Aleix Espargaro will stand in for the injured Luca Marini at the Assen GP – The HRC test rider will thus make his official racing debut in Honda’s factory team
Following Takaaki Nakagami, Aleix Espargaro is now set to make his racing debut for the Honda factory team. Like Nakagami at Mugello, the Spaniard will replace the injured Luca Marini at the upcoming MotoGP weekend in Assen.
This will be the third outing of the season for the HRC test and development rider. The 35-year-old had previously competed as a wildcard rider in the Spanish and British Grands Prix with the Honda HRC Test Team and his long-time crew chief Antonio Jimenez.
After finishing 17th in Jerez and failing to get past the fourth lap at Silverstone, Espargaro said that he was no longer motivated to return to competition as he lacked the necessary rhythm to be competitive.
However, Marini’s injury during a test for the Suzuka 8 Hours forced Honda to call on its test riders to replace the Italian.
Nakagami, who also rode as a wildcard starter at Le Mans, made his debut in the Honda factory box last weekend and had a solid weekend. After a strong sixth place at Le Mans, he is now 20th in the overall standings with ten points – a position that neither Somkiat Chantra, Aleix nor his good friend Jorge Martin have achieved so far.
The latter was only able to compete in the Qatar Grand Prix due to injury, where he failed to score any points. Curiously, although he had actually retired, Espargaro has already competed in more races this season than Martin, who was supposed to defend his 2024 title.
Test at Balaton Park
While Espargaro will compete in the Dutch Grand Prix, the Honda test team will travel to the new Balaton Park circuit in Hungary this weekend. There, another of the team’s development riders, Stefan Bradl, will take part in a private test with tire supplier Michelin.
The aim is to understand the requirements of the asphalt on this new track, which will make its debut on the MotoGP calendar on the weekend of August 24. The same tests are to be repeated at the end of July with the participation of other teams.