Aleix Espargaro back for home Barcelona MotoGP wild-card
Aleix Espargaro back on the MotoGP grid for home Barcelona round.
HRC test rider Aleix Espargaro will make his fourth MotoGP appearance of the season in his home Barcelona round this weekend.
The local star - who won the Catalan MotoGP for Aprilia in 2023 and took an emotional Sprint victory last season - will be riding as a wild-card for the HRC test team.
Espargaro’s participation had been in doubt after he was forced to abandon a planned Balaton Park appearance as a replacement for injured LCR rookie Somkiat Chantra, after fracturing two vertebrae in a cycling accident.
However, Espargaro returned to training last week and will now be back on the RC213V at Montmelo.
The news that Espargaro will be a HRC wild-card, rather than LCR replacement, suggests Chantra is planning his first MotoGP appearance since scoring a point at Assen.
The Thai rider credited Espargaro for that result, having followed the Spanish veteran for much of the Dutch race, before the #41 appeared to allow Chantra to take 15th place.
Since retiring as a full-time rider at the end of last year, Espargaro has raced - as a wild-card and HRC replacement rider - at Jerez, Silverstone and Assen.
Given his past success at Barcelona, the 36-year-old will be aiming for a first RC213V points this weekend.
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