Aoyama to replace injured Miller at Motegi

Miller broke his leg in a training accident in Andorra last Friday, and is forced to sit out the Japanese Grand Prix.

His Marc VDS team, a Honda satellite squad, will replace him with 35-year-old Aoyama.

The 2009 250cc champion made his debut in MotoGP in 2010 and enjoyed his best season a year later, when he took 10th with Gresini Honda.

Aoyama then moved to Honda's World Superbike team, but return to MotoGP for a season with Avintia and Aspar in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

He has been Honda's test rider since then, having entered six races.

Aoyama commented: "Firstly I want to wish Jack a speedy recovery and I hope he will be fit to race in his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

"It’s never nice to replace an injured rider but I hope that I can do a good job for both Jack and the team in Motegi.

"I also want to thank Michael Bartholemy [team boss] and Marc VDS for giving me the opportunity to race once again in front of the Japanese fans.

"I have not raced yet this season, so it will take some time to get back the feeling.

"The fact that I already know a lot of the crew, having worked with them in the past, will help a lot, as will having a rider with Tito’s experience on the other side of the box. I am looking forward to the weekend ahead!"