Aleix Espargaró Lacks Arm Strength: Honda Could Stop Him Before the GP for the Sepang 850 Tests

Aleix Espargaró may not line up for the start of the Indonesian Grand Prix. After enduring a difficult Sprint right down to the final metre, Honda must decide whether to let him race on Sunday at Mandalika or preserve him for the two-day test of the new 850cc MotoGP bike scheduled for next week in Sepang.

The three-time MotoGP race winner was called up to the factory team to replace Joan Mir, who is absent due to health problems. The task was supposed to go to Takaaki Nakagami, but he fractured his collarbone last week in a crash during FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi. For Aleix, this is his first race weekend of the year following the violent crash he suffered during a test at the start of the season.

His comeback proved extremely tough. The Spaniard qualified last and finished the 13-lap Sprint in the same position, 38.336 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez. He had also crashed in FP2 that morning. The problem is the loss of strength in his arm, linked to compartment syndrome, which also played a role in the crash. After the Sprint, Aleix said he had finished it in considerable pain, solely to respect the work being carried out by Honda’s technicians.

If 13 laps were an ordeal, the full Grand Prix distance is even more daunting. "I suffered just to finish a very short race. Frankly, it will be difficult to complete the GP. We have to analyse the situation and decide," admitted the Honda rider. "That’s why we have to decide what the priority is: racing tomorrow or resting a little so I can be fresh for the Sepang test."

The work on the bike of the future appears to carry more weight than a finish at the back of the field. Espargaró feels ready for Malaysia, where the strain is of an entirely different kind compared with a race: "I have two days in Sepang, so we’ll see. I feel good for the tests. During testing, you normally do two or three consecutive laps. Racing here, however, means doing many laps in a row and also at a very, very high pace. So it’s difficult".

If Honda chooses to spare him, Mir’s RC213V will remain in the garage on Sunday, and the Spaniard will focus his energy on the two days in Sepang, which will be crucial for the development of the 850cc bike.

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