Gresini names new injury replacement for Marquez

Iker Lecuona rides for Aruba.it Racing Ducati in WorldSBK.

Michelle Pirro deputised Marquez at Mugello in the Grand Prix of Italy, though he will be unavailable for the upcoming Grand Prix of Hungary at Balaton Park due to prior commitments.

Lecuona has been a familiar face of the MotoGP paddock for a decade, making his Moto2 debut in 2016.

The Spaniard graduated to MotoGP in 2019 with Tech3 and rode with them full-time the following year.

He has since raced in WorldSBK with Honda and more recently Ducati team Aruba.it Racing.

This year has been particularly prosperous for Lecuona in WorldSBK, finishing second to his teammate Nicolo Bulega in the 15 most recent races.

Lecuona will carry #27 upon his MotoGP return. It will be his first start in the premier class since 2023.

Honda satellite team LCR has also confirmed Cal Crutchlow will continue in place of Johann Zarco.

The Frenchman is still awaiting surgery on his leg.

“Two weeks now since the scary crash at Montmelo,” Zarco wrote on social media.

“I am taking care of my leg and it improves quite quick.

“ I need to wait for surgery because I got burnt very deeply under the knee and I can’t risk to have infection during surgery.

“Thanks to everyone writing me and wishing me the best recovery.

“I am lucky to have great people around me and we gonna do things in a clever way.”

Crutchlow failed to finish at Mugello due to a shoulder injury, retiring on Lap 11 of 23.

“Unfortunately, this morning in warm-up, I did something to my shoulder,” Crutchlow explained.

“I had some checks in the medical centre and we can see some damage. It was advised to do what I could do in the race and that was it. The team were aware.

“Of course, I wanted to do the full race distance. But it wasn’t possible for that reason.”

The Grand Prix of Hungary takes place on June 5-7.