LCR Honda has shown off its refreshed paint scheme that will adorn Alex Marquez’s RC213-V for the 2021 MotoGP season.
The Italian outfit will wade into battle with new signing Marquez alongside slightly increased backing from long time associate partner Castrol, its RC213-V sporting a white, green, red and blue livery.
Castrol has been involved with LCR for several years, becoming the principle sponsor of the team and recently departed rider Cal Crutchlow for several contests, though ’21 will mark an increased presence of the British lubricants brand on the bikes livery and rider leathers.
Marquez joins the Lucio Ceccinello-run squad following a mixed rookie premier class campaign with the factory Honda organisation last season, the ’19 Moto2 world champion taking 14th overall in the riders standings with a pair of runner-up results as his personal bests.
Honda elected to replace Marquez with KTM convert Pol Espargaro to join brother Marc Marquez for this year even before the Covid-19 delayed ’20 season began, though he will at least retain a the same full-factory spec RC213-V machinery that Crutchlow has enjoyed in recent campaigns.
Takaaki Nakagami will be Marquez’s team-mate-now also with a current spec Honda-though the Japanese racer will instead race in the colours of long-time backer Idemitsu.
LCR failed to capture a rostrum result in ’20 as Crutchlow suffered with injury throughout the shortened campaign, though Nakagami came close to breaking his duck several times.
A strong run to second was cut short by a red flag in the Styrian Grand Prix as he failed to save a second set of new tyres for the restart-meaning he ultimately finished seventh-while a victory shot from pole position was lost after he crashed at Aragon, before he then went down as he tried to take third from Espargaro in the European GP at Valencia.
The team has scored three victories to date in the premier class ranging from ’16-’18, all secured by Crutchlow, with a further nine podiums racked up since the organisation made its MotoGP debut in ’06.
