Having two different main sponsors, for some years now Team LCR has become accustomed to “breaking up” the presentation of its team in view of the new MotoGP season. This morning he opened the proceedings by revealing the colors of the Honda RC213V that he will entrust to the newcomer Johann Zarco. An important blow for Lucio Cecchinello's team, which found itself in the difficult situation of having to look for an alternative to another strong driver like Alex Rins, who decided to exercise the exit clause from his two-year contract as he was not satisfied with the treatment he received it had been reserved for him by the Japanese company.
The Italian manager, however, took action in the best possible way, because the Frenchman is a highly experienced rider, who above all knows very well the working method that has made Ducati almost unbeatable. And it is fundamental at a time when Honda's primary objective is to ensure that the RC213V returns to being a winning bike after having hit rock bottom in the last two years, to the point of convincing Marc Marquez to “run away” after 11 seasons together.
This was seen during the Sepang tests, in which many new features arrived from Japan for the two-time Moto2 world champion to try as well, who essentially had the same material at his disposal as the two official riders, Luca Marini and Joan Mir. A sign of how much Honda wants to take into account the feedback that can come from the Cannes rider, who also has an important legacy, given that the only victory for the Japanese brand in the last two years was achieved by Team LCR last year year in Austin with Rins.
From the Spaniard Zarco also inherited the Castrol livery, an iconic color for Honda, which is linked above all to the successes obtained with Colin Edwards in the Superbike World Championship at the beginning of the 2000s (and this year is really reminiscent of the VTR one), which however for some years it has also been linked to the Cecchinello structure, which enters a fundamental season for its future. In fact, this is the last year of the contract with Honda and it is no mystery that last year there were also contacts with KTM, which would be interested in snatching it from its Japanese rivals to create a second satellite structure in addition to GasGas Tech3, even if the feeling is that in the end we could move towards a renewal of the current partnership.
For Zarco this is a return, given that in 2019 he had already had the opportunity to compete in three races with LCR to replace current teammate Takaaki Nakagami, who was struggling with an injury. On that occasion Johann had left a good memory and the thread was reconnected from here, to the point that after the first pre-season test in Sepang Cecchinello already spoke about the possibility of extending the transalpine driver's contract, despite this already being biennial. And it was precisely the trust placed in him that convinced him to leave Ducati, which instead offered him just one year in MotoGP and then the move to Superbike. It will be up to him to demonstrate that he was right to bet on Honda and on himself to continue in the premier class.
#MotoGP #Zarco39s #Honda #LCR #iconic #Castrol #colours
