Honda boss to skip Americas MotoGP to continue season on sideline

The Honda MotoGP team manager Alberto Puig is set to skip a third successive grand prix as he will be absent from Austin this weekend.

Puig is recovering from another surgery on his left leg, which had already caused him to miss the first two events of the season in Thailand and Argentina.

The former racer has spent more than three decades dealing with the pain in his left leg, which ultimately forced him to retire from competitive motorcycling in 1997. The problems began with an accident during the 1995 French Grand Prix at Le Mans. 

Since then, only those closest to him are likely aware of the total number of surgeries he has undergone on that leg. The most recent operation took place the week before the Thailand opener at the start of March.

Puig does not like being the centre of attention. He prefers the spotlight to be on the riders and Honda, the company for which he has worked for almost his entire life. First, as a rider – winning a 500cc race in Jerez (1995) and securing five podium finishes – then as a mentor for young talents, and now as the team manager for Honda’s factory outfit.

For the Tokyo-based company, Puig was the central figure in one episode of Behind the Dreams, a series Honda produced two years ago. In that episode, the Spaniard recounts all that he has endured over the past 30 years, and how he has had to live with pain almost permanently.

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Photo by: HRC

“The leg is there, but I have little sensation or movement,” said Puig. “The memories of what happened are terrible – so much pain and so many surgeries over the years. It has been difficult ever since.” 

He has not met with the factory team since the last pre-season test at Buriram, 15 days before the season started.

Despite this, the Catalan remains in constant contact with his team members, who keep him updated on Honda’s progress.

Said progress which is encouraging, as its 2025 form indicates that a recovery may finally be on the horizon.

Puig joins two injured riders – reigning world champion Jorge Martin and his fellow Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira – on the sidelines in Texas. Martin injured himself in pre-season training while Oliveira was involved in a heavy accident in the Argentina Grand Prix sprint race.