"This is something that riders who are against Valentino have had to learn to deal with. It's completely unfair, but it's something that's happened to me in the past when I've crashed. I've had people pushing my bike off the track - even when it's perfect and I can still race. I've had to fight with marshals to get them to try and get me started again."

"For sure he's sorry, he's in front of the cameras. I don't blame Valentino for this, it's not his fault - it's probably the shoulder or something, struggling with the braking point. I think they haven't got the best solution for that bike yet. He's struggling with this and wasn't able to run the times of the front guys. We'll see in his next races.

I heard him coming, I gave him plenty of space, but it still wasn't enough. Maybe next time I need to put the brakes on more and let him go."

Ducati has completed an initial “shakedown” test of its 1000cc GP12 at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. The Italian marque’s longtime MotoGP test rider Vittoriano Guareschi led the Thursday festivities, along with Franco Battaini. Claiming positive results from the first track run, the testing duo will step aside tomorrow for Valentino Rossi.


Valentino Rossi will contribute his feedback of the new 1000cc GP12 after his first impression this Friday at Jerez.
Rossi scored a fifth-place result at the recent Jerez GP, where he generated much controversy having crashed out rival Casey Stoner on Lap 8 of the 27-lap affair. Teammate Nicky Hayden, will get his crack at the GP12 on Saturday after returning to Spain following a promotional gig in Germany. The Kentucky Kid stormed to his second-ever podium for Ducati at Jerez, finishing third in a race notable for its wet conditions and numerous crashes.

MCUSA’s MotoGP Insider first reported the impending 1000cc testing plans in our Jerez GP Insider column (MotoGP 1000cc Track Testing Approaches). Ducati is the first to make a track testing debut with the upcoming return to 1000cc bikes in 2012. Honda’s testing plans for the replacement of its RC212V were dashed by the Tohoku Quake. Yamaha is expected to get its 2012 bike on the testing track sometime in July.

Rossi & Hayden testing GP12 while at the same time, Vito and Battaini test the GP11. A mistake would be so easy to make ...

That rossi guy i was talking bout looks pretty good out there. He might have future at this stuff

Disappointing! RT @michaelmorel: Checking early footage of the GP12. As one could imagine, the action footage audio track was removed...

Riding of a MotoGP bike outside of a grand prix weekend by race riders is heavily restricted, so why are Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden able to test an early version of next year's Ducati GP12 at Jerez today (Friday) and tomorrow?

The answer is that the MotoGP testing restrictions - which allow two tests, after Estoril and Brno, during the season - only apply to "contracted riders with machines eligible for the MotoGP class."

The key word being 'eligible'.

That means if a MotoGP rider is on track with a bike they wouldn't be allowed to use during a race weekend, then they are not subject to the testing restrictions.

Clearly there is massive potential for this rule to abused.

Simply changing a minor part could make a bike 'ineligible for the MotoGP class' and allow unlimited testing by the race riders (non-race riders have less restrictions).

The FIM and MotoGP teams know this, of course, and a kind of gentleman's agreement keeps the MotoGP testing restrictions in place.

An example of this was when Rossi used a Superbike to test his race fitness after injuries. Yamaha (last year) and Ducati (this year) could have put him on a lightly-modified MotoGP bike had they wanted to dodge the rules.

However, the news that Rossi and Hayden are to ride an early version of next year's (1000cc) MotoGP Ducati is a new development.

It meets the letter of the law, since the 2012 bike is clearly not eligible for the present (800cc) MotoGP class - and may not, in its current state, be eligible for the 2012 class either.

But if testing such a 'future' bike is fine, can all manufacturers (or CRT teams from next year) use that excuse from now on?

Could they argue that 2011 has shown in-season testing restrictions only apply to current bikes and that it is within the rules for race riders to test with an 'ineligible' version of the following year's bike?

And what if Rossi and Hayden were to use the Jerez GP12 test to also try some parts that could be used on this year's bike?

Even if FIM officials monitored the test, where would they draw the line between information useful for 2011 and information only for 2012?

The reality is that Ducati has probably got the go-ahead from the other manufacturers for the Rossi/Hayden 1000cc test, and the MSMA (manufacturers' association) may even have already agreed to a certain number of such extra track days to develop next year's bikes.

That would be a sensible solution, since all the factories will need input from their race riders for the new breed of MotoGP machines, but it does seem to circumvent the (perhaps deliberately vague) FIM regulations.

For comparison, the FIA's Formula One testing regulations are more precise, applying to "...any track running time undertaken by a competitor entered in the Championship..."

A multi-team 1000cc MotoGP test is expected to be held after the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.