Summary
Honda Racing Corporation has named Fabio Quartararo and Diogo Moreira for factory team Honda HRC, and Johann Zarco and David Alonso for Honda LCR in 2027. The lineup will compete in a season that brings an 850 cc engine limit and extensive technical-rule changes.
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has confirmed its four riders for the 2027 MotoGP season: Fabio Quartararo and Diogo Moreira will race for factory team Honda HRC, while Johann Zarco and David Alonso will represent Honda LCR. The announcement, made on October 20, 2026, sets Honda’s rider roster for a season in which the premier class will also introduce new technical regulations, including a smaller engine displacement limit.
How Honda’s teams are arranged
Quartararo’s move to Honda for 2027 had already been announced. Moreira, currently racing in MotoGP with Pro Honda LCR, will join him at Honda HRC. Honda defines a factory team as one managed by the motorcycle manufacturer.
Moreira is in his debut MotoGP season. Honda reports that he scored points in 14 of the first 17 races and finished second in the Sprint race at the Japanese Grand Prix on October 3. The company describes his results as evidence of progress as he gains experience in the premier class.
Zarco will continue with Honda LCR, where he will be joined by Alonso, who currently competes in Moto2. In his second Moto2 season, Alonso has recorded one victory, one second-place finish and two third-place finishes. He finished in the top nine in 12 of the first 17 races and was fifth in the championship at the time of Honda’s announcement.
A new technical era in 2027
From 2027, MotoGP engine displacement will fall from 1,000 cc to 850 cc, alongside extensive changes to motorcycle specifications and technical regulations. The displacement reduction is 150 cc, or 15 per cent of the current limit. Honda’s announcement does not detail the other specification changes, but presents the new rules and machines as a fresh competitive challenge for the team.
The lineup brings together riders with different levels of experience in the class: Quartararo, the 2021 MotoGP champion; Zarco, a continuing Honda LCR rider; Moreira, stepping up from Honda’s satellite team to its factory operation; and Alonso, moving from Moto2 to MotoGP. HRC says it will aim to win the championship with the new riders and machines.