Aleix Espargaro on Honda’s MotoGP development plans: “Taka will take care of the 850cc first”
Takaaki Nakagami set to complete Honda's initial 850cc MotoGP testing before Aleix Espargaro joins mid-season.
Honda’s rise in the MotoGP concession rankings means its race riders are no longer able to take part in private testing.
That places a much greater emphasis on the work of factory test riders Aleix Espargaro and Takaaki Nakagami next year, as development of the new 850cc and Pirelli package begins.
Speaking at the Valencia finale, where he appeared as a wild-card on the 2026 RCV prototype, Espargaro outlined how Honda intends to divide the early workload between its two experienced testers.
“Taka will take care of the 850cc and the Pirellis in the first three months of the year,” Espargaro said. “Romano [Albesiano, technical director] wants me to stay focused still on the 2026 bike.
“So Taka will take care of the bike at the beginning, and I will start in the summer with the 850cc.”
Honda will join Ducati, KTM and Aprilia in freezing its 1000cc engine specification from the opening round in Thailand, another consequence of its move up to concession rank C.
“This year Honda worked very hard and brought three big engine updates,” Espargaro said. “So we will not be able to do this [in 2026], but we knew that.
“Knowing that our idea was to lose the concessions, this is why we worked hard to have a strong engine [before a freeze].
"I think the engine we have now is strong enough, and still has some room to improve before the first race of ‘26.”
Espargaro added that development of the current 1000cc bike would effectively end once the new season begins, with attention turning towards the 2027 850cc prototype.
Honda's loss of full concessions, but need to develop a new bike, means the Spaniard expects a similar workload to this year.
“To me, it's basically the same,” he said. “From mid-season, I'm going to start to work with the Pirellis, so it will not change much.”
Espargaro, a triple MotoGP race winner for Aprilia, retired from full-time competition at the end of last season, then joined HRC’s test team alongside Albesiano.
Nakagami transferred from a race to test rider at the same time, after seven seasons at LCR.
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