The Columbian Yonny Hernandez will replace Jonas Folger at Monster Yamaha Tech3 for the first MotoGP pre-season test at the Sepang International Circuit, kicking off this week. Following the announcement that Folger has to sit out the entire 2018 campaign due to his continuous recovery, the 29-year old Hernandez takes over his Yamaha YZR-M1 for the three days of testing at the Malaysian venue, bringing five years of MotoGP experience. The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team intends to reveal a permanent replacement ahead of the second test in Thailand, mid-February.