Cecchinello founded LCR — an acronym derived from his own name — to contest the 125cc World Championship with Honda motorcycles. In 1998, the team signed two-time 125cc runner-up Noboru Ueda alongside Cecchinello himself. Ueda delivered the team's first Grand Prix victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Johor Circuit, and Cecchinello followed later that year with a win at the Madrid Grand Prix. The Cecchinello-Ueda partnership continued into 1999 and 2000, yielding further wins and podiums for both riders.
In 2001 the team switched to Aprilia machinery and recruited Spanish youngster Raúl Jara. Cecchinello took a win at the Catalan Grand Prix and finished fourth in the standings. The following year, 2002, LCR expanded into the 250cc class, entering Casey Stoner and David Checa alongside their 125cc program. By 2003, Randy de Puniet contested the 250cc championship for LCR and came close to the title, finishing fourth overall with three wins and nine podiums, while Stoner took his first career win in the 125cc class. Cecchinello retired from riding at the end of 2003 to focus on team management.
In 2005 the team competed exclusively in 250cc with Stoner and Roberto Locatelli on Aprilia factory bikes. Stoner produced one of his finest seasons as a junior class rider, recording five wins, ten podiums, and finishing runner-up to Dani Pedrosa — the best result in LCR history to that point.
LCR made its MotoGP debut in 2006 with Stoner aboard the Honda RC211V. He scored the team's first premier class pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix and their first MotoGP podium in Turkey, ultimately finishing eighth in the championship. Stoner departed for a Ducati factory ride in 2007, and was replaced by Carlos Checa, who struggled to adapt to the new 800cc Honda RC212V.
Randy de Puniet joined for 2008 and 2009. In the 2009 British Grand Prix at Donnington, de Puniet finished third — the team's first MotoGP podium since Stoner's effort in 2006.
Stefan Bradl arrived for 2012 after winning the Moto2 championship and had a standout debut season, finishing eighth overall and winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 2013, Bradl took the team's first premier class pole position at Laguna Seca and converted it into a second-place finish — LCR's first MotoGP podium for a non-Stoner rider.
In 2015, the team expanded to two bikes, pairing Cal Crutchlow on a factory-specification Honda RC213V with Australian rookie Jack Miller on an open-specification machine.
Cal Crutchlow delivered LCR's defining moment in 2016. After a difficult start to the season, he won the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno — the team's first ever win in the premier class — and became the first British rider to win a MotoGP race since Barry Sheene's victory at the 1981 Swedish Grand Prix. Later that year he also won at Phillip Island, becoming the first British rider to win the Australian Grand Prix. Crutchlow ended 2016 seventh in the championship.
For 2018, LCR re-expanded to two bikes, signing Japanese rookie Takaaki Nakagami to partner Crutchlow. Crutchlow won in Argentina that year while Nakagami showed steady improvement. Crutchlow retired from full-time competition at the end of 2020. Subsequent seasons saw Álex Márquez partner Nakagami (2021–2022) and then Álex Rins (2023), who won the Grand Prix of the Americas — the team's final victory with Rins's Honda.
Johann Zarco joined for 2024, replacing Rins. In 2025, Zarco partnered Thai rookie Somkiat Chantra and made MotoGP history by winning the French Grand Prix — the first Honda race win since Rins in 2023, the first French winner of the French Grand Prix since Pierre Monneret in 1954, and the first non-Ducati winner since Maverick Viñales took the 2024 Grand Prix of the Americas.
From 2026, Zarco is joined by Diogo Moreira, the 2025 Moto2 World Champion, as the team continues its long association with HRC under Cecchinello's management.