The early return of Brian Bogers at Honda HRC has prompted a premature departure for Australian Todd Waters from the 2018 MXGP World Championship.

Waters was initially slated to complete the remainder of the series after entering at the halfway point, as Bogers’ recovery from an on-going foot injury was anticipated to see him sidelined for at least the entirety of the season.

Bogers will make his debut in the premier class next weekend at the penultimate round of the series for his home round in The Netherlands, which will also mark his first world championship appearance with the factory Honda outfit.

“We have been following Brian’s incredible recovery and gave him all the support he needed, but nothing beats the happiness of having him onboard with us,” said Honda HRC team manager Marcus Pereira de Freitas. “I’m sure he cannot wait to get on track, although we are well aware that it takes quite some time to get into full racing form – and there are only two rounds left in the season.

“The goal will be to make sure he gets accustomed to the new category and that he can get a feel for the bike before the end of the year, so that we can focus on winter testing and be ready for next season. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Todd Waters.

“We really had a great time together and he did his best in what was not an easy task to step in mid-season after being away from MXGP for so long. We wish him all the best for the future.”

It was a troubling return to grand prix racing for Queensland’s Waters, who suffered a broken collarbone in his first outing, which came as a major setback in his race to get back up to speed. His best finish came at the MXGP of Asia, where he wound up 13th overall. It’s not yet clear what Waters’ racing future holds at this stage.