HRC confirms Luca Marini’s replacement for Italian MotoGP

HRC has confirmed that Luca Marini will miss his home Italian MotoGP at Mugello this weekend.

The Italian suffered a dislocated left hip, fractures in the sternum and left collarbone, and a right-side pneumothorax (collapsed lung) after a Superbike testing accident at Suzuka earlier this month.

Marini returned home to Italy during the previous Aragon GP weekend but is not fit enough to return to MotoGP action.

‘Eager to return as soon as possible and undergoing regular assessments on his condition, Marini and the team remain in constant contact about his return once fully recovered’, read a HRC statement.

Meanwhile, new Honda test rider Takaaki Nakagami has been called-up alongside Joan Mir for Mugello. 

The former full-time LCR rider finished an excellent sixth as a wild-card in the dry-wet Le Mans race earlier this year.

“First, I want to wish Luca all the best with his recovery,” said Nakagami.

“It’s a pleasure, an honour, to join the factory Honda HRC Castrol team – thank you to Honda HRC for opportunity.

“The Test Team and I have been working hard in Japan for the future but this weekend the focus will be a little bit different.

“I have enjoyed riding Mugello in the past and have gotten some strong results as well.

“Let’s see what we can do and how we can help the team during the Italian GP.”

Fifth place in 2019 stands as Nakagami’s best premier-class finish in Mugello.

Mir arrives in Italy eager to build on a seventh place at Aragon.

“Coming off our best Sunday of the year so far, I’m looking to make the most of Mugello,” said the Spaniard.

“It’s a great circuit to ride and I am sure the battle there will be very tight. There are some areas where I think we can be quite strong, and it will be interesting to see how our bike does on the straight with the faster entry.

“It’s now a really busy part of the year so we need to work hard and keep our momentum up.”