HRC test rider Stefan Bradl has been called into Repsol Honda as Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement for round nine of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship at the Sachsenring in Germany this weekend.

Lorenzo crashed heavily during the opening practice session at Assen last weekend, resulting a fractured T6 and T8 vertebrae while forcing him out a minimum of two grand prix.

“I’m very excited to join the Repsol Honda team in Germany,” said Bradl. “It’s a special race for me as my home race, obviously I am very sorry for Lorenzo and I wish him the fastest recovery possible and to come back strong.

“I am glad to be able to help the team and HRC, let’s see what this weekend brings. We have been working well with Honda and I am grateful to them for this opportunity.”

Bradl will join reigning champion and points leader Marc Marquez for his second appearance of 2019 after finishing P10 in Jerez, with the German having two top-five finishes to his name at the Sachsenring while riding a Honda in 2012 and 2013.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Johann Zarco surprisingly withdrew from the Dutch grand prix last weekend just 10 laps into the encounter, the Frenchman ultimately succumbing to severe arm-pump.

Zarco anticipated the Assen circuit to be demanding on his forearms, and despite his best efforts to manage it, he experienced a loss of feeling with the bike, prompting him to pull in for his own safety.

“It is a hard track for all the riders I think and I got this problem, which I was able to control the last two years and this year not,” Zarco explained. “The good thing was the first 10 laps and to be able to catch the others with pace and be able to overtake as a racer.

“We are working a lot and changing the bike a lot to give me this feeling or possibilities to improve. After 10 laps I did a few mistakes. I had the feeling I was not holding the bike any more and before something bad happened I had to stop.”

In what has been a challenging year, Zarco is positioned 17th in the championship rankings with 16 points to his name as the MotoGP series heads to the Sachsenring in Germany.

Australian fan-favourite Jack Miller has expressed frustration following a difficult outing at the Dutch GP, explaining the Michelin tyre offering has limited his performance over the last two rounds.

The Pramac Racing ace piloted his Ducati Desmosedici GP19 to P9 after starting from the fourth row, where he was unable to utilise Michelin’s soft option on the rear, and instead, was forced to be equipped with the hard offering and settle into a ‘steady’ race pace.

“10 seconds between Petrucci and myself is not good enough – I’m not happy with that,” Miller told Crash.net. “But I didn’t feel comfortable. We needed some points today – I managed to do that – I never lost a position over the race so I’ll take it.

“I’m not happy at all. I made my thoughts clear to the guys in blue and to other people, just to see what’s actually going on here because it’s two races in a row that we can’t use the soft at all – no way.

“Three laps and the thing’s done – well, the tyre life’s there and the weight’s there. In theory you can make the race distance. But your race pace is going to be all over the place. So it’s go with the stable, steady hard option.”

“You’re going that slow into the corner that when you come out in third gear it’s almost too long. It doesn’t want to pull it. You’re already feeling it coming around on you. You feel it and think, ‘That’s me – that’s all I got.’ So it’s frustration for the whole race. You’re riding to a number, to a lap-time. That’s all you can do.”

The Queenslander is currently ranked eighth in the championship standings as the series heads to the Sachsenring in Germany this weekend.