Johann Zarco is facing his second MotoGP season with LCR-Honda and represents the design of sponsor Castrol – rookie Somkiat Chantra in Idemitsu colors
Former racer Lucio Cecchinello’s team has been competing in MotoGP since 2006. Since then, they have been a partner of Honda. The collaboration has become increasingly close. LCR is now fully integrated into the development program. The satellite team is also the place for young drivers from Honda’s development program.
LCR has celebrated its greatest successes with Cal Crutchlow. In 2016, the Briton won the first premier class Grand Prix for the team in Brno. Another triumph at Phillip Island followed. Crutchlow won in Argentina in 2018.
The last victory for the team so far was won by Alex Rins in Austin in 2023. That is also the last podium finish for the LCR team to date. Johann Zarco finished the 2024 season in 17th place in the World Championship and was therefore the best Honda driver in the final standings.
Zarco is about to start his second season with LCR-Honda. His contract is only valid for this year. The Frenchman’s bike features the well-known Castrol design. Although Castrol has now also become a sponsor of the factory team, LCR remains loyal to them.
Zarco finished the most recent three-day test in Sepang in seventh place. “We can see this test as a positive result, better than I expected,” says the 34-year-old, who is the oldest rider in the field. “The performance was really strong.”
“It’s good for my confidence to close the gap to the top riders. Over the past few days, we have tried many things. Finally, we put them all together, which worked well. I’m very happy about that.”
“These small adjustments have made a difference. I feel like I can control the bike better now.” Zarco is confident that top-10 results are within reach at the season opener in Buriram, Thailand, at the end of the month.
Honda gives rookie Somkiat Chantra a chance
The second LCR driver is a rookie. Somkiat Chantra has taken Takaaki Nakagami’s place. The Japanese rider has moved up to the test team. Since 2019, Chantra has raced in the Moto2 class in the Honda junior team, which is managed by ex-racing driver Hiroshi Aoyama.
Chantra won two Moto2 races. The Thai rider took his first victory in Indonesia in 2022. The 26-year-old celebrated his second victory from the top step of the podium in Japan in 2023. He did not make it onto the podium last year.
So far, Chantra has had six days of testing with the Honda RC213V. He made his debut in mid-November at the post-season test in Barcelona. At the beginning of February, he took part in two of the three shakedown test days in Sepang, followed by the three official test days in Malaysia.
The transition has not been easy so far, but Chantra has improved continuously. He finished the Sepang test 1.6 seconds behind. He has taken over the crew from Nakagami, with former German racer Klaus Nöhles as crew chief.
“I feel better with the bike every day. The new parts were helpful and the long run in the [last] afternoon was quite good,” says Chantra. ‘We will continue to work on improving at the Buriram test before the first race.’
Chantra has received a two-year contract from Honda. As always, LCR is using two different designs. The Thai rider’s bike features the familiar red and white colors of the Japanese oil and energy company Idemitsu.
LCR held the presentation in Bangkok. It was the last of the eleven teams to show its colors for the 2025 MotoGP season.
