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It’s been a while since MotoGP has had the chance to take to the track for a two-day test; in fact, such an event hasn’t happened since all the way back before the first round of the season in Qatar, six months and an awful lot of changes ago. That’s fixed on Tuesday, though, when the only mid-season test outing of the year kicks off at Misano, and there’s plenty to look out for.
Old riders on new bikes, new riders on old bikes and plenty of chopping and changing of riders, bikes, and part mean that there’s lots to work on. With that in mind, we’re highlighting what are potentially the six most important details to keep an eye on when the action gets underway.
Whatever Honda can do to fix its crisis
Perhaps the most pertinent question given the state of play at HRC is whether there’s going to be anything radical that arrives at Misano for Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro to try.
Sure, we know that Marquez absolutely isn’t the rider he was a few years ago, after that Jerez injury and three surgeries – but the state of play at Honda right now implies that there are much deeper problems.
Espargaro in particular is a constant complainer of zero rear grip from the bike, and we might discover this weekend if that’s something that Honda is going to try and do something about. Most likely an issue that needs a radical rethink of the chassis to address, it’s really a question of whether Marquez agrees with his team-mate or not.
If he does (or even if he’s ambivalent about it) then we might see something new. If he’s happy with the way the bike is, then it’ll be more work to address Marquez’s front end feeling – a strategy that might make him faster but is unlikely to do much for everyone else on an RC213V.
Suzuki’s fabled 2022 bike might finally break cover
It’s now an open secret that reigning world champion Joan Mir is unhappy with the pace of upgrades at Suzuki.
But it’s also something of a whispered rumour that while this year’s development work hasn’t exactly been as fast as Mir, there’s something in the pipeline for next year that might mean a significant step forward.
Already in the hands of test rider Sylvain Guintoli and briefly trialled by its racers in Barcelona at a one-day post-race test back in June, if there’s a more refined version of the new package to play with it could be a very welcome relief indeed for Mir and team-mate Alex Rins.
With Mir admitting on Sunday that his title defence aspirations are done and with the Spaniard giving off the vibe of looking elsewhere for his future, it couldn’t come at a better time for the Japanese manufacturer, either.
KTM hunting for pace after a disastrous weekend
While many manufacturers will be looking towards their 2022 machines in Misano, it might well be that Austrian manufacturer KTM is much more focused on the here and now, as it tries to find a way out of what was, quite frankly, a disastrous weekend for it at the San Marino Grand Prix.
KTM bikes were podium contenders here 12 months ago and with another race still to go at the Italian circuit next month, it’s all well and good looking at next season – but if you can’t fix your current problems, that presents a real danger of getting too far ahead of yourself.
Catalan Grand Prix race winner Miguel Oliveira needs attention in particular, enduring a rather horrendous slump ever since the summer break. It could be that track time, track time and more track time will help him get back on course – and boy, does he ever need it.
Will Yamaha bring anything at all?
While everyone else is racing ahead to get their 2022 machines developed and ready, it seems like MotoGP’s COVID pandemic development freeze will continue longer for Yamaha than for any other manufacturer, as it continues to underutilise big-name test rider signing Cal Crutchlow, who will sit out the Misano outing in favour of heading to Motorland Aragon later in the month.
But with the Brit not set to join the rest of the field, that potentially hints that the chances of seeing a new machine appearing are equally slim.
It’s known that Iwata hasn’t been able to run the testing programme with Crutchlow both in Europe and in Japan that it had planned, but we’ll find out on Tuesday how much of an impact that’s going to have on its 2022 race team.
Three returning riders have more time to learn
There are three riders on the grid for whom the test simply couldn’t have come at a better time. Aprilia new signing Maverick Vinales, his factory Yamaha replacement Franco Morbidelli and the recently unretired Andrea Dovizioso (signed to Petronas Yamaha in Morbidelli’s place) all need experience on their respective bikes – and the trio should well be the highest-mileage riders of the test.
Vinales in particular could have a real advantage from the outing as he gears up not for the next race in Austin but for the round after that back at Misano, which will mark his fifth outing for Aprilia – with three of them coming at the Adriatic Coast venue.
If he’s got any chance at all of shining in his debut half-season with the Noale marque, it’s there, and that could well be what he’s working towards this week.
However, while all three need laps, the chances of Morbidelli completing a full testing program might be slim. Admitting after Sunday’s race that it was only a mix of adrenaline and painkillers that got him through it after experiencing a particularly gruelling warm-up session, he might have to temper his testing ambitions with the physical realities of his still-recovering knee.
Two ace rookies debut for KTM
With two new riders coming onboard at Tech3 KTM for 2022 and the two current pilots getting the boot, it makes complete sense that the Austrian firm will trial its rookies at the test, with both Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner getting the chance to ride on the second afternoon of action.
Both are unlikely to set the world alight in their brief outings – set to be given just two sets of tyres each. But it gives them a tiny edge over the likes of fellow rookie Fabio di Gianantonio, even if it’s only by ensuring that carbon brakes and double the horsepower of a Moto2 machine aren’t a complete surprise when it comes to real testing at the end of the season.
