Elias gets surprise MotoGP call-up

Abraham has been sidelined since sustaining a toe injury in practice at Barcelona in June.

Honda test rider Hiroshi Aoyama replaced him for the last round at the Sachsenring, with the team having sat out Assen after a plan to run World Superbike frontrunner Michael van der Mark fell through.

Elias will now take over the ride for next weekend's event in America.

The 32-year-old Spaniard last raced in MotoGP in 2012, when he contested three rounds as a stand-in rider with Pramac Ducati.

He is best known for famously winning the 2006 Portugese GP, denying Valentino Rossi by just 0.002 seconds on his Gresini Honda.

That proved to be the highlight of Elias's MotoGP career, and he stepped down to Moto2 for 2010 to win the championship's inaugural title.

Although that earned him another MotoGP chance with LCR Honda, it proved unsuccessful - as did a subsequent Moto2 return.

Elias spent 2013 and '14 in World Superbikes, and his only start so far this season came in last weekend's Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.