MotoGP: Johann Zarco joins LCR Honda for 2024

Johann Zarco will join LCR Honda for the 2024 MotoGP season.

Johann Zarco will join LCR Honda for next season and beyond, moving from Prima Pramac Ducati. Just days after confirming his departure from his current team and manufacturer, Zarco will join LCR Honda.

He has signed a two-year deal for the 2024 and 2025 seasons and first announced the move on French Broadcaster, Canal Sports. The move was widely speculated throughout the Austrian GP weekend with Zarco undecided until Sunday after the Grand Prix.

In the interview with Canal Sports, Zarco said that he didn’t want the uncertainty of a one-year contract with Ducati.

Zarco has previously raced for LCR Honda before, filling in for Takaaki Nakagami at the end of the 2019 season. The Frenchman joined the team in Australia, finishing in an impressive 13^th position.

Zarco is currently in fifth position in the MotoGP World Championship and is having a great season with Pramac Ducati. So far this season, Zarco has claimed four podiums, including a second in Argentina.

The LCR Honda team is currently eighth In the MotoGP team standings, behind the Gresini Racing team. He will replace Alex Rins in the team, who will move to Monster Energy Yamaha next season.

It is not yet known who Zarco’s teammate will be next season with Takaaki Nakagami’s contract ending at the end of 2023.

Lucio Cecchinello, LCR Honda Team Principal said: “We are very excited to welcome Johann to the LCR Honda Castrol team with all the respective details and signatures now in place. It is a return to the team after we had some brief time together in 2019, where we could already see his potential and work ethic.

“There are still a lot of races and work to be done this season, but we are looking forward to the start of this new project in 2024.”

Speaking about moving teams, Zarco said: “I’ve spent four years with Ducati, three of them with the Pramac team, and I am very content with what we have built and achieved together. In 2021, I finished the championship in fifth place, marking my best-ever MotoGP result, but my goal is to do even better this year.

“At the end of this season, I will leave with a smile because the team and Ducati have given me so much, and together we have fought for truly significant accomplishments.

“Next year, I will face a new challenge, but for now, I want to conclude this championship with my team in the best way possible. I thank my entire team, Ducati, and all the people who have worked alongside me during these years we spent together.

“The ultimate goal remains to stand atop the podium and proudly sing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, together with Paolo Campinoti, whom I sincerely thank for all the support he has given me since day one.”

Image credit: motogp.com