Iker Lecuona will make his second outing of the season in the MotoGP World Championship this weekend with Repsol Honda as he replaces injured Joan Mir in the Dutch Grand Prix.
Factory Honda’s World Superbike rider Iker Lecuona will fill in for Joan Mir, who will miss his second consecutive MotoGP race after suffering a hand injury during practice for the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
The 2020 MotoGP world champion crashed during the second practice session on Friday of the Italian GP weekend at Mugello. He was forced to miss last weekend’s German GP due to “synovial fluid and inflammation” from a contusion on his right hand that limited movement of the appendage.
Mir decided not to compete in this weekend’s Dutch TT at Assen which was the last race before the summer break, as a result of a lack of recovery, with the intention of participating in the British round of the 2023 season in six weeks.
The Spanish rider will be replaced this weekend by Honda World Superbike rider Iker Lecuona, who will make his second start in the premier class of the year after filling in for an injured Marc Marquez at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez back in April.
Marc Marquez, who will start the Assen weekend after missing Sunday’s German GP due to a fractured finger sustained during morning warm-up at the Sachsenring, will start the weekend on Friday.
The rider expressed his excitement for the Dutch round in a statement. He sees it as a test of his physical condition following the incident he suffered in Misano, and he hopes to do well.
“First of all I want to wish Joan all the best in his recovery,” said Lecuona. “I am excited to join the team again, it’s a true honour. Assen is a circuit I like, I got my first WorldSBK podium there so hopefully we can have another good weekend like in Jerez.
“I am still recovering a bit after the crash in Misano, so this will be a good physical test too. Let’s ride!”
Lecuona performed exceptionally in his first MotoGP start in well over a year, finishing 16th overall ahead of GasGas’ Jonas Folger and just 11 seconds behind Honda test rider Stefan Bradl. This was despite the fact that he was unfamiliar with the RC213V before the race.
