Aleix Espargaró Returns to MotoGP as Honda Wildcard at Jerez

After retiring from full-time racing in 2024, the three-time race winner transitioned to a test rider role with the Japanese marque.

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Retired MotoGP star Aleix Espargaró is set to make a sensational comeback at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, marking his first competitive outing as a Honda test rider and his debut aboard the RC213V.

The 35-year-old Spaniard, who retired from full-time competition after the 2024 season following an illustrious career spanning three factory teams (Aprilia, Suzuki, and Ducati), will become the oldest rider on the grid when he takes to the Jerez-Ángel Nieto Circuit. This wildcard appearance will be Espargaró’s 256th premier class start, a second only to Valentino Rossi in all-time appearances, and his 340th Grand Prix start across all categories.

Honda has enlisted Espargaró’s expertise to accelerate the development of their struggling RC213V, hoping to replicate his success in transforming Aprilia from backmarkers to race winners during his eight-year tenure with the Italian manufacturer. The three-time MotoGP race winner has been testing for Honda since January but admits feeling the weight of representing the historic Japanese marque.

“I feel a big responsibility – even if I’m just the test rider,” Espargaró told MotoGP.com. “This is the biggest team ever in our sport, so I feel really blessed to be able to race with these colours.”

The Catalan rider confirmed he’d run a bike specification different from that of factory riders Joan Mir and Luca Marini, with Honda using his wildcard to evaluate new components. “Hopefully during the weekend we can discover that the bike is a bit more competitive,” he said, while tempering expectations about results.

Espargaró’s return adds intrigue to a Honda garage desperate for progress, having scored just 12 points from the season’s first four rounds. His vast experience, including 15 seasons in the premier class, provides a unique reference point for Honda’s engineers as they work to close the gap to front-running Ducatis and KTMs.

While ruling out podium ambitions (“it would be not real”), the veteran aims to provide meaningful data: “I’m not setting a goal like top-10… but I will try my best and we’ll see how far we can go.”

The Spanish GP marks the beginning of Honda’s expanded testing program, with Espargaró expected to make additional wildcard appearances at Catalunya and possibly Misano later this season. His feedback could prove crucial as HRC seeks to end a victory drought stretching back to the 2021 Emilia-Romagna GP.