Iker Lecuona was supposed to leave Monday for Japan but, instead, he'll be in Spain. As a result of Saturday's accident in Race 1, the Spanish rider fractured his left wrist and, in the next few hours, he'll undergo all necessary tests to verify if surgery is required.
At the moment, there is no official news but, almost certainly, Lecuona won't be participating in the Suzuka 8 Hours scheduled for next weekend. The HRC team now has Zarco and Takahashi among its riders and, consequently, they'll soon decide on a replacement.
This, however, isn't mandatory, because the regulations require a third rider only for 24-hour endurance races. For 8-hour ones, a minimum of two are requested.
For more insight, just think back to 2019, when Kawasaki won the Suzuka 8 Hours with Johnny Rea and Leon Haslam, keeping Toprak Razgatlioglu on the bench for the entire race.
Besides Rea and Haslam's victory, that edition will be remembered for the break up between Toprak and Kawasaki, with the Turkish rider joining the Yamaha project the following year.
So, we'll soon know what Honda will decide: whether it will race only with Takahashi and Zarco or add a third rider, with Teppei Nagoe on the list.