The Permanent Bureau of the Grand Prix Commission decided today that there will be two days of extra testing for next year’s MotoGP Rookies, held in the middle of November at the Estoril circuit in Portugal.
With testing and practice cut short due to financial reasons next year’s Rookies face a bigger challenge than before to adapt to the new class, so a couple of factories and teams fought for some extra test days for their Rookies to give them the best preparation possible for their first season.
After the proposal initially looked to be denied with a lot of opposition coming from various important figures in the paddock, the final decision to grant two additional days of testing came as a surprise for many.
As Suzuki has been one of the factories trying to grant extra testing for their Rookie – Alvaro – he will be certain to be at this test in Estoril, along with Suzuki test rider Nobuatsu Aoki. It remains to be seen if all the Rookies will be showing up though as for example Herve Poncharal – team manager of Tech 3 Yamaha and Rookie Ben Spies – was very much against this proposal and this could mean that Spies will not be able to profit from the extra track time. Although in contrast to most Rookies he’s already out on the bike this weekend in Valencia to get his first experiences with the new bike.
