"Ben is confident enough in his and Yamaha's potential not to push for an extra test... He will have enough time to be ready for the first race of 2010"Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal has confirmed that Ben Spies will not have a special 'rookie test' and expressed disappointment that the extra track outings were created.
By the end of this week all four 250cc stars stepping up to the MotoGP class in 2010 will have taken part in an additional three-day 'rookie test', not available to the present premier-class field.
Suzuki's new signing Alvaro Bautista and Aspar Ducati's Hector Barbera rode last month during private tests at Estoril and Jerez respectively, while Honda riders Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama are presently on track at Sepang in Malaysia.
But arguably the most high profile 2010 rookie, newly crowned World Superbike champion Spies, will not have the extra track time. Poncharal, also president of Teams' association IRTA, explained why:
“Honestly sometimes I don't understand people,” the Frenchman told Crash.net. “Some people who had, for quite a while, not recognised that there was a growing financial problem [in MotoGP] then suddenly reacted in a kind of panic early this year.
“But we calmed things down and there were a lot of decisions taken to save money for 2009 and 2010.
“We deleted Friday morning practice and stopped all but two post-race tests, we reduced costs with the single tyre and since the Czech Republic we reduced the number of engines. And for 2010 we had three tests of two days instead of three days.
“So we thought 'okay, we are all going in the same direction'. Then we started to hear 'why don't we give the rookies more tests and make the tests three days?'.
“There was a lot of pressure, a lot of lobbying by some people, so the decision was that until the end of 2009 a rookie could be a test rider. But from the 1st of January any contracted MotoGP rider cannot be nominated as a test rider.
“We always try to bend the rules. Is it good or not? For me I think it is not good, but other people think it is. I am a democrat so I follow the majority rule.
more on
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/155504/1/why_ben_spies_wont_have_a_rookie_test.htmlRain Delays First Day Of Final Rookie TestSubmitted by David Emmett on Tue, 2009-12-22 15:06.
Though the bumper crop of rookies due to enter MotoGP next season were given an extra session of testing, the last two to make use of that opportunity got off to a very damp start. Marco Simoncelli and reigning 250cc World Champion Hiroshi Aoyama arrived at Sepang to be greeted by a torrential downpour, delaying the start of the first day of testing until around noon local time.
Simoncelli, riding the two factory-spec RC212Vs used by Toni Elias for the Gresini Honda team, could only manage 44 laps of the Malaysian circuit, with a best time of 2'04.43, some 2 seconds off Casey Stoner's race lap record, and nearly 4 seconds slower than Valentino Rossi's 2009 qualifying record, set without the benefit of soft qualifying tires. Hiroshi Aoyama, in the familiar situation of having just one bike to ride, the former Team Scot Honda ridden by Gabor Talmacsi, was a few hundredths quicker than the man he took the 250cc title from, lapping Sepang with a best time of 2'04.38. Though well off lap record pace, both times are commendable under the circumstances. The track is still in poor shape from a series of car races, the tropical downpour serving only to worsen conditions. With just three bikes out on track - Aoyama, Simoncelli and a Honda test rider - little rubber was being laid down to give the track more grip.
After the day's testing was over, Simoncelli told GPOne.com that his main focus had been on getting used to the bike, not setting a fast lap time. "I'm not interested in the times," Simoncelli said, "but I'm more interested in gaining confidence with the bike, which you have to ride completely differently to a 250." Simoncelli had hopes of improvement for the second day of testing. "We will concentrate on setting up the chassis on the second day," the Italian said. "But as I said, it is more important just to get more experience."
Aoyama and Simoncelli's test at Sepang will be the last of the extra rookie tests, after Alvaro Bautista tested at Estoril and Hector Barbera went to Jerez. But two other riders who are eligible for rookie tests will not be making use of that opportunity. Reigning World Superbike champion Ben Spies and Pramac Ducati's Aleix Espargaro will not have a rookie test. For Espargaro, that is not a problem, as the Spaniard already has 4 races on the Desmosedici. And given Ben Spies' outstanding performance as a wildcard at Valencia, nor is it a real necessity for the Texan.
But in the case of Spies, principles also play a part. The Texan's Tech 3 team boss Herve Poncharal has repeatedly stated his opposition to the rookie tests, the latest example being an interview with Crash.net's Peter McLaren. Poncharal pointed out that the teams and Dorna had taken a huge number of measures to cut costs earlier in the year, including axing most testing. Allowing an extra round of testing ran completely against all the measures taken previously, Poncharal said. The Frenchman also doubted the benefits of the extra testing, pointing out that Tech 3 did not test either after Barcelona or Brno, with little harm. "Colin was still fifth in the riders' championship and we were fourth in the teams' championship," Poncharal told Crash.net.
Source:
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Aoyama+and+Simoncelli+Sepang+Test+first+dayhttp://www.gpone.com/news/News.asp?NNews=6090http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/155504/1/why_ben_spies_wont_have_a_rook...
Ben Spies racing method, a must watch!!!