The LCR Honda MotoGP outfit showed off a striking new Castrol livery for new recruit Johann Zarco on Thursday morning, with Takaaki Nakagami set to sport a slightly revised scheme.
Unveiled in two separate online launches shown back-to-back, the LCR squad first pulled the covers off a heavily updated scheme for Zarco’s Castrol-sponsored RC213V. The British oil and lubricants giant will have an expanded presence with the team this season, a fact complemented by its iconic white, red and green paint scheme.
Unlike the solid-coloured design run by Alex Rins in 2023, which he rode to victory in the Americas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, Zarco’s 2024 pattern features a striped look.
Nakagami meanwhile will run a largely unchanged paint job sporting the primarily white and red colours of the Japanese lubricants business Idemitsu. Nakagami’s bike features an extended gold stripe that runs parallel to the windscreen, while the solid red section that featured towards the bottom of his machine last season has been broken up by a white stripe for 2024.
Zarco’s move to Honda for 2024, following four years riding Ducati machinery, comes after feeling he was underappreciated by the Italian outfit. He finally secured a long-awaited first premier class win in a thrilling Australian GP contest last year, his final campaign with official Ducati satellite outfit Pramac after joining them from Avintia in 2021.
Nakagami meanwhile will be looking to bounce back from a tough ’23 term, the two-time Moto2 race winner struggling to make use of Honda’s tricky RC213V. The Japanese rider, who is yet to secure a podium finish in MotoGP, managed a best result of eighth at Assen en route to ending the year 18th in the final standings.
LCR will have access to up-to-date versions of Honda’s challenger, which has been treated to a new engine, aero package and chassis updates over the winter. The factory Honda outfit unveiled its refreshed paint scheme on Tuesday, the manufacturer changing its colours for the first time in three decades as long-time title partner Repsol reduced its support for 2024.
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