Yamaha Testing 1,000cc MotoGP Bike Monday at Brno

Following the Czech GP, Yamaha will debut its new 1,000cc formula MotoGP bike on the Monday. The first public outing of the 2012 Yamaha YZR-M1, Yamaha factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies will get their hands on the new machine, and see how it compares to the current 800cc M1. Also testing their 1,000cc bike on Monday is Honda, which will have factory riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa behind the handlebars of the 2012 Honda RC213V. Not testing the new RC213V is Andrea Dovizioso, who will be out of contract in 2012, and according to paddock gossip will be in one of the satellite Honda teams with factory support.

Perhaps not wanting to have its 2012 machine compared to the likes of Yamaha and Honda, Ducati will be testing its 800cc Desmosedici GP11.1. The word from Ducati Corse is that the team wants to focus on improving the GP11 package, likely desiring to rest concerns about Rossi jumping ship and other rumors in the paddock. With insiders tipping that the 2012 machine is actually slower than the 2011 bike, Italian company may not want to tip its hand that it is significantly behind its Japanese competitors.

If all three 2012 MotoGP bikes tested on Monday, Ducati would be subject to directly comparable scrutiny. To-date, speeds and lap times have had to be interpreted from different testing days, which were subject to a variety of different conditions, making a true analysis impossible. Wanting perhaps to avoid any more negative press regarding its racing season, Ducati may be cleverly sitting this round out.