Lorenzo to join Marquez at Honda!

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has announced the signing of Jorge Lorenzo to join Marc Marquez in its factory team over the next two years.

A day after it was made official that Dani Pedrosa’s 13-year collaboration with HRC would terminate at the end of 2018, another Spanish powerhouse has now filled the void. Marquez did say he wanted his new teammate to be as strong as possible...

Lorenzo’s three MotoGP titles all came with Yamaha before he defected to Ducati in 2017. The 31-year-old has struggled to make an impact on the red machinery – much like Valentino Rossi did when he made the Yamaha to Ducati jump in 2011-12 – but he was imperious last weekend when he recorded his first win for the Italian company at Mugello.

Lorenzo now has 13 races left at Ducati before he joins his illustrious teammate at Honda, while the future of Pedrosa remains unclear.

Meanwhile, Italian Danilo Petrucci will replace Lorenzo at Ducati, where he will ride alongside Andrea Dovizioso.

“It goes without saying that for me, being part of the factory team is a dream come true,” said Petrucci.

“It’s a great honour to become an official rider for the Ducati Team, especially for someone like me who started in Ducati as a production motorcycle test rider. First of all I would like to thank Paolo Campinoti and Francesco Guidotti, who gave me the chance four years ago to race on a Ducati for the Pramac Racing Team. Without them all this would not have been possible.

"I also want to thank the managers of Ducati and Ducati Corse – Claudio Domenicali, Gigi Dall'Igna and Paolo Ciabatti – who appreciated me first as a person and then as a rider and I really can’t wait to start this new adventure in the factory team. Now all I want to do is to finish the year in the top five in the standings and then start the new season with the Ducati Team.”

In other MotoGP news, 23-year-old Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin will be the fourth rider in KTM’s MotoGP line-up in 2019, riding alongside Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira under the Tech3 satellite banner. Syahrin is campaigning a Tech3 Yamaha in 2018 and currently vying for top rookie honours alongside Honda's Franco Morbidelli.

Aussie Jack Miller's 2019 plans haven't yet been revealed, but all signs are that he will remain at Alma Pramac Racing on an updated Ducati.