from hell to dream HRC in just four months

For a champion who leaves, another driver seems destined to have a great opportunity. The arrival on the Honda of Johann Zarco, although from the secondary door of the LCR team, had already fed the rumors of a possible landing in the HRC house in 2020 in the event that the separation had taken place from Jorge Lorenzo.

Now that the Spaniard has announced his retirement from the MotoGP and that the French driver has immediately established a discreet feeling with the RC213V, for him the door of the official team of the Japanese House is wide open.

A great opportunity for the two-time Moto2 World Champion, who only four months had decided to take a leap into the dark and to break his contract with the KTM one year in advance, given that he had never managed to establish the feeling right with the RC16 and that, except for the first row conquered in Brno, only disappointments had arrived.

Decision that had then led to its exclusion with almost immediate effect by the Austrian House, which placed it before Aragon to make room for test pilot Mika Kallio. For him it seemed almost to be the end of the MotoGP adventure, but this was the moment that gave him his big chance.

In fact, on the eve of the Asian hat-trick, Honda LCR announced that Takaaki Nakagami would stop after the Japanese GP to undergo surgery and that in the last three races of the season he would have entrusted the Japanese RC213V to Zarco, with the KTM who kept the promise to release him at the first opportunity.

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Both the French and the Honda have repeatedly confirmed that it was a three-race commitment and that there was not too much to be fooled into for next year. But now it's time to believe it, because with Lorenzo out of the games, the only credible candidate for HRC seems to be him, even if for the moment the French prefer not to say too much.

"I still don't know what it means for my future. I don't have much to say. Obviously Jorge's announcement is something positive for me, because it means that there is a free place on the grid for 2020. We still don't know where "But there is a free place somewhere. Knowing that there is now an opportunity to drive next season has brought me back a smile," Zarco said.

"Before today I didn't know what I would do next year and I don't even know now, but at least there is an opportunity. In these races I discovered a great team at LCR, so it would also be good to race here. Obviously the Repsol Team it's the official one, it's one of the best, so it would be a dream to be part of it after a complicated season like this ", he added.

Probably there are those who would deserve the Repsol-colored bike more than him, even for his past, like Cal Crutchlow, but Johann assures him that he will fight to take it out on him: "It is obvious that the official team would be a dream, but Cal has been driving for Honda for much longer and would deserve the bike more than me, even though deserving is a word that is not used too much in this world. the possibility of joining an official team ".

Regarding his goal for this last race, which could be very important for his future, he said: "Here I will try to do my best on Honda, because I had good feelings in Malaysia. I found a good level and I hope to being able to start from here. I want to stay focused only on making a good weekend and I think this is the right way to do my job well and confirm that I have a good feeling with Honda. "

Next week there are the first collective tests of 2020 in Valencia and Zarco hopes to be there: "I would like to be riding a Honda. Before we knew of Jorge's stop, I had already asked Cecchinello to ride with them, as Nakagami it is not yet fit. I still don't know if it will be possible, but I hope it is. "

Additional information from Lewis Duncan