Luca Marini will miss Friday afternoon’s MotoGP Practice session at Phillip Island due to illness, leaving Honda's factory team without any riders on track.
The Italian, HRC’s sole rider this weekend, completed just two flying laps in FP1 while struggling with a virus.
His best lap was 6.048s slower than session leader Marc Marquez.
Honda subsequently confirmed that Marini had been advised to sit out the remainder of Friday, with his fitness to be reassessed on Saturday morning.
A Honda statement explained:
‘After completing a limited number of laps in the morning due to a virus, Luca Marini will sit out the remainder of Friday upon the advice of the MotoGP medical team. His condition will be checked again on Saturday morning.’
Marini's team-mate Joan Mir has been sidelined by ongoing health problems since Misano.
Mir has not been replaced for the Australian Grand Prix, with test rider Aleix Espargaro requiring arm pump surgery following a private Sepang test.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.