Aleix Espargaro: New 850cc MotoGP bikes “a lot more fun” than 1000cc
Aleix Espargaro says MotoGP’s upcoming 850cc machines are “more fun to ride” than the present 1000cc bikes.
The next generation of 850cc MotoGP bikes are “more fun” to ride than the current 1000cc machines.
That’s the view of Aleix Espargaro, one of the few riders to have already sampled a 2027-spec prototype.
The Spaniard, currently recovering from back injuries sustained during a private Honda test at Sepang last month, was present in the paddock for his home Catalunya round.
Speaking to MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard before Sunday’s grand prix, Espargaro said:
“I'm not allowed really to talk about that [850cc] project, but the thing that I can tell you is that the bike is very fun.
“The riders will have a lot of fun. It's a lot more fun than the 1000 bike.
“The Pirelli tyres are super grippy and with a little bit less torque on the bottom, you can rush a little bit in the apex.
“The bike is more than 10kg lighter, so the change of direction is super good.
“So the riders - and I think also the people at home - will have fun because I think there will be a lot more battles.
“I really can't wait to show everybody the new bike.”
Alongside smaller engines and a switch from Michelin to Pirelli tyres, ride-height devices will be banned and tighter restrictions placed on aerodynamics for 2027.
Nonetheless, Espargaro became the latest to suggest that lap times won’t be much slower than the current record-breaking machines.
“I cannot say many numbers, but the only thing that I will tell you is that we compared both bikes, the 1000 bike and the 850, and they are closer than what people said,” revealed the triple MotoGP race winner.
Sepang accident "completely my mistake"
Espargaro hopes to be fit to rejoin Honda testing duties, alongside Takaaki Nakagami, by late summer.
"I'm good. It was completely my mistake. I braked too late in the back straight, locked the rear brake and flew," Espargaro said of his Sepang accident.
"I did a big high side, probably the worst crash of my career. I landed on my back and I destroy four vertebrae. Luckily, they did a very good job in with the surgery.
"Now it's one month, so I still need a couple of months of recovery, but hopefully I can be back by the last part of the summer when the new 850 prototype will arrive from Japan.
"So hopefully we'll be ready to keep developing it."
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
