MotoGP – Finally the engines will roar again, from Sunday 2 February on the Malaysian Sepang track the test drivers and rookies will take to the track for the so-called shakedown, three days of private testing that precedes the official tests.
All the manufacturers' test riders will be on the track. The most awaited is certainly Jorge Lorenzo, who a few days ago announced his return to Yamaha in the role of tester after saying goodbye to competitions in the last GP of 2019 in Valencia. '99 returns to the saddle of a motorcycle made in Iwata after three years, a period in which he rode Ducati and Honda. In addition to the Majorcan on the track there will be: Dani Pedrosa for KTM, Michele Pirro with Ducati, Lorenzo Savadori for Aprilia, Stefan Bradl for Honda and Sylvain Guintoli for Suzuki.
As already mentioned, for the first time in history, rookies will also take part in the shakedown, so on track there will be: Alex Marquez for Honda Repsol, Iker Lecuona and Brad Binder on KTM.
The tests will take place from 3 (Italian time) to 11, but as they are private tests there will be no official chronometric references. A few days later, on February 7th, the official drivers will be on duty, again in Malaysia, for three days of testing; these with “open doors”.
In the meantime, however, various manufacturers will present their 2020 bikes. After Ducati, which unveiled the new GP20 a few days ago, on February 4th it will be the turn of the Honda Repsol team, followed on February 6th by the presentations of Monster Yamaha, Yamaha Petronas and Suzuki. KTM will present the 2020 bike on February 18th, while Aprilia will be the last one, on February 21st.