Barcelona, this weekend, will mark the seventh MotoGP meeting this year, in a calendar which includes eighteen meetings. Casually, we are approaching the middle of the campaign and a summer break before which the prospects for the 2018 deadline will have to be outlined in broad terms. For some, it is therefore necessary to agitate behind the scenes. And this is the case of Lucio Cecchinello.
The LCR team boss wants a second bike in his box. It will be a Honda and you have to take this place that Dorna keeps him warm, since it is for him that Carmelo Ezpeleta has frozen the twenty-fourth rank of the numbers set in MotoGP. Which means, in detail, twelve teams equipped with two drivers.
Certainly, but you need money for that and opportunities. The Italian boss is busy fixing the two. And before going to Catalonia this weekend, he is no further ahead: “ there is a 50% chance that I will have two drivers in 2018 » he announces on speedweek, which means that he is just as likely to fail in his quest.
The first pilot in the running for the position is the Japanese Nakagami. His nationality counts for him and his contract with Idemitsu Honda Asia specifies that if he is among the top three in the Moto2 championship at mid-season, he will be able to dream of MotoGP. However, despite two podiums at this stage of the season, he is only eighth in the provisional general standings with 41 points compared to 78 collected by Alex Marquez, positioned in this third place.
On this case, the seven-time winner in 125cc declares: “ HRC must decide when to seriously discuss this option. Honda wants to resolve this issue before the summer break so I think we will talk about it at Assen or Sachsenring at the latest. ».
Otherwise, there is bagnaia. The Italian is making his debut in Moto2 this year and is convincing. Despite his retirement in Italy, he is fifth in the championship with two podiums. And above all he is favored by the sponsor Givi who regrets the fact that an Italian driver has never held a handlebar within the LCR team.
In this case, the partner will need to increase their participation in the adventure. But according to Lucio Cecchinello, the additional investment would not be so enormous thanks to the saving financial support system that Dorna has put in place for the stables on its plateau.
