Folger's season didn't exactly end as he would have hoped. The Tech3 rider had to miss the last four races (and the first two winter tests) due to Epstein Barr virus. A troubling illness that drains one's strength and comes with no set recovery time.
“When a rider breaks a bone, you know exactly what kind of recovery time you're looking at but in this case it's more complicated ” reflects team manager Hervé Poncharal, speaking about Jonas' condition.
“We're in constant contact with his staff, who tell us that he's recovery well and that in a few days' time, by Christmas, he should be fully fit” he continues.
So Folger will be able to ride his Yamaha at the Sepang tests at the end of January.
“He will be there - assures Poncharal - but we'll only have a clear idea as to his physical condition after that first day of testing. He's had a long break, we'll see what his speed and resistance is like in Malaysia”.
The team manager shoots down talk of any replacement.
“Jonas will be our rider in 2018 - he confirms - I think he has great potential to express in MotoGP. What he did in Germany, reaching the podium and giving Marquez a hard time at a track as tough as the Sachsenring, was no fluke”.