Alex de Angelis will make a brief MotoGP return with Interwetten Honda.

Italian Alex de Angelis will return to MotoGP for the Interwetten Honda team, deputising for injured Japanese star Hiroshi Aoyama as he recovers from a fractured vertebra.

De Angelis replaces HRC test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi as Aoyama’s substitute, set to debut at the Sachsenring in Germany on July 16-18.

“This is a very good chance for me and I am very happy,” said De Angelis. “It is a great team and I can make a return to MotoGP thanks to this opportunity.

I will compete for four or five races and have enough time to improve the settings and my feeling for the bike, so it is possible to have some good results, even though it will be very difficult.

“I will do my best not to disappoint the team. I like all the tracks that are coming now and had success on each of them and I am looking forward for this new challenge.”

De Angelis had been contesting Moto2 for RSM Team Scot and will return to that team when Aoyama is fit for a comeback, with Australian Andrew Pitt speculated as a possible replacement on the Moto2 squad in de Angelis’ absence.

Pitt, a former dual Supersport World Champion, has been linked to the seat, however it’s also believed that any European rider who can take money to the effort will also be under consideration.