Team LCR

Team LCR is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name LCR Honda. The team was founded in 1996 by Italian rider Lucio Cecchinello. In 2020, team is represented by British rider Cal Crutchlow on a factory-specification Honda RC213V bike, and Japanese Takaaki Nakagami, riding on Honda RC213V in 2019 spec.

Team LCR
2019 nameLCR Honda
BaseMonte Carlo, Monaco
PrincipalLucio Cecchinello
Rider(s)30 Takaaki Nakagami
35 Cal Crutchlow
MotorcycleHonda RC213V
TyresMichelin
Riders' Championships

History

1996–2003: Lucio Cecchinello era

The team was set up by Italian rider Lucio Cecchinello in 1996. He set up his own team for the 125cc World Championship using Honda motorcycles, earning several top ten returns. Similar results followed in the 1997.

In the 1998 the team recruited two-time 125cc runner-up Noboru Ueda to ride alongside Cecchinello. In only his second race for the team, Ueda got the team their first Grand Prix victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Johor Circuit. Cecchinello's first win for his own team came later that year in Madrid Grand Prix at Jarama. Cecchinello finished 5th in overall standings while Ueda only managed to finish 13th after missing half of the season due to injury. Hiroyuki Kikuchi was drafted as Ueda's replacement during his absence.

The Cecchinello-Ueda partnership continued in 1999 and 2000, yielding another win by Ueda in 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix as well as numerous podiums for both riders. Ueda finished both seasons in 5th position while Cecchinello struggled to match his teammates performance and was only able to finish in 9th and 11th position in those seasons.

In 2001 the team switched to Aprilia motorcycles. The team also recruited the Spanish youngster Raúl Jara as Cecchinello's teammate. Cecchinello's performance improved and he took the first win with Aprilia at the Catalan Grand Prix and finished the season 4th in overall standings.

In 2002 the team expanded their operation into 250cc class. San Marinese rider Alex de Angelis was recruited to partner Cecchinello in 125cc, while the young Australian rookie, Casey Stoner and the Spanish David Checa were recruited to compete in 250cc class. Cecchinello managed to repeat the last years performance and once again finished the season 4th in overall standing with 3 wins while De Angelis has his first career podium and finished 9th overall. In the 250cc class, Stoner and Checa were able to achieve several top ten finish in the team's 250cc debut season.

In 2003 the team continued their double assault in 125cc and 250cc. Casey Stoner switched to the 125cc class to partner with Cecchinello, while French rider Randy de Puniet was recruited to ride in 250cc. Both teams had a successful season with 3 race wins in each class. De Puniet, was also in contention for the World Championship. However, he only managed to finished 4th overall with 3 wins and 9 podiums. In 125cc, Cecchinello achieved 2 wins including a win in his home Grand Prix while Stoner achieved both his first career podium and his first career win with the team. At the end of 2003, Cecchinello decided to end his racing career and concentrate in team management.

2004–2005: Post-Cecchinello era

In 2004 the team retained de Puniet to ride an official Aprilia factory bike in 250cc. In the 125cc class, the team recruited two Italian riders, a former 125cc World Champion Roberto Locatelli and rookie Mattia Pasini. Both de Puniet and Locatelli had successful season and were in contention for the World Championship although they were only managed to finish the season 3rd in overall standings. De Puniet had 1 win and 8 podiums while Locatelli had 2 wins and 6 podiums.

For the 2005 season the team only competed in the 250cc class on Aprilia factory bikes. Roberto Locatelli moved up to 250cc and Casey Stoner returned from his one-year stint at KTM. Stoner managed to record 5 wins, 10 podiums and finished the season as runner-up to Dani Pedrosa. Stoner's runner-up was the best result so far in the team history. Stoner was also the first LCR rider to have more than 3 race wins in a season.

