Honda’s new signing is first bright spot of its 2024 MotoGP season –

Even the Abu Dhabi Auto Racing League

The successful pursuit of Aleix Espargaro as MotoGP’s new test rider – in a deal announced on Tuesday morning – represents the biggest bright spot in Honda’s miserable 2024 season.

The redesigned RC213V showed signs of life in pre-season but proved to be a huge disappointment almost immediately when the actual racing began, with most of its four full-time riders giving up on each other in what was initially derisively called the ‘Japan Cup’ – also including fellow struggling Yamaha – but has now become the ‘Honda Cup’ as it becomes increasingly clear that even Yamaha is in much better shape.

Upon announcing his retirement from full-time racing, Espargaro – with development skills on his CV from both the eventual title-winning Suzuki project and the Aprilia project that went from hopeless to force to be reckoned with – instantly became an incredibly attractive freestyle test rider.

Now, Honda has quickly won the race to secure his services.

This has been something that has been rumoured since Espargaro first announced at the end of May that he would step down from full-time racing at the end of 2024, but he refused to confirm that his previous plans to remain in his role at Aprilia were still in place.

“It’s a new job, a new role that didn’t exist five years ago,” Espargaro said earlier this year of the opportunity to take on the new challenge of being a test driver. “Now we realise how important it is.

Ducati and [Michele] Peru changed the game six years ago, and now we see it with Dani. [Pedrosa] And [brother] pee [Espargaro] At KTM, Yamaha and Honda need to step up their efforts with their test teams, because they are not at the same level as the Italians or the KTM test team.

“It’s a good opportunity for me and that’s why I think about it a lot.

“It’s something I really like. I’ve had a lot of fun in the last six or seven years with Aprilia, and I think we’ve done a really good job. I’ve learned a lot of things, and this is also a possibility for the future.”

A big boost for Mir

The possibility of Espargaro’s arrival could have an important secondary effect in helping Honda retain its current factory rider line-up as well.

With some believing Honda are keen to retain 2020 world champion Joan Mir despite his somewhat offensive comments of late, his sudden change of tone over his future at last weekend’s Dutch Touring Car Grand Prix appears to have come amid a renewed campaign to persuade him to stay.

This reassuring approach is what Yamaha successfully implemented to retain the services of their former champion Fabio Quartararo and Honda now appears to have started to draw up a detailed roadmap for a return to victory in order to convince Mir that staying put is the right move for his career.

Honda already has another reliable veteran test rider in Stefan Bradl on its books – and certainly, 11-12 years ago you would have considered Bradl’s signing a much bigger coup than Espargaro’s.

But Marc Marquez, who has particularly championed Bradl’s efforts as a test driver, has left Honda and won’t be back anytime soon. Espargaro’s appointment doesn’t necessarily mean Bradl’s departure – KTM is already preparing a double test driver for its own benefit, and Honda can certainly keep up with its spending. Bradl is also confirmed to be staying.

While Honda remain a ‘D’ team – and there’s no reason to think that will change at the end of the season, given their atrocious points record – they could make the most of Espargaro, with an increased tyre allocation for testing and six free cards allowed.

So, there’s nothing but benefits here for Honda – but what about Espargaro himself?

new beginning

Espargaro’s quick admission after announcing his retirement that his future might lie outside of Aprilia raised many eyebrows, given how closely he was associated with the project.

But he has previously hinted at the potential for a test rider market, particularly given the Honda/Yamaha rivalry and the value they could see in it.

Even the late-night conversations Espargaro had with his close friend Jorge Martin about the potential of the Aprilia team before Martin decided to sign with Aprilia didn’t seem to convince Espargaro to stay on as part of the project. He’s happy that his best friend on the track will be chasing the title on his bike, but he’s happy to watch from a different garage.

Honda should be the project with the most resources, and the one that needs Espargaro the most. The investment it could make in his contract and test team could come from the rider’s contract, after all, because any rider who demands a huge salary will not come forward to ride for Honda.

But therein lies another reason why Honda is attractive to Espargaro. Needs Honda needs all the help it can get. Honda has the resources and history to get out of this predicament.

The 2027 rules offer a massive reset opportunity, meaning Espargaro could go in believing it’s actually possible for Honda to win again while under contract there – which would be an incredible bow to his legacy.