The winter testing schedule for the 2019 MotoGP season has been reduced to just two pre–season outings, the Grand Prix Commission has announced.
The 2019 calendar is expected to see the schedule extend to 20 races with the addition of the first Finnish Grand Prix since 1982 at the new KymiRing circuit, with Thailand coming onboard next season.
As a result, in a bid to keep in–season testing the same as it is now, one of the three–day pre–season tests which will take place in Malaysia, Thailand and Qatar next year, will be dropped.
Teams will still be restricted to five days of private running with contracted riders, with the addition that no test can take place 14 days at a circuit which is due to host an event. Two of those days must be taken between the final round at Valencia and November 30.
For 2018, the two–day Valencia test after the race will remain, while three one–day post–race tests during the season will take place. Only three days of private testing are allowed consecutively prior to any event.
No testing with contracted riders will be permitted during two–week the summer break in 2018, which will take place from Monday July 16 to Thursday August 2 between the German and Austrian Grand Prix.
The rules on wildcard entrys for 2018 have also been firmed up, with manufacturers not running with concession benefits – Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki – allowed a maximum of three, while the rest can have up to six.
Those wildcards will also have a maximum of three engines available to them during an event, with the technical specifications of it identical to that of the main factory team.
In the Moto2 class, chassis manufacturers who will contest the 2019 season will be allowed a maximum of 10 days of testing with the new Triumph 765cc engine in preparation for the British manufacturer’s debut season as engine supplier in the intermediate class.
A manufacturer may use any rider it chooses, and the number of riders it brings to a test is unrestricted.
The GPC has also made airbag systems in rider leather mandatory for the 2018 season in a bid to further improve safety in the World Championship.
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