LCR offers fresh update on Johann Zarco’s 2026 MotoGP contract discussions

LCR MotoGP team boss Lucio Cecchinello says Johann Zarco’s “negotiations with Honda have just started” for 2026 and hopes the Frenchman “can consider” to stay where he is.

The 34-year-old Frenchman signed a two-year deal with Honda to join LCR last year, putting him out of sync almost all factory team’s except HRC’s - whose rider Luca Marini also has a deal expiring this season.

Johann Zarco’s arrival at Honda has been something of a revelation for the brand, with the one-time MotoGP race winner its leading rider last season and currently doing the same after four rounds in 2025.

He sits sixth in the points ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix and scored Honda’s first top five since 2023 last time out at the Qatar GP.

Zarco has already expressed a desire to remain with Honda for at least another two years and has acknowledged publicly the potential to move to its factory team in 2026.

In a new interview with MotoGP’s world feed on Friday at Jerez, Cecchinello has made his position on retaining Zarco clear, while also suggesting it is in Honda’s best interest to leave him where he is.

“Well, I feel that Honda is more and more seeing our team as a part of their family and this is clear for me because we’ve never gotten such great support from them [as we do now],” he said.

“And I think that the main goal for them is to put as many Hondas as possible in front.

“We will be very pleased if Zarco can consider to stay here, also for the future.

“But we don’t know, his negotiations with Honda have just started. So, we’ll see.”

Zarco’s ride to fifth at the Qatar GP (which became fourth after a post-race penalty for Maverick Vinales) has only strengthened belief that Honda is close to returning to the podium in MotoGP.

This weekend’s Spanish GP at Jerez represents a good opportunity for Honda as the tight track layout and lack of big acceleration points works in the underpowered RC213V’s favour.

However, Cecchinello says he wants to “keep our feet on the ground” and see where the bike’s performance is at the coming European rounds - especially at Mugello.

“Well, definitely we’ve been very happy, very satisfied with how Johann rode the bike and I am personally satisfied with how the team worked around the bike to allow him to perform as good as it was,” he noted about the Qatar GP.

“However, let’s say that we want to keep our feet on the ground and see also how our performance will be in the next few European rounds because it’s very important for us to be racing in the same race tracks that we know very well, like here in Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello.

“And I think we will be very pleased if we can confirm to be able to stay in the top five and top six in Mugello.

“However, it will be very hard because the other competitors are working very hard as well.”