Overview

• Honda confirmed test rider Aleix Espargaro will step in at this weekend’s Dutch TT in Assen.
• Luca Marini remains sidelined after sustaining multiple fractures and a pneumothorax in a late-May Suzuka 8 Hours test crash.
• Espargaro’s third start of the season follows wildcard stints in Jerez and Silverstone where he acknowledged lacking race rhythm.
• The 35-year-old Spaniard has excelled at the TT Circuit Assen, claiming pole in 2014 and earning podium finishes in 2022 and 2023.
• While Espargaro competes in the Netherlands, Honda’s test squad led by Stefan Bradl will conduct a private Michelin tyre evaluation at Hungary’s new Balaton Park circuit.