MotoGP | Aleix: “My work in Aprilia is done, I want to bring Honda back to winning ways”

Aleix Espargaro feels his “job at Aprilia is done” and now wants to help Honda return to winning ways in MotoGP in his role as test rider.

Espargaro has been a key pillar of the Noale-based manufacturer’s MotoGP programme since 2017 and has been widely acclaimed for transforming the RS-GP from a perennial tail-ender into a race-winning machine.

But instead of continuing his relationship with the Venetian brand, which would have been difficult to achieve anyway due to financial issues, the Spaniard chose to join the Honda test team after his retirement from racing: he will take on the role alongside German Stefan Bradl in 2025.

Unlike Aprilia, who remain the only manufacturer to have beaten Ducati in a Grand Prix this season, Honda are going through their worst spell in the premier class, with just 24 points in the standings after the first nine races.

But the 34-year-old believes he has achieved everything he wanted in his current job and is looking forward to taking his talents to HRC, where he can work to try and sort out the troubled RC213V.

“I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that my work at Aprilia is done,” he said at the Sachsenring. “I’ve done everything. I’ve worked very, very hard during these eight seasons to help them get to the top. My work is done.”

“They have a good test rider with Savadori, who is doing a great job. So it’s also a good motivation for me and a good opportunity to join HRC. They are definitely not in their best moment. If I can help them get back to the top it will be fantastic.”

He added: “I had discussions with the Japanese top management and they believe and trust me. That’s what made me decide to accept, because it’s really a great opportunity.”

Espargaro believes he can bring more than just his technical experience to HRC, explaining that he can play a crucial role in creating a more positive atmosphere in the garage for Joan Mir and Luca Marini.

“It’s not just a technical issue, where obviously I will try to raise the level of the bike, which I did with Aprilia. But I will also try to be a team player, trying to work with the riders, to be in the box, to bring there the atmosphere that I perceived during these eight seasons in Aprilia,” he said. “It’s very, very important and they need it too. They lack everything.”

Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Imagine how difficult it is for a team like HRC to win every single weekend and now to finish out of the points every single weekend. It’s a shock, emotionally. For example, Joan Mir is a world champion and now he is not able to finish races.”

Espargaro’s younger brother Pol endured a tough two-year stint in the factory Honda team alongside six-time champion Marc Marquez in 2021-22, which effectively ended his MotoGP career.

But after speaking to Honda’s top brass, Aleix is ​​confident that the new philosophy adopted by the Japanese brand in MotoGP will allow him not to face the same problems in contributing to the team’s change.

“When Pol came there, they were winning the year before,” he said. “The last three or four seasons for Honda have not been easy to understand mentally.”

“I think they’ve understood now that they have to change. They really trust me, the opportunity they’ve given me is fantastic. I don’t have to say it, but it’s the biggest brand in this paddock, so they have to get back on top and fight for victories.”