Honda development rider Aleix Espargaro has put his parallel cycling career on hold in order to focus on his MotoGP test work.
Espargaro retired from full-time racing at the conclusion of 2024, signing off as an Aprilia factory rider at the season-ending Solidarity Grand Prix. He then took up a development role with Honda – as well as a role with the Lidl-Trek professional bicycle racing team.
Espargaro has made four wildcard appearances alongside test duties during 2025, but would have raced more without cycling injuries getting in the way. He was scheduled to stand in for Somkiat Chantra when the Thai rider was injured mid-season, but two successive injuries ruled him out of doing so.
Speaking to media at the Valencia Grand Prix, the Spaniard admitted that Honda team manager Alberto Puig had intervened after Espargaro was unable to take part in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“There was really a turning point in Barcelona [the race following the Hungarian round],” said Espargaro. “I arrived completely exhausted with three broken vertebrae from the bike.
“Alberto sat me down and told me he understood my passion for bicycles, but that this was Honda and I needed to be more focused. He was absolutely right.
“I was probably wrong. I didn’t know how to calibrate my role as a test rider. It was all a bit new to me, and I thought I could handle both [cycling and motorcycling], but that’s not the case.
“Next year, I’ll stay with the [cycling] team, but I won’t be racing professionally. I’ll just be training with them and will remain more focused on Honda.”
With Honda having moved from concessions Group D to Group C following a strong second half to 2025, its race riders will not be permitted to take part in private tests for the foreseeable future. That will make Espargaro’s role even more critical in 2026 – particularly as Honda plans for the new MotoGP technical regulations, which take effect in 2027.
“Both Alberto and the Japanese [side of the] team have asked me to do a double development next year, with the 2026 bike and the new 2027 bike with Pirelli tyres, so I’ll have to dedicate myself much more to my work as a Honda test rider," Espargaro added.
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