Has Honda Snubbed Pol’s Future?

Pol Espargaro may have given the clearest indication yet that he will leave the Repsol Honda MotoGP team at the end of the season. At this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix, he added to speculation that Honda is close to signing a contract with Suzuki refugee Joan Mir by admitting that new development parts intended for him were instead diverted to Honda satellite rider Taka Nakagami, in what appears to be a clear sign of how Honda views Espargaro’s future with the company.

Marc Marquez tested a new chassis and swing arm at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, devoting the weekend at Mugello to development work after learning that he will be out of the sport for the next few months owing to his latest operation, which took place today in the United States.

Those tests appear to have been at least somewhat successful since the revised chassis and swing arm will be used at Montmelo this weekend – but not by Marquez’s teammate Pol Espargaro or even his substitute, test rider Stefan Bradl.

Instead, it was given to LCR Honda rider Nakagami, in what can only be interpreted as a snub to Espargaro, who revealed that he wants to try out as many new parts as possible in his quest to improve the RC213V.

Most factory teams have a well-established policy of keeping development parts away from riders who are about to depart a team’s project, so the move just adds gasoline to the fire that Espargaro will not be racing for Honda next year.

Even though Nakagami’s future in a Honda MotoGP racing seat is even more uncertain, he still appears to be a member of the Honda team – potentially in World Superbikes.

Moto2 leader Ai Ogura is expected to join LCR, while Nakagami will be pulled aside to focus on superbike initiatives like the Suzuka 8 Hour, perhaps Honda’s most significant race of the year.

While it’s possible that something has already been communicated to Espargaro about his future (a rumour he dismissed as “fake news” last month), 2020 world champion Mir insists that he hasn’t yet put pen to paper with anyone else, and is instead still trying to find a solution to the mess he was thrust into when Suzuki unexpectedly announced its withdrawal from MotoGP at the end of 2022.