2006–present: Move to MotoGP

Casey Stoner (2006) and Carlos Checa (2007)

In October 2005, the team, along with Casey Stoner, reportedly had an agreement to move to the MotoGP class in the upcoming season with support from Yamaha.[1][2] After the season ended, Stoner received an offer from the Honda Pons team and tested the Honda RC211V bike with them at Valencia.[3] With Stoner leaving the team, Team LCR had to put their MotoGP project on hold. However, in December 2005, Stoner unexpectedly became available again after Honda Pons failed to secure sponsorship for the upcoming season.[4] Team LCR immediately re-signed Stoner and made an agreement with HRC to run the RC211V in 2006.[5]

Stoner recorded the team's first pole position in only their second MotoGP race at the Qatar Grand Prix. The subsequent race in Turkey saw LCR and Stoner record their first podium in MotoGP. Stoner competed with Marco Melandri the entire race, until Melandri managed to beat him to the line. Stoner went on to finish the season in 8th position with a series of top 10 results. Stoner left the team for a Ducati factory ride in 2007. Veteran Spanish rider Carlos Checa replaced him at the team, riding the new 800cc Honda RC212V. However, the team was not able to repeat their impressive 2006 results, as Checa struggled to adapt to the new 800cc bike and his best finish was a sixth place at the Spanish and San Marino Grands Prix.

Randy de Puniet (2008–10) and Toni Elias (2011)

Randy de Puniet rejoined the team in 2008. Again, the team struggled with the satellite bike and Michelin tyres. De Puniet's best finish was only sixth position at the United States Grand Prix. De Puniet returned for the 2009 season, once again with the RC212V, but with Bridgestone tyres, as MotoGP shifted to a single tyre manufacturer rule. In the British Grand Prix, De Puniet finished third, his best result with the team, and the team's first podium in the premier class since Stoner's 2006 podium. In 2010, de Puniet finished the season in ninth place aboard a Honda RC212V, with his best result being a fourth place at the Catalan Grand Prix. After the departure of de Puniet to the Pramac Racing team, the team signed reigning Moto2 world champion Toni Elías for the 2011 season, and Elías finished 15th in the championship, finishing five races in the top ten.

Stefan Bradl (2012–14), and 2-bikes expansion (2015)

At the end of 2011, the team signed German Stefan Bradl, who had just won the Moto2 championship. Bradl rode the all-new Honda RC213V, and had a good season, finishing consistently in the top-10. His best result was a fourth-place finish at Mugello. He won the Rookie of the Year award, finishing eighth in the championship.

2013 was even better for Bradl, as he was consistently fighting for top five places. Bradl took his first premier class pole position at the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. He finished second in the race, his first MotoGP podium. However a broken ankle sustained in a crash in Malaysia cost him a top five finish in the final championship standings. Bradl eventually finished the season in seventh place.

Midway through the 2014 season, it was announced that Team LCR would expand to a two-bike satellite Honda team in 2015. The team's second bike is an open-specification Honda RC213V-RS, "replacing" Gresini Racing, as they will become an Aprilia factory team. They also announced a partnership with foreign exchange trading company CWM FX, and they are represented by British rider Cal Crutchlow on a factory-specification Honda RC213V bike, and Australian rookie Jack Miller, riding the open-specification RC213V-RS.

After the 2015 Czech Republic Grand Prix, CWM pulled out of the team due to fraud allegations following a police raid in March 2015. The sponsorship was run by their long-term sponsor, Givi. At Sepang, Crutchlow's bike represented a new livery from Castrol.

Cal Crutchlow and first MotoGP victory (2016–present)

Miller left the team in 2016 to join Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, leaving Crutchlow as the sole rider for LCR in 2016. Crutchlow started the season poorly, with 4 DNFs and 1 finish outside the points in the first 8 races leaving him outside the top 15 of the standings. He then finished second in the German Grand Prix before taking his first victory in Brno just two races later. This was LCR's first ever win in the premier class, and also was the first race win by a British rider in the 500cc/MotoGP class since Barry Sheene at the 1981 Swedish Grand Prix. His victory in Brno was also part of MotoGP's record of eight different riders winning in eight successive races, with Crutchlow's Brno victory being the sixth in the streak. He then scored another podium in Silverstone before taking another victory at Phillip Island, making him the first Briton ever to win the Australian Grand Prix. He ended the year with 141 points, finishing seventh in the championship. In 2017 Crutchlow scored 1 podium finish and was 9th in world championship.

