The Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team has announced that Honda test racer Kousuke Akiyoshi will replace Hiroshi Aoyama for the following two rounds at Assen and Catalunya, whilst the search for a longer term substitute for the injured Japanese competitor continues.

2009 250cc World Champion Aoyama fractured a vertebra (T12) in the warm up session at Silverstone on Sunday, he has been in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for the last 2 nights while being monitored.

Subsequently, the squad has chosen Akiyoshi to race the satellite RC212V at the TIM TT Assen, which occurs from June 24th to 26th, plus the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya from July 2nd to 4th. The Japanese competitor will wear the number 64.

“It really is a pity that Hiro had this nasty crash in Silverstone and that he injured himself so badly, so he will be out for the next couple of months,” says Team Manager Daniel M. Epp. “His learning process was going really well and he was consistently getting better.”

“We hope he will recover quickly and that he will be back with us as strong as he was before the accident, and as soon as possible. In the meantime we are looking for a stable replacement. At the moment we don't have a rider apart from at Assen and Barcelona, and we are looking for a suitable solution.”