After the announcement of the departure of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) from HRC, rumors about who could take his place began to form. One of those rumours floated the idea of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) taking the factory seat. It is true that the Frenchman signed his 2024 LCR Honda deal just two months ago, but things have changed somewhat since then.
Amongst all the various rumours, the Johann Zarco one has so far been one of the most serious. After having expressed his interest in the factory seat, Zarco announced to the French broadcaster Canal + that he will ride for the LCR Honda squad in 2024.
"It's confirmed, I'm staying with Lucio. Honda's proposal was not elaborate enough for the next two seasons. There is a possibility to do one year in the factory team and then come back with Cecchinello... but it's not clear enough. It's better to use all my energy on the LCR project for the two coming years and work the best way possible having Honda's full involvement within the Cecchinello team, like Ducati with Pramac. So there's no need to look for an official team, it would have been nice for the prestigious side, but ... it's not that there's no real offer, but they don't see the project for two years, so it's better to concentrate on Cecchinello."
With Johann Zarco now out of the equation, the quest for the second factory seat continues as we await news on who will step up alongside Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) in 2024!