For 2018 LCR Team signed Japanese rookie Takaaki Nakagami. His best finish was 6th place during the season finale in Valencia. Crutchlow started the year from winning in Argentina and scoring podium finishes in Misano and Motegi. He had to finish season early after a horrible crash at Australian GP, fracturing his leg and missing the last 3 races of the season.

Results

By season

Year Class Team name Bike Riders Races Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points Pos.
1996 125cc Honda Team GP3 Honda Lucio Cecchinello 1500005915th
1997 125cc Spidi Honda LCR Honda Lucio Cecchinello 1500007314th
1998 125cc Givi Honda LCR Honda Lucio Cecchinello 1313011305th
Noboru Ueda 811406213th
Hiroyuki Kikuchi 601005115th
1999 125cc Givi Honda LCR Honda Noboru Ueda 1616121715th
Lucio Cecchinello 1604301089th
2000 125cc Givi Honda LCR Honda Noboru Ueda 1604121535th
Lucio Cecchinello 1600009111th
2001 125cc MS Aprilia LCR Aprilia Lucio Cecchinello 1614121564th
Raúl Jara 160000926th
2002 250cc Safilo Oxydo Race LCR Aprilia Casey Stoner 1500006812th
David Checa 1500006013th
125cc Lucio Cecchinello 1635051804th
Alex de Angelis 160110879th
2003 250cc Safilo Oxydo – LCR Aprilia Randy de Puniet 1639522084th
125cc Casey Stoner 1414121258th
Lucio Cecchinello 1623021129th
2004 250cc Safilo Carrera – LCR Aprilia Randy de Puniet 1618202143rd
125cc Roberto Locatelli 1626111923rd
Mattia Pasini 1600005415th
2005 250cc Carrera Sunglasses – LCR Aprilia Casey Stoner 16510212542nd
Roberto Locatelli 1600006113th
2006 MotoGP Honda LCR Honda RC211V Casey Stoner 1601101198th
2007 MotoGP Honda LCR Honda RC212V Carlos Checa 1800006514th
250cc Honda RS250R Eugene Laverty 170000625th
2008 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC212V Randy de Puniet 1800006115th
2009 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC212V Randy de Puniet 17010010611th
2010 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC212V Randy de Puniet 1700001169th
Roger Lee Hayden 10000519th
2011 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC212V Toni Elías 1700006115th
Kousuke Akiyoshi 1 (2)[lower-alpha 1]00004 (7)[lower-alpha 1]20th
Ben Bostrom 100000
2012 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC213V Stefan Bradl 1800001358th
2013 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC213V Stefan Bradl 1601101567th
2014 MotoGP LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC213V Stefan Bradl 1800001179th
2015 MotoGP CWM LCR Honda Honda RC213V Cal Crutchlow 18 0 1 0 0 125 8th
Honda RC213V-RS Jack Miller 18 0 0 0 0 17 19th
2016 MotoGP LCR Honda Honda RC213V Cal Crutchlow 18 2 4 1 1 141 7th
2017 MotoGP LCR Honda Honda RC213V Cal Crutchlow 18 0 1 0 0 112 9th
2018 MotoGP LCR Honda Honda RC213V Takaaki Nakagami 18 0 0 0 0 33 20th
Cal Crutchlow 15 1 3 1 0 148 7th
Stefan Bradl 2 0 0 0 0 10 24th

