Aleix Espargaro will race for Honda as a wild-card at the 2025 British GP as the team targets progress after Zarco’s breakthrough MotoGP win in France.
By Divyam Dubey
Aleix Espargaro will return to MotoGP action as a wild-card rider for Honda at the upcoming 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. This marks his second wild-card appearance of the season after racing at the Spanish GP, where a tyre pressure penalty denied him a 14th-place finish and what could have been his first points with the Honda MotoGP team. The Honda MotoGP team is using wild-card entries to support its 2025 development efforts. After outings with Takaaki Nakagami earlier at Le Mans, Aleix Espargaro's presence at Silverstone will be Honda's third wildcard entry in the 2025 season. The British Grand Prix is significant for Espargaro, who claimed his first podium and a race win at the circuit during his time with Aprilia.
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Johann Zarco’s win at the 2025 French Grand Prix marked a major milestone for the Honda MotoGP team. It was Honda's first MotoGP race victory since Alex Rins won at COTA in 2023. Zarco’s performance ended a long winless period and demonstrated the results of Honda’s ongoing development programme for the RC213V.
Zarco’s Le Mans victory not only gave Honda a much-needed result but also ended Ducati’s record-chasing run in MotoGP. The win stopped Ducati from setting a new benchmark for consecutive MotoGP race victories. Now, both Honda and Ducati share the all-time record of 22 straight wins each. Before this, the last non-Ducati victory was by Maverick Vinales for Aprilia in Texas in 2024.
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With Aleix Espargaro's wild-card return and Johann Zarco’s recent win, Honda shows signs of progress in the 2025 MotoGP season. The input of test rider Espargaro and technical director Romano Albesiano has played a key role in the RC213V’s development. As the season continues, fans will watch closely to see if Honda can challenge Ducati more consistently in MotoGP 2025.