Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1127887
IN THE WIND P46 Zarco to Honda WorldSBK?! T he 2020 season has been nothing short of catastrophic for Frenchman Johann Zarco. Since joining the KTM factory after two years of satellite Yamaha machinery, Zarco has failed to make the top 10 once all year after regularly fighting for podiums on the Yamaha. And to top it all off, he finished last at the recent Italian Grand Prix, 11-seconds adrift of Miguel Oliveira on the satellite KTM—ironically run by his old team. Now the rumor has started. Reported by MCN, Zarco is being courted by Honda to head up a heavily revised WorldSBK effort. This is despite a two-year deal with KTM, which he would have to break to join Honda. The Honda WorldSBK effort has been mostly lacklus- ter in recent years, and with 2019 shaping up to be as bad if not worse than previous years despite increased efforts from HRC in Japan, the top brass at Honda want Folger Returns To Racing In Moto2 M otoGP podium finisher and Moto2 race winner Jonas Folger will ride for Petronas Sprinta Racing as the stand-in for Khairul Idham Pawi for the next three rounds of the Moto2 World Championship, as the Malaysian rider continues to recover from injuries sustained at the Spanish Grand Prix. The 25-year-old German, who was destined for a career in MotoGP but was struck down by the Ep- stein-Barr virus that looked to end his racing days in 2017, will race for the squad at next weekend's Catalan Grand Prix as well as the Dutch GP and his home race at the Sachsenring. Folger directly replaces Mattia Pasini, who raced as a stand-in for the team in Le Mans and Mugello, but who broke his col- larbone in a motocross accident following the Italian GP. "I'm really excited to get the chance to be competing again. I can't wait to get back on a bike and get that racing feeling. Petronas Sprinta Racing is an exceptionally professional team in all three categories, and I know some of the crew in the Moto2 squad from the past. I'm looking forward to working with them again, especially as I have some good friends there." CN to see results. It's also rumored the CBR1000RR SP2 Fireblade is on the out for next year and will be replaced by an all-new machine, and Zarco's appointment on the Honda could be a match made in heaven. However, Zarco to WorldSBK would likely spell the end of his GP career, and he may not want to take that step just yet—despite the number of zeros in an official HRC con- tract. CN After almost two years away from Grand Prix competition, Jonas Folger will be back on the Moto2 grid. It's one of the more outlandish rumors we've heard, but then, we said that about Johann Zarco joining KTM last year.