Hiroshi Aoyama will present the new Honda RC213V-RS Open Class bike at the MotoGP season finale in Valencia this weekend and will become the official HRC test rider in 2015.
The former 250cc world champion is currently fighting for the Top Open Honda award on the Drive M7 Aspar team, but will lose his seat to Eugene Laverty next season.
“We are very excited to confirm Hiro as test driver for next year,” said Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC Executive Vice President. “He did a very good job this year and especially in these last races.
“This is an important project for HRC and we believe it will be a valuable addition to the development of HRC machines in the future. We have had a long relationship with Hiro and look forward to continuing this in the future.”
Aoyama, the only Japanese rider on the grid, has the honor of debuting the RC213V-RS pneumatic valve in his final race for the Aspar team.
The new bike is powered by this year’s factory-class RC213V (pneumatic valve) motor in the factory-class. The RS replaces the underpowered RCV1000R, which was built by Honda in the expectation that open-class motorcycles would have to be offered for sale rather than leased.
Like rival Forward Yamaha, the RC213V-RS does not have a seamless manual transmission. As with all open bikes, the standard ECU software must be run, but there is additional racing fuel, a softer rear tire, more engine changes, and more testing options available.
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Karel Abraham (Cardion AB) and Nicky Hayden (Aspar) will share one of the new RS motorcycles at the Valencia test after the race next week, which means the other 2015 Open Honda riders – rookies Laverty and Jack Miller ( LCR) – this RCV1000R will be used for their debuts.
Aoyama is 13th in the world championship with a best race finish of eight. He starts eight points behind top Open Honda rider Scott Redding this weekend – the new bike that will help Aoyama’s chances overcome the young Brit’s advantage.
The new role of 33-year-old Aoyama is expected to include some wildcard appearances over the next season. The only full-time MotoGP spots for 2015 have yet to be officially filled with Aprilia (presumably Marco Melandri) and Ioda (not yet announced (race plans).