Aleix Espargaro will start working as a test rider for HRC in 2024 after he retires from full-time racing. He revealed his retirement plans at the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix earlier this year.

Despite winning the Sprint that weekend, Espargaro had initially planned to stay with the Aprilia team he had been with since 2017 in a testing capacity.

However, he later made it known that he would be exploring other options for his riding career, mentioning to Spanish broadcaster DAZN during the Catalan GP weekend that he will likely not be testing for Aprilia.

Aprilia was not an option for Espargaro, so he chose Honda instead.Honda is currently facing challenges, making it the perfect place for Espargaro to make a big difference.

Honda has now made it official that Stefan Bradl will continue as their test rider, making them the second team, after KTM, to have more than one test rider.

Espargaro has experience working with manufacturers looking to enhance their performance. In 2015, Suzuki gave him his first factory ride when they returned to MotoGP with the GSX-RR project after taking a break in 2011.

The GSX-RR achieved its first victory at the 2016 British Grand Prix, thanks to Maverick Vinales. However, both Espargaro and Vinales left at the end of the year. Vinales joined Yamaha, while Espargaro moved to Aprilia. Aprilia, like Suzuki, was still in its early stages in 2017, having entered as a factory team in 2015.

It took Aprilia longer than Suzuki to win a race, with the first victory coming in 2022 in Argentina with Espargaro. Similar to the GSX-RR, Espargaro played a key role in developing Aprilia’s RS-GP, which is now considered one of the top three bikes on the grid.

In 2015, Aprilia joined MotoGP while Honda was one of the leading manufacturers, having won two out of three titles since the 1,000cc era of Grand Prix racing began in 2012. However, Honda has now fallen to the bottom of the rankings and is asking Espargaro to help develop its RC213V into a winning motorcycle, a role he has successfully played twice before.