MotoGP results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Moto Tyres Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Points Pos.
2006 Honda RC211V M ESP QAT TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER USA CZE MAL AUS JPN POR VAL 119 8th
Casey Stoner 6 5 2 5 4 Ret Ret 4 4 DNS Ret 6 8 6 Ret Ret Ret
2007 Honda RC212V M QAT ESP TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER USA CZE SMR POR JPN AUS MAL VAL 65 9th
Carlos Checa Ret 6 12 10 Ret Ret 17 Ret 11 14 14 10 6 7 18 11 14 12
2008 Honda RC212V M QAT ESP POR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER USA CZE SMR IND JPN AUS MAL VAL 61 10th
Randy de Puniet 9 Ret 15 13 9 Ret Ret 12 Ret 8 6 16 Ret 13 12 9 10 15
2009 Honda RC212V B QAT JPN ESP FRA ITA CAT NED USA GER GBR CZE IND SMR POR AUS MAL VAL 106 9th
Randy de Puniet 10 11 4 14 8 8 7 9 Ret 3 10 12 12 11 8 Ret 11
2010 Honda RC212V B QAT ESP FRA ITA GBR NED CAT GER USA CZE IND SMR ARA JPN MAL AUS POR VAL 121 7th
Randy de Puniet 6 9 7 6 6 6 4 Ret 10 13 13 Ret 9 10 10 6 10
Roger Lee Hayden 11
2011 Honda RC212V B QAT ESP POR FRA CAT GBR NED ITA GER USA CZE IND SMR ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 61 10th
Toni Elías Ret 9 11 11 13 8 10 15 16 13 11 13 15 Ret Ret 8 C 10
Ben Bostrom Ret
Kousuke Akiyoshi 12
2012 Honda RC213V B QAT ESP POR FRA CAT GBR NED GER ITA USA IND CZE SMR ARA JPN MAL AUS VAL 135 7th
Stefan Bradl 8 7 9 5 8 8 Ret 5 4 7 6 5 6 Ret 6 Ret 6 Ret
2013 Honda RC213V B QAT AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER USA IND CZE GBR SMR ARA MAL AUS JPN VAL 156 6th
Stefan Bradl Ret 5 Ret 10 4 5 6 4 2 7 6 6 5 5 DNS DNS 5 6
2014 Honda RC213V B QAT AME ARG ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR SMR ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 117 8th
Stefan Bradl Ret 4 5 10 7 Ret 5 10 16 Ret 7 7 Ret 4 7 Ret 4 8
2015 B QAT AME ARG ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR SMR ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 142 7th
Honda RC213V Cal Crutchlow 7 7 3 4 Ret Ret Ret 6 7 8 Ret Ret 11 7 6 7 5 9
Honda RC213V-RS Jack Miller Ret 14 12 20 Ret Ret 11 Ret 15 Ret 19 Ret 12 19 Ret 15 17 21
2016 Honda RC213V M QAT ARG AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER AUT CZE GBR SMR ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 141 7th
Cal Crutchlow Ret Ret 16 11 Ret 11 6 Ret 2 15 1 2 8 5 5 1 Ret Ret
2017 Honda RC213V M QAT ARG AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR SMR ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 112 9th
Cal Crutchlow Ret 3 4 Ret 5 Ret 11 4 10 5 15 4 13 Ret Ret 5 15 8
2018 Honda RC213V M QAT ARG AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR SMR ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL 191 7th
Takaaki Nakagami 17 13 14 12 15 18 Ret 19 Ret 17 15 C 13 12 22 15 14 14 6
Cal Crutchlow 4 1 19 Ret 8 6 4 6 Ret 5 4 C 3 Ret 7 2
Stefan Bradl 13 9

* Season still in progress.

Trivia

  • Even though Lucio Cecchinello made his Grand Prix debut in 1993, he only achieved his first career win and podium with his own team in 1998, with his first career pole came in 1999.
  • 2007 MotoGP World Champion, Casey Stoner made his 250cc and MotoGP debut with Team LCR. He also achieved his first career win, podium and pole in with Team LCR. He also achieved his first MotoGP pole and podium with Team LCR. Furthermore, Team LCR were also the first team that gave him a full season debut in 2002.
  • Former MotoGP and now World Superbike rider Alex de Angelis achieved his first career podium and pole with Team LCR.
  • Former MotoGP rider Randy de Puniet achieved his first career win with Team LCR.
  • Both Checa brothers, Carlos Checa and David Checa have spent a year as a rider for Team LCR.
  • Team LCR got their two first victories in MotoGP with Cal Crutchlow in the 2016 season. The victory was also a career first for Crutchlow for in MotoGP after his debut in the 2011 season.

Notes

  1. Non-bracketed number refers to the number accumulated with team, with number in brackets referring to the total accumulated for the season.

References

  1. "Cecchinello on Stoner's title ambitions and future". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 11 October 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  2. "Stoner '50–50' for MotoGP". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  3. "Stoner 'at the front within two years'". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  4. "Stoner signs for Cecchinello!". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  5. "Stoner moves up, confirmed at LCR". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 30 December 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
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