LCR boss on Diogo Moreira’s 2027 MotoGP destination: “Honda will decide”

Diogo Moreira's place on the 2027 MotoGP grid may be secure, but the team he will ride for is undecided.

The reigning Moto2 champion moved to MotoGP on a ‘multi-year’ Honda contract, starting at LCR, but with a chance of moving to the factory HRC team next season.

Both current HRC riders, Joan Mir and Luca Marini, look to be leaving and potentially replaced by new to-be-confirmed Honda signings Fabio Quartararo and rookie David Alonso.

While former MotoGP champion Quartararo is set to be HRC’s new star rider, handing Alonso the other factory Honda seat over Moreira could be a controversial decision.

Alonso, a rookie Moto2 winner in 2025, is currently only sixth in this year’s standings, without a podium.

Former champion Moreira, meanwhile, has claimed a top-ten MotoGP finish at the past three rounds and featured as high as third in the early stages of last weekend’s Mugello Sprint.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Moreira was picked to partner Quartararo while Alonso slotted in at LCR alongside Johann Zarco.

“Honda will decide”

Asked about Moreira's future by MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard on Friday at Balaton Park, LCR team principal Lucio Cecchinello made clear that the decision rests with Honda.

“We’ve been collaborating with Honda for 20 years. We have now basically the same material, the same parts, so there are not really any differences between the factory team and LCR,” Cecchinello said.

“It's a matter of a more prestigious place; this is without any doubt. 

"We hope to continue with him, but in case Honda will decide to have him in the factory team, it will not change our relationship with Honda, and then we will look forward for another project [rider].”

As one of the few riders not changing manufacturers for 2027, Moreira could be among the first of the full-time grid to sample an 850cc machine at the upcoming Brno post-race test.

“Currently, this opportunity is still under examination and is still under consideration from HRC,” Cecchinelli said.

“We didn't get any final confirmation. So I honestly don't know if Diogo will test the 850 in Brno… The logic is this, but in reality, I don't know.”

Meanwhile, Balaton Park is the second weekend for Cal Crutchlow in place of the injured Zarco.

The Englishman had to retire halfway through last Sunday’s Mugello race due to a muscle tear in his shoulder.

“Cal is a guy that never stopped training, but the last time he rode a MotoGP bike was in Valencia as a factory Yamaha test rider, one year ago.

“He's kept training with the bicycle, but with the bicycle you don't stress the same muscles.

“So it's quite normal that you need the time to refresh and to re-adapt all the nerves, all the muscles, on a MotoGP bike.

“I believe that it's a matter of just a few races and then he will be back as strong as it was in the past.”

That “few races” comment suggests Crutchlow will continue to replace Zarco, who is expected to need several months to recover once he undergoes knee ligament surgery.