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| 2025 name | MotoGP: Castrol Honda LCR |
|---|---|
| Base | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Principal | Lucio Cecchinello |
| Rider(s) | MotoGP: 5.Johann Zarco 11.Diogo Moreira |
| Motorcycle | MotoGP: Honda RC213V MotoE: Ducati V21L |
| Tyres | MotoGP: Michelin MotoE: Michelin |
| Riders' Championships | – |
Lucio Cecchinello Racing also known asLCR Team is amotorcycle racing team competing in theMotoGP World Championship under the nameCastrol Honda LCR with riderJohann Zarco andDiogo Moreira.
The team was established by Italian riderLucio Cecchinello in1996, with LCR being an initialism forLucio Cecchinello Racing.
He set up his own team for the 125cc World Championship usingHonda motorcycles, earning several top ten finishes. Similar results followed in the1997.
In the1998 season the team recruited two-time 125cc runner-upNoboru Ueda to ride alongside Cecchinello.
In only his second race for the team, Ueda got the team their first Grand Prix victory in theMalaysian Grand Prix atJohor Circuit.
Cecchinello's first win for his own team came later that year inMadrid Grand Prix atJarama.
Cecchinello finished 5th in overall standings while Ueda only managed to finish 13th after missing half of the season due to injury.
Hiroyuki Kikuchi was drafted as Ueda's replacement during his absence.
The Cecchinello-Ueda partnership continued in1999 and2000, yielding another win by Ueda in 1999Brazilian Grand Prix as well as numerous podiums for both riders.
Ueda finished both seasons in 5th position while Cecchinello struggled to match his teammates performance and was only able to finish in 9th and 11th position in those seasons.
In2001 the team switched toAprilia motorcycles.
The team also recruited the Spanish youngsterRaúl Jara as Cecchinello's teammate.
Cecchinello's performance improved and he took the first win with Aprilia at theCatalan Grand Prix and finished the season 4th in overall standings.
In2002 the team expanded their operation into 250cc class.
San Marinese riderAlex de Angelis was recruited to partner Cecchinello in 125cc, while the young Australian rookie,Casey Stoner and theSpanishDavid Checa were recruited to compete in 250cc class.
Cecchinello managed to repeat the last years performance and once again finished the season 4th in overall standing with 3 wins while De Angelis has his first career podium and finished 9th overall.
In the 250cc class, Stoner and Checa were able to achieve several top ten finish in the team's 250cc debut season.
In2003 the team continued their double assault in 125cc and 250cc.
Casey Stoner switched to the 125cc class to partner with Cecchinello, while French riderRandy de Puniet was recruited to ride in 250cc. Both teams had a successful season with 3 race wins in each class.
De Puniet, was also in contention for theWorld Championship. However, he only managed to finished 4th overall with three wins and nine podiums.
In 125cc, Cecchinello achieved two wins including a win in hishome Grand Prix while Stoner achieved both his first career podium and his first career win with the team.
At the end of 2003, Cecchinello decided to end his racing career and concentrate in team management.
In2004 the team retainedde Puniet to ride an official Aprilia factory bike in 250cc.
In the 125cc class, the team recruited two Italian riders,Roberto Locatelli, a former 125ccWorld Champion and rookieMattia Pasini.
Both de Puniet and Locatelli had successful season and were in contention for the World Championship, although they were only managed to finish the season 3rd in overall standings.
De Puniet had 1 win and 8 podiums while Locatelli had 2 wins and 6 podiums.
For the2005 season the team only competed in the 250cc class on Aprilia factory bikes.
Roberto Locatelli moved up to 250cc and Casey Stoner returned from his one-year stint atKTM.
Stoner managed to record five wins, 10 podiums and finished the season as runner-up toDani Pedrosa.
Stoner's runner-up was the best result so far in the team history. He was also the first LCR rider to have 3+ race wins in a season.
In October 2005, the team, along withCasey Stoner, reportedly had an agreement to move to the MotoGP class in theupcoming season with support fromYamaha.[1][2]
After the season ended, Stoner received an offer from theHonda Pons team and tested theHonda RC211V bike with them atValencia.[3] With Stoner leaving the team, LCR had to put their MotoGP project on hold.
However, in December 2005, Stoner unexpectedly became available again after Honda Pons failed to secure sponsorship for the upcoming season.[4] LCR immediately re-signed Stoner and made an agreement withHRC to run the RC211V in 2006.[5]
Stoner recorded the team's first pole position in only their second MotoGP race at theQatar Grand Prix. The subsequent race inTurkey saw LCR and Stoner record their first podium in MotoGP.
Stoner competed withMarco Melandri the entire race, until Melandri managed to beat him to the line. Stoner went on to finish the season in 8th position with a series of top 10 results.
Stoner left the team for aDucati factory ride in2007.
Veteran Spanish riderCarlos Checa replaced him at the team, riding the new 800ccHonda RC212V.
However, the team was not able to repeat their 2006 results, as Checa struggled to adapt to the new 800cc bike and his best finish was a sixth place at theSpanish andSan Marino Grands Prix.
Randy de Puniet rejoined the team in2008.
Again, the team struggled with the satellite bike andMichelin tyres. De Puniet's best finish was only sixth position at theUnited States Grand Prix.
He returned for the2009 season, once again with the RC212V, but withBridgestone tyres, as MotoGP shifted to a single tyre manufacturer rule.
In theBritish Grand Prix, De Puniet finished third, his best result with the team, and the team's first podium in the premier class since Stoner's 2006 podium.
In2010, De Puniet finished the season in ninth place aboard a Honda RC212V, with his best result being a fourth place at theCatalan Grand Prix.
After the departure of de Puniet to thePramac Racing team, the team signed reigningMoto2 world championToni Elías for the2011 season, and Elías finished 15th in the championship, finishing five races in the top ten.
At the end of 2011, the team signed German riderStefan Bradl, who had just won theMoto2 championship.
Bradl rode the all-newHonda RC213V, and had a good season, finishing consistently in the top-10.
His best result was a fourth-place finish atMugello. He won the Rookie of the Year award, finishing eighth in the championship.
2013 was even better for Bradl, as he was consistently fighting for top five places.
Bradl took his first premier class pole position at theUnited States Grand Prix atLaguna Seca.
He finished second in the race, his first MotoGP podium. However a broken ankle sustained in a crash inMalaysia cost him a top five finish in the final championship standings. Bradl eventually finished the season in seventh place.
Midway through the2014 season, it was announced that LCR would expand to a two-bike satelliteHonda team in2015.
The team's second bike is an open-specificationHonda RC213V-RS, "replacing"Gresini Racing, as they will become an Aprilia factory team.
The team also announced a partnership with foreign exchange trading companyCWM FX represented by British riderCal Crutchlow on a factory-specificationHonda RC213V bike, and Australian rookieJack Miller, riding the open-specification RC213V-RS.
After the2015 Czech Republic Grand Prix, CWM pulled out of the team due to fraud allegations following a police raid in March 2015.
The sponsorship was run by their long-term sponsor, Givi. AtSepang, Crutchlow's bike represented a new livery fromCastrol.
Miller left the team in2016 to joinEstrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, leaving Crutchlow as the sole rider for LCR in 2016.
Crutchlow started the season poorly, with four DNFs and one finish outside the points in the first eight races, leaving him outside the top 15 of the standings. He then finished second in theGerman Grand Prix before taking his first victory inBrno just two races later.
This was LCR's first ever win in the premier class, and also was the first race win by a British rider in the 500cc/MotoGP class sinceBarry Sheene at the1981 Swedish Grand Prix.
His victory in Brno was also part of MotoGP's record of eight different riders winning in eight successive races, with Crutchlow's Brno victory being the sixth in the streak.
He then scored another podium inSilverstone before taking another victory atPhillip Island, making him the first Briton ever to win the Australian Grand Prix.
He ended the year with 141 points, finishing seventh in the championship.
In2017, Crutchlow scored one podium finish and was ninth in the riders' world championship.
For2018, LCR Team signed Japanese rookieTakaaki Nakagami to partner Crutchlow.
The team ran separate liveries with different main sponsors for each rider,Castrol for Crutchlow andIdemitsu for Nakagami.
Nakagami's best finish was sixth place at the season finale in Valencia, ultimately finishing 20th in the riders' championship.
Crutchlow started the year with a win in Argentina and scored podium finishes in Misano and Motegi. He had to finish the season early after a crash at theAustralian GP, fracturing his leg and missing the final three races of the season.
Crutchlow finished the season with 148 points and seventh in the riders' championship.
Former LCR riderStefan Bradl replaced Crutchlow for the final two races.
In 2019, Crutchlow achieved three podiums and finished 9th in the championship.
Nakagami improved to 13th place, despite missing the final three rounds of the season to undergo surgery. He was replaced in the final three rounds byJohann Zarco.
Nakagami and Crutchlow defended the LCR colours in 2020, and at the end of the year the British decided to retire.
In 2021,Álex Márquez joined Nakagami and repeated the experience in 2022, both riders struggling to show their true potential.
For the 2023 season,Álex Rins has joined forces with Nakagami. Álex Rins won the2023 Grand Prix of the Americas.
For the 2024 season, Johann Zarco replaced Álex Rins, while Nakagami continued with the team.
With Nakagami leaving LCR, Johann Zarco would partner with Thai rookieSomkiat Chantra in 2025.
Johann Zarco became the first Honda race winner since Álex Rins in the2023 Grand Prix of the Americas by winning the2025 French GP by taking advantage of the changeable conditions, in doing so becoming the first French winner of theFrench Grand Prix since1954 withPierre Monneret, he also became the first ever French winner at theBugatti Circuit inLe Mans, as well as the first non-Ducati Winner sinceMaverick Vinales winning the2024 Grand Prix of the Americas.
Chantra will depart the team at the end of 2025, joining theHonda HRC team in theWorld Superbike Championship. He is set to be replaced byDiogo Moreira.
As a satellite team in MotoGP, LCR was invited to enter the inauguralMotoE season withNiccolò Canepa and former LCR 250cc and MotoGP riderRandy de Puniet.
In 2020, de Puniet was replaced on the MotoE team by BelgianXavier Siméon.
For 2021, 2022 and 2023, the LCR E-Team is competing in the electric series with the duo set byEric Granado andMiquel Pons, both showing strong performances on board their bikes.
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
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