At the last German GP in Sachsenring, Valentino Rossi somewhat criticized Yamaha Racing for not having a European test team like other manufacturers do. Rossi said at the German GP that “it’s a pity we only have Nakasuga in Japan, he is 37-years old and never races in Europe”, complained the 9-time world champion.
Well, Yamaha Racing is at the point to accept Rossi’s complaints, and it seems that they will create a European test team, much in the same way other rivals like Ducati and KTM have.
Yamaha is now 19 consecutive races without knowing what it’s like to win a MotoGP race, and they intend to turn this statistic around by having more experienced riders testing the parts that the factory riders need in order to win.
According to rumors, Jonas Folger, who just recently returned to the track to test the new Triumph Moto2 engine bike, is in the pipeline to sign a deal with Yamaha to become their newest test rider, and there’s also the chance that British rider Bradley Smith, who is yet to find a bike to race in MotoGP next season, is also thinking to accept the offer from Yamaha.
At the moment, Ducati with Michele Pirro and KTM Racing with Mika Kalio, are the manufacturers that take more advantage in having fast test riders, putting them in races all over the season to test new parts, and with good results we might add.
Honda also understands how important testing is to give their factory riders the best MotoGP prototype possible and have contracted Stefan Bradl to the role of test rider. Another manufacturer that seems to be taking testing more seriously next season is Aprilia. The Noale based team have offered Scott Redding a test rider role, something that the Brit was reluctant to accept, but with the possibility to do some races as a “wild-card”, Redding is more inclined to accept Aprilia’s offer.
Now it’s just a matter of time until we officially know if Yamaha Racing accepts Valentino Rossi request.