The 2026 MotoGP rider line-up has moved closer to completion with official confirmation that Luca Marini will stay in the factory Honda team on a one-year extension alongside Joan Mir and Johann Zarco will stay on an LCR Honda for the next two seasons.
Both deals were known to have been done some time ago, with the question mark over Marini’s future resolved when Jorge Martin had his change of heart over leaving Aprilia.
The reigning world champion’s potential Honda move initially looked like it might force Marini out, before the prospect of an LCR switch for him emerged instead.
That would have come at the expense of struggling rookie Somkiat Chantra, who is now expected to be replaced by Moto2 frontrunner Diogo Moreira instead after a battle between Honda and Yamaha over the 21-year-old Brazilian. Expanded Castrol backing is understood to mean Honda no longer needs an Idemitsu-funded rider for the second LCR seat.
Former VR46 Ducati rider Marini was a left-field choice for the works Honda seat when Marc Marquez left at the end of 2023, but his strong reputation as a development rider was a major selling point - and he has lived up to that in the eyes of Honda Racing Corporation general manager Taichi Honda.
“Luca has earned himself a reputation as an analytical rider and an incredibly hard worker, a valuable asset to any MotoGP project,” said Honda.
“Luca’s feedback is clear and precise and has been very useful for Honda HRC’s engineers in continuing the development of the Honda RC213V over the past season and a half.”
The 2027 question mark
Marini missed three mid-season rounds after suffering severe injuries in a Suzuka 8 Hours testing crash. But he has returned rejuvenated, producing some of his best form for Honda yet since his recovery - headlined by fourth and fifth places in the recent Hungarian Grand Prix.
That’s the kind of form both Marini and team-mate Mir need to produce consistently - or exceed - between now and Honda making its 2027 line-up decisions, though.
The once-great manufacturer has the resources to put substantial advance effort into the major rule changes for 2027 and will surely want a talisman rider for the new era in the hope of leaping back to the front - hence its link to Martin.
Despite Marini’s recent upturn and a slight reduction in mistakes from 2020 world champion Mir, neither looks like the lead rider the team that dominated most of the 2010s with Marc Marquez really needs to get back on top.
It's not impossible that Moreira could turn out to have the potential to be that talisman, and there have been reports that there is already a 2027 factory seat option in his Honda deal. He still needs a conspicuously impressive MotoGP rookie campaign to show where the promise of his breakthrough Moto2 season could lead, though.
Why Zarco’s still on a satellite bike
Zarco has been Honda’s top performer this year, winning the wet French GP and taking a podium in the dry in Britain. Even despite a rockier recent run, he is comfortably Honda’s lead runner in the championship in ninth, four places and 42 points ahead of Marini and nine places and 68 clear of Mir.
Recent poor results have coincided with suggestions LCR has not received the latest Honda upgrades. Ensuring parity on this front is understood to have been a key element of Zarco’s 2026-27 deal, which may well be his final MotoGP contract given he will be 37 years old by the end of it.
His strong performances through most of 2025 raised questions about whether Honda should just promote him to its official team, but he is believed to have felt that upgrade equality at LCR would give him the same chances - as his results in the first part of this season proved.
Expected 2026 MotoGP rider line-up
Ducati
Marc Marquez
Pecco Bagnaia
Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez
Fermin Aldeguer
VR46 Ducati
Franco Morbidelli*
Fabio Di Giannantonio
KTM
Pedro Acosta
Brad Binder
Tech3 KTM
Maverick Vinales
Enea Bastianini
Aprilia
Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin
Trackhouse Aprilia
Raul Fernandez
Ai Ogura
Honda
Luca Marini
Joan Mir
LCR Honda
Johann Zarco
Diogo Moreira*
Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Pramac Yamaha
Jack Miller*
Toprak Razgatlioglu
* Not officially announced yet
