I'm an Aleix Espargaró fan, and if you are too, let's get excited together because we get to see him mix it up with the best again. Espargaró will be shredding tires at the Spanish Grand Prix, which will take place at Jerez - Ángel Nieto Circuit between April 25-27, and it'll be his first race since retiring as a full-time MotoGP rider in 2024.
Although Espargaró retired aboard an Aprilia, and practically every other manufacturer on the grid over the last 15 years, including Yamaha, Ducati, and Suzuki, we've never seen him on a Honda. That's about to change.
The Spanish rider has been helping Honda develop the RC213V in the off-season when he became a test rider for the brand, but now he'll be using his decades of race experience to aid development of the bike through a weekend of racing.
Once Espargaró throws a leg over, he'll once again become the oldest rider on the grid, at the age of 35. The Spanish Grand Prix will be his 256th Grand Prix in the premier class, which is second only to Valentino Rossi, and it'll be Espargaró's 340th GP start when you include all the classes he's raced in.
By all accounts, Honda is performing far better than it did last year. Part of the brand's success can be attributed to the oldest full-time rider on the grid, Joan Zarco, but Honda has stressed that Espargaró was deeply involved in developing the bike throughout winter testing. And credit where credit's due, because when Espargaró became a test rider for Honda, he also took up cycling professionally.
I'm excited to see Espargaró back on the grid, but saddened by the fact that he won't be able to race one of his closest friends in Jorge Martin. Espargaró is credited for bringing Martin to Aprilia, but after a crash in last week's Qatar race, Martin was left with a collapsed lung and 11 broken ribs. So, we won't see the old friends duke it out.
Where do you think Espargaró will finish? Keep in mind he crashed out of last year's race at Jerez.
