The unemployed Johann Zarco could be on the verge of making a surprise return to the 2019 MotoGP World Championship as reports suggest he will replace Takaaki Nakagami at LCR Honda for the final races of the season.
The Frenchman has been on the sidelines since round 13 at Misano when he was removed from the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team due to disappointing results since joining the Austrian manufacturer from Tech 3 Yamaha earlier this year.
However, according to trusted French publication Moto-Journal, Zarco is set to make an unexpected comeback alongside Cal Crutchlow at LCR Honda for the final three races of the season in Australia, Malaysia and Valencia.
He would replace Nakagami, who is struggling with a shoulder injury and will likely need surgery before the 2019 MotoGP season to give him a decent recovery before the 2020 MotoGP season.
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The move is set to be confirmed at the Japan MotoGP this weekend in Motegi, where Nakagami will contest his home Grand Prix before taking a break.
Opportunity for Johann Zarco to increase his share
Once touted as the man most likely to succeed Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha factory team after scooping six podiums and three pole positions in two seasons with the Satellite Tech 3 Yamaha M1 in 2017 and 2018, Zarco’s have been with a disastrous nine months KTM instead passed its very uncertain future.
Struggling with the KTM RC16, which, unlike his own gentler approach, required a more physical riding style, Zarco was only in his new venture after a few races when he started filing complaints about the machine, suggesting it was better on it should be tailored. KTM countered that he could have adapted to the RC16.
As relations worsened, Zarco stated that he would not fulfill his original two-year contract but planned to leave for the end of the 2019 MotoGP season. This happened despite being out of sync with the contract cycle, leaving him on the sidelines for a year.
This was then brought forward to September when KTM shifted attention to developing its 2020 MotoGP machine and saw no value in Zarco riding the bike only to join another manufacturer.
Since then, Zarco has turned down the prospect of joining WorldSBK and has been cool returning to Moto2. Switching to a test driver role seems the most likely, with Yamaha being the top tip as Jonas Folger is currently aiming for a return to racing in 2020.
In the longer term, a return to Yamaha would also put him in a good position for 2021, as rumors of the departure of Maverick Vinales arise, Franco Morbidelli is under pressure to raise his level and Rossi could of course still retire.
How would Johann Zarco drive on the LCR Honda?
While the role of the LCR Honda replacement may be a good chance for Zarco to regain some reputation after a rather damaging episode for his career, the Honda is perhaps the closest conceptual relationship with the KTM on the grid.
On the other hand, he will ride the 2018 Honda RC213V, which in the hands of Marc Marquez has proven to be a more forgiving machine than the 2019 motorcycle.
Despite the appeal, Zarco is unlikely to be considered for a 2020 MotoGP ride with Honda.
Though Nakagami’s LCR Honda seat is one of only two unconfirmed seats for 2020 – the other being Zarco’s evacuated KTM ride – the Japanese rider is considered a shoo-in to keep his seat RC213V.