before moving to the Pramac Racing team the following year. During three seasons aboard the Pramac team’s Desmosedici GP, Johann has scored twelve podiums in all, including seven second-place finishes. The Frenchman is yet to win a race but will strive to do so during his final races as a ducatista, a result that would repay a team that has treated him like one of the family.