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Sidelined MotoGP rider Jonas Folger has made his first outing on grand prix machinery since he stopped racing last year in a test with the Kalex Moto2 team.
Folger’s rookie season in the premier class in 2017 included a second-place finish in Germany at the Sachsenring, but was cut short when the 24-year-old was diagnosed with Gilbert’s Syndrome.
He missed the final four races of the year and made a last-minute decision to sit out the entirety of the 2018 campaign, with Moto2 rider Hafizh Syahrin replacing him alongside Johann Zarco at the Tech3 Yamaha squad.
Although team boss Herve Poncharal initially expressed a desire to bring back Folger for 2019 if he was fit enough and willing to return, Tech3 ended up signing Miguel Oliveira and retaining Syahrin for its first season as a KTM satellite team.
In his first outing on a grand prix bike since last year’s Aragon round in late September, Folger completed more than 50 laps on a Honda powered-Kalex chassis at the same track on Wednesday before sampling the Moto2 chassis with the 2019 Triumph engine on Thursday.
Jesko Raffin and Alex Marquez also took part in the test, riding on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Kalex co-founder Alex Baumgartel told Autosport: “Jonas and I wanted to see if he enjoys motorcycling again.
“[On Wednesday] we gave him a few laps on our private Kalex Honda to roll in.
“Today he’s doing test work for us, and I’d say he’s got a smile on his face and he’s having fun.”
Baumgartel stressed that any potential Moto2 ride for Folger had not yet been discussed.
“After the second day we will sit down together and ask how he feels,” he added. “I haven’t talked about his goals yet.
“He should let it sink in and then we’ll see how it develops.”