Rabat out of Sepang, Granado denied debut

Tito Rabat will miss this weekend's Malaysian MotoGP as he continues to struggle with a right-hand injury from the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.

The Spaniard is now turning his attention to some 'intense rehab' ahead of the Valencia finale and following post-race test.

Meanwhile, Reale Avintia confirmed that its MotoE rider Eric Granado – who will remain at the team in 2020 - was 'one of the possible replacements' to take Rabat's place at Sepang.

The Brazilian even undertook a 40-hour journey to be present in Malaysia in case.

But due to unspecified 'different circumstances' - possibly a lack of any MotoGP prior testing, which caused controversy when Avintia brought in Christophe Ponsson as a stand-in last season - the team has announced 'it won’t be possible'.

Avintia still hopes to give Granado the chance to ride a MotoGP bike 'shortly'.

“I am very happy to continue with Avintia for another year. I quite liked the work we have done in MotoE and, although for some reasons we did not get the results, I am sure that next year we will have a great season," said Granado, who has also competed in Moto3 and Moto2.

"I also want to thank that they trusted me to come to Malaysia, I hope to have another opportunity shortly to work with the MotoGP team and grow as a pilot within the team for the next few years.”

Rabat and Karel Abraham will remain at Avintia in MotoGP next year.

Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna told Crash.net on Thursday that Avintia will have GP19 bikes next season, with the Pramac and Official riders using the new GP20.