Honda signs Espargaro, moves Alex Marquez to LCR
Honda has officially announced it has signed Pol Espargaro for the 2021 MotoGP season, while Cal Crutchlow has been moved aside at LCR to make way for Alex Marquez.


Last month Motorsport.com revealed Espargaro would be leaving KTM at the end of the year to join six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez at Honda in 2021.
With KTM confirming Espargaro’s exit late last month as it firmed up its 2021 line-up, the Spaniard’s Honda move was all but sealed.
On the eve of the delayed 2020 season getting underway at Jerez, HRC has officially announced Espargaro has signed a two-year deal to join his old Moto2 foe from 2021.
Honda has also confirmed it will be moving Alex Marquez out of the factory squad next season and placing him at LCR with factory support through 2022.
The reigning Moto2 champion, who was signed to Honda to replace the retired Jorge Lorenzo at the end of last year and is thought to have been a key bargaining chip in HRC securing Marc for four more years, is yet to turn a wheel in his rookie campaign.
“I am very proud to announce my renewal with Honda Racing Corporation,” Alex Marquez said.
“HRC gave me the opportunity to arrive in MotoGP and I am glad to join the LCR Honda Team at the end of 2020 and compete in a big team with great experience in MotoGP.
“I want to thank HRC and the LCR Honda Team for their trust in me to be able to continue in the Honda family and I will work hard to prove their confidence with results.
“Now, I am eager to start the season in Jerez and I am completely focused to give my best this year.”
Read Also:
Marquez will replace three-time MotoGP race winner Crutchlow, who now faces an uncertain future.
Crutchlow joined LCR and Honda in 2015 following a tough campaign with Ducati the year before, and signed directly to HRC for the 2018 campaign.
Since 2018, Crutchlow has been the only other Honda rider to have won on the difficult RC213V and get it onto the other podium places other than Marc Marquez.
Crutchlow’s 2021 options are now severely limited, with only Ducati and Aprilia yet to fully firm up its rosters.
Talks between Andrea Dovizioso and Ducati have stalled again, while uncertainty surrounds the second Aprilia seat alongside Aleix Espargaro while Andrea Iannone awaits to see if his appeal to have an 18-month doping ban overturned is successful.

Alex Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Repsol Media

Morbidelli to stay at Petronas Yamaha until 2022
Honda insists LCR move is in Marquez’s best interests

Latest news
Ellis to replace injured Auer for Bathurst 12 Hour
Philip Ellis will make his Bathurst 12 Hour debut this week as a stand-in for the injured Lucas Auer.
Despite heroic comeback, Corvette missing speed at Daytona
Corvette Racing came from two laps down to finish second in class at the Rolex 24 Hours but lost out in the final shootout to a quicker Mercedes.
Winning MSR Acura "super lucky" with Rolex 24 gearbox scare
The Meyer Shank Racing Acura team was "super lucky" that it was able to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona despite having a malfunctioning gearbox for most of the race, according to team founder and co-owner Michael Shank.
Bourdais “surprised” Cadillac was beaten on pace in Rolex 24
Chip Ganassi Racing ace Sebastien Bourdais has expressed surprise that the Acura ARX-06 outperformed the similarly new Cadillac V-LMDh around Daytona.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew members absorbed into other operations.
How one MotoGP team went from title challengers to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is Marc Marquez ready to reclaim his MotoGP throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Motorsport.com.
How MotoGP's underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Motorsport.com why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of more competition than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
Luca Marini: Why he's more than just Valentino Rossi's brother
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Motorsport.com – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend.
Ranking the top 10 MotoGP riders of 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Motorsport.com picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.