Paris (AFP)
French MotoGP rider Johann Zarco will replace Japan's Takaaki Nakagami on the LCR Honda team after the Japanese GP race this weekend and for the last three races of the season, the team announced on Wednesday.
Zarco, 29, was thrown out of the Austrian KTM team in August after a very difficult start to the season. He had signed a two-year contract with the latter starting in 2019 and decided to end it at the end of the first season. KTM then chose to replace it with the Finn Mika Kallio from the GP of Aragon at the end of September.
"Due to the premature end of Takaaki Nakagami's season for shoulder surgery, LCR Honda IDEMITSU will line up Frenchman Johann Zarco for the Australian, Malaysian and Valencia Grand Prix", said the Japanese stable, satellite of the official Honda team, in a statement.
He will team up with British Cal Crutchlow, another LCR Honda rider.
Nagakami, 27, is due for surgery due to a recurring shoulder injury but will be competing in her national event this weekend at the Motegi circuit. LCR Honda had already announced on Tuesday the renewal of its contract for 2020. It is currently 12th in the world championship with 74 points.
Johann Zarco, crowned world champion in the Moto2 category in 2015 and 2016, has not raced in MotoGP since the GP of Aragon in mid-September. He is currently 18th at the MotoGP World Championship after finishing 6th in 2017 and 2018 while racing for Yamaha-Tech3.
© 2019 AFP