VOLUME 56 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 22, 2019 P47
Johann Zarco in at LCR Honda
T
roubled French star Johann
Zarco is coming back! The
former Yamaha star and double
Moto2 Champion is to contest
the last three races of 2019 on a
Honda, after quitting his abor-
tive KTM adventure early. Now
turning his back on a chance to
become a full-time test rider for
Yamaha as well.
The unexpected chance at
redemption came after inde-
pendent LCR Honda team rider
Takaaki Nakagami pulled out of
the last three races for shoulder
surgery, leaving the seat on his
2018 RC213V vacant, and the
team obliged to find a replace-
ment.
The choice of Zarco immedi-
ately triggered rumors that Hon-
da had a secret plan to dump
current Repsol teamster Jorge
Lorenzo in favor of the French-
man, but LCR team owner Lucio
Cecchinello said that the sug-
gestion had come from his side.
He first asked HRC if official test
rider Stefan Bradl could take the
seat, "[B]ut they told me he was
too busy testing for the 2020
machine," the Italian said.
He then suggested Zarco,
and HRC gave him the okay.
Zarco was not in Japan at
last weekend's MotoGP, but in
a statement he played down
thoughts of conspiracy, and
thanked KTM for releasing him
from what had been a two-year
contract so he can finish off the
season on a different brand.
"What an opportunity," he
said. "I will do my best to pick up
some good results and to enjoy
the time, because these could
be the last three races I can do
for a while."
Zarco had claimed six podi-
ums in two years on a satellite
Yamaha, gaining a reputation
currently echoed by compatriot
Fabio Quartararo, but hopes
that his move to the factory KTM
team would take him a step
further quickly turned sour. He
found the bike badly unsuited
to his creamy-smooth riding
style, and at the Austrian GP,
after poor results and a number
of crashes, requested early
release from his contract. KTM
complied, and two races later
let him go even earlier, replacing
him with test rider Mika Kallio.
Michael Scott
Johann Zarco is
on a Honda for
three races, but is
he being groomed
to replace Jorge
Lorenzo?
