The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli will host this coming Tuesday and Wednesday two days of private MotoGP