Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP

Feature
Formula 1
Hungarian GP
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP

Alonso delivers first verdict on Aston Martin F1 car upgrades

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
Alonso delivers first verdict on Aston Martin F1 car upgrades

F1 Hungarian GP: Hamilton leads Ferrari 1-2 in FP2, Colapinto crashes for Alpine

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
F1 Hungarian GP: Hamilton leads Ferrari 1-2 in FP2, Colapinto crashes for Alpine

Newey: Major Hungarian GP upgrade "just the first part" of new Aston Martin F1 car

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
Newey: Major Hungarian GP upgrade "just the first part" of new Aston Martin F1 car

Why fans don't get true picture of driver performance with 2026 F1 rules - but it is fixable, according to Haas boss

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
Why fans don't get true picture of driver performance with 2026 F1 rules - but it is fixable, according to Haas boss

F1 Hungarian GP: Leclerc tops FP1, Stroll suffers suspected suspension failure with upgraded Aston Martin

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
F1 Hungarian GP: Leclerc tops FP1, Stroll suffers suspected suspension failure with upgraded Aston Martin

LIVE: F1 Hungarian GP updates - Stroll suffers suspension failure as Aston Martin runs massive upgrade package

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
LIVE: F1 Hungarian GP updates - Stroll suffers suspension failure as Aston Martin runs massive upgrade package

LIVE: F1 Hungarian GP updates - Hamilton heads FP2 after Colapinto crash, Stroll sidelined for Aston Martin

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
LIVE: F1 Hungarian GP updates - Hamilton heads FP2 after Colapinto crash, Stroll sidelined for Aston Martin

Sidelined Folger completes first test since 2017 Aragon MotoGP race

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."

Previous article New Ducati signing Petrucci turned down 2020 option in MotoGP deal
Next article MotoGP grid expected to slim down to 22 bikes for 2019 season

Top Comments

Latest news