Ducati Rider Jorge Lorenzo To Join Honda And Ride Alongside Marc Marquez Next Year

First, the Japanese manufacturer surprised us with the announcement that Dani Pedrosa will not be riding with HRC next season. While we were left speculating about a replacement rider, Honda has shocked us with another announcement of a two-year deal with three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo, which it plans to close soon.

 The agreement, worth €4 million per year, is believed to have been reached even prior to Jorge’s win at Mugello with Ducati. After winning three MotoGP titles with Yamaha and 24 winless races with Ducati, Lorenzo dominated the Italian Grand Prix last Sunday but admitted that the win came in too late.

Honda had already signed a new deal with the four-time champion and current leader Marquez back in January but was struggling to find the right rider for the second seat at the factory team. Johann Zarco was one of the top contenders for the same.

But since the Frenchman opted for KTM, Andrea Dovizioso extended his contract with Ducati and Moto2's Joan Mir joined Suzuki, Pedrosa seemed like the only option for Honda until Ducati let go of Lorenzo. But it wasn’t all that simple because prior to falling under Honda’s radar, Lorenzo was extremely close to signing a deal to ride a satellite Yamaha bike in 2019.

So, while the Spaniard has gone ahead with Honda, Herve Poncharal plans to move ahead with Ducati. Also, with Marc VDS not being in the best shape, Yamaha might only be running factory bikes next year, instead of the satellite bike.