Espargaro, who announced his retirement before last week’s Catalan Grand Prix, will end his 20-year career in MotoGP after this season. He’s won three races with Aprilia during this time.
He hinted that he might become a test rider after retiring. Despite his success with Aprilia, he won’t continue with them.
Now, it seems likely that he’ll join Honda as a test rider for 2025. This is a big move for him, considering Honda’s recent struggles. It’s not clear what this means for Stefan Bradl, Honda’s current tester.
Espargaro joined Aprilia in 2017 after two years with Suzuki. He played a big role in developing Aprilia’s RS-GP, turning it from one of the worst bikes on the grid to a competitive one that can win races.
Honda has been struggling recently. Apart from Alex Rins’ win in Austin last year, Honda hasn’t performed well. They’ve finished last in the manufacturers’ standings for the past two years, and they lost Marc Marquez to Gresini Ducati because of their poor performance.
In the current standings, Joan Mir is the top Honda rider with 13 points, while Luca Marini, his teammate, hasn’t scored yet.
