‘Huge’ for Honda if Aleix Espargaro joins as test rider

Aleix Espargaro’s rumoured switch to Repsol Honda as a 2025 test and wild-card rider was among the topics debated on this week’s post-Mugello Crash.net MotoGP podcast.

Having announced he would be retiring as a full-time Aprilia race rider at the end of this season, Espargaro then surprised by revealing his switch to a test riding role ‘probably’ wouldn’t be with Aprilia.

The Mugello weekend then saw Repsol Honda tipped as his likely destination.

“Aleix Espargaro announced he would retire in Catalunya and said that maybe he wasn't going to stay with Aprilia as a test rider,” said podcast host Jordan Moreland.

“Now from reports by Motorsport in Spain and Autosport, it looks like he's going to be a Honda test rider in 2025. Rob, what's your thoughts on that?”

“It's a huge win for Honda to get someone of Aleix Espargaro’s talent and experience,” replied two wheel reporter Robert Jones. 

“He's ridden a lot of bikes. He's taken a lot of projects forward. We've seen what he's done with Aprilia more than anything, taking them from really struggling at the back end of the MotoGP grid to being race winners.

“So I think for Honda, who have now fallen from that top position to the back, it's a situation Espargaro has had experience with. And he showed only in Catalunya that he's still got the ability to win races.

“Stefan Bradl is a very, very good test rider. I don't know if that means any change for Bradl, whether it's going to be less wild-cards or replaced entirely. But to have Aleix Espargaro as a test rider for any manufacturer would be a very, very, very strong move.

“And for Honda, it's needed. Again this weekend, they were absolutely nowhere. From where they were a few seasons ago I think we've really seen the impact of what Marc Marquez was able to achieve on that bike and maybe how bad that bike was even when he was winning.

“Now, as Alberto Puig talked about on the broadcast yesterday, they're basically throwing the kitchen sink at the bike. But it's just not getting better in any way. So I think to have someone come in with a different mindset, different opinions, is going to work wonders for Honda.

“A bit of a surprise Espargaro has seen that project and wants to take it on. But I guess he won't be racing anymore and it's probably a good payday!”

Moreland added: “It’s a big challenge, but Aleix has done it with Aprilia and Suzuki, even the CRT days. He is the man for it, isn’t he Pete?”

“He is, experience-wise and everything else,” replied MotoGP editor Pete McLaren.

“We were all a bit surprised when he said he probably wasn't going to be test riding with Aprilia. But the Repsol Honda thing makes sense in that there were rumours of contact between Aleix and Repsol Honda last year, after Marc Marquez left.

“So this maybe follows on from that. Maybe that contact, which was interpreted as being about the race ride for this year, was perhaps also about a test riding deal in future.

“In terms of exactly how the test team will be reorganised - Aleix said that he's looking at what Pedrosa does as the ideal situation, and talking about maybe one wild card race per season.

“So it seems he's not looking at doing, say, all six wild-cards. So maybe coming in alongside Bradl, in the way that Pedrosa came in and works alongside other KTM test riders, is what he's looking at.

“In that case, Bradl would stay and it’d be about boosting the HRC European test team.

“And Aleix is a straight-talking guy. It's a bit like with Cal [Crutchlow] at Yamaha. If he doesn't like something, he's going to say it. 

"That sounds obvious. But there are some riders who, when you’ve got all the engineers around you, asking what you think about a new part that they’ve spent a lot of time and effort designing, there can be quite a lot of pressure to say, ‘yeah, it's OK’.

“Whereas guys like Aleix or Cal will call a spade a spade and the engineers are left in no doubt about what they think. You need people like that when it comes to development of the bike. You need clear answers about what's working and what isn't, even if it's not popular. Otherwise you can waste a lot of time.

“Aleix didn't deny the Honda test rider report on Sunday, after the race. He said, ‘I can't say anything’. That tells you all you need to know because it's very easy to deny something if isn't true. 

"The fact he chose not to deny it means it’s probably happening.”