Honda HRC Castrol have called upon Aleix Espargaro to replace the recovering Luca Marini at the TT Circuit Assen.

For Round Ten of the 2025 MotoGP World Championship, Aleix Espargaro will ride in the factory Honda HRC Castrol squad.

The Honda Racing Corporation Test Rider will be standing in for the injured Luca Marini, who is still recovering from his crash at Suzuka in May.

This will be Espargaro's third appearance in MotoGP since retiring at the end of the 2024 season. As a wildcard rider, Espargaro has raced in the Spanish and British Grand Prix so far this season.

In the past, Espargaro has secured a pole position and featured on a podium in the MotoGP class at the Dutch Grand Prix with Forward Yamaha and Aprilia Racing.

However, this weekend will be different as his focus will be on extracting as much data as possible for his test team.

"I am really delighted to be able to help Honda HRC and work with the factory team this weekend in Assen," Espargaro said.

"Lots of riders dream of being in the factory Honda team; to be able to do this now is a real surprise and pleasure – even if it is temporary.

"In both previous weekends this year for me I’ve been able to build more and more, so I hope we can start the weekend a little closer.

"I have good memories at Assen and it will be very interesting to see the Honda there, it’s quite different to the tracks I am normally testing at. I hope Luca is recovering well and he can be back here soon."

Espargaro comes into the fold after Takaaki Nakagami stood in for Marini at the Italian Grand Prix last week, where the Japanese rider finished 16th.