Australian Broc Parkes will deputise for the unwell Jonas Folger at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix from Phillip Island, the Tech3 team has confirmed.
Folger was forced to pull out of the Motegi race to undergo tests at home in Germany for a suspected case of Epstein Barr virus.
Yamaha test rider Kohta Nozane took Folger‘s place at Motegi, though unfortunately crashed out of the race having fractured his hand a day before in a qualifying tumble.
Parkes contested the 2014 MotoGP season with Paul Bird Motorsport, scoring nine points, and replaced the injured Alex De Angelis at the Ioda team at the 2015 Valencia race.
He has since competed in the Endurance World Championship – alongside Nozane at the Yamaha Austria Racing Team – and has experience in World and British Superbikes.
“Of course, I would like to thank the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team for giving me the amazing opportunity to race at my home grand prix in front of all my supporters, fans and family” said Parkes.
“I am really looking forward to getting on the Yamaha YZR-M1 at Phillip Island and giving it my all.”
It is expected Folger will be absent from the remaining flyaway race at Sepang in Malaysia next weekend.
Parkes could also be Australia’s only representative on the grid at Phillip Island, as Marc VDS Honda’s Jack Miller could be forced to miss his home race after breaking his right leg in a training accident prior to the Motegi race.
However, Miller says his physical condition has improved significantly since undergoing surgery to correct the fracture and is confident of being passed fit to ride at home.
“The leg is pretty good, almost 100 percent, I’d day,” he said in a blog for the Red Bull website.
“I’ve been doing a fair bit of physio to get the swelling out, and the cycling has been good because it’s low impact and working on motion to get the leg working properly again.
“I’ve got to get used to carrying some metal around in me for a while, because there’s a plate and eight screws down the side of my right tibia, and they’ll be there until the next Christmas, not the one coming up – they’ll be in there for a full year, until the end of 2018.
“I asked about getting it all out sooner, or as soon as possible, and they advised me not to. So they’ll do a full season with me next year.
“I’m not sure what I physically have to do when I get to Phillip Island to be formally passed to race next weekend – I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it – but I’ve got no dramas what ever I do.
“I’ve made massive progress over the las week, and I could go out running right now if I needed to.”
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