This year we will see a brand new class of Moto GP bikes on the track, with the new regulations having defined as maximum capacity the 1000 κ.εκ.
As the manufacturers have started from last year the evolution of motorcycles, the tests before the start of the league will be quite crucial for them, so they can put the finishing touches on it 2012. Teams and riders will need to make the most of the three days available to them, starting with this on 31 January, with 2 February, in Sepang. The main factory teams have retained their rider line-up, with Casey Stoner defending his world title alongside his Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, the Yamaha Factory team once again represented by Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies and Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden working hard with the Ducati team to promote the Italian colors to the Moto GP pioneers.
In the off-season we also had some big jumps, including those of Andrea Dovizioso who will make his Yamaha debut with the Tech3 team alongside Cal Crutchlow, and Alvaro Bautista who will help Honda Gresini in this year's effort. Hector Barbera will be the lone rider of the Pramac Racing Team this year, while Karel Abraham will continue his career with the Cardion AB Racing Team. Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet "ranked" in the Forward Racing and Aspar camps respectively, where they will ride the CRT spec bikes. Along with CRT's new entries, the Moto GP grid will consist of 21 riders, giving newcomers Danilo Petrucci, Ivan Silva, Michele Pirro and Yonny Hernandez a chance to shine in the big division. Under these conditions (CRT) Antony West will also return to Moto GP, Aleix Espargaro as James Ellison. It is also worth noting the participation of last year's world champion in Moto2, Stefan Bradl, who will ride for LCR Honda.
Over the next two months we will also have riders from the lower classes at the Valencia and Jerez circuits testing the Moto2 and Moto3 bikes. The Moto2 class promises to be, so fun and unpredictable, like never before, with favorite riders like Marc Marquez, Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding face their champion 125, Nico Terol and the second ranked Johann Zarco. Along with all of them, the first Moto2 champion (2010), Tony Elias, will be back to pay off, after his completely failed year in Moto GP last year.
The upcoming tests will be particularly important for the participants of the Moto3 category, as their new four-stroke motorcycles 250 Mr. from. they replace the old 125 two-strokes… Maverick Vinales, Sandro Cortese and Hector Faubel look set to thrive on the brand new machines.
Dates of official tests:
– Sepang 1 MotoGP, 31/01-02/02
– Valencia Moto2/Moto3, 08/02-10/02
– Jerez 1 Moto2/Moto3, 16/02-18/02
– Sepang 2 MotoGP, 28/02-01/03
– Jerez 2 Moto2/Moto3, 19/03-21/03
– Jerez 1 MotoGP, 23/03-25/03
THE Checha is testing her Desmo of Rossi
A few days ago, the Ducati test team, managed by the technical director, Filippo Preziosi, completed a three-day test at the Spanish circuit of Jerez, with Carlos Checa and Franco Battaini. The two riders completed a leg in the GP12, which will later be ridden by the team's official riders, Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. During these three days, in which the weather conditions were cold, but fortunately dry, the program went off without a hitch and all the necessary investigations were done to start the winter testing in Malaysia. Very little information has been leaked to the press, with Carlos Checa simply declaring (on Twitter) that everything went very well and that he is completely satisfied.
Karel Abraham: The new GP12 is powerful and fast
After the tests done by Checa – Battaini in Jerez, Ducati Corse may not be saying much about the new Ducati Desmosedici GP12, but this did not stop Karel Abraham from "witnessing" a few details about the new Italian ati. The Czech rider will ride a stronger and faster bike this year in the Moto GP class. The new Ducati GP12 is powered by a four-stroke, four-cylinder engine, 1000 Mr. cm., has 250 horsepower, while its maximum speed is 360 km/h! This year's model has an aluminum deltabox frame that replaces last year's carbon fiber frame. Cardion AB Motoracing's personnel manager, Marco Grana, having recently returned from the Bologna factory, he explained: “At first glance the bike may look similar to last year's model, but under the fairing is a cluster of significant changes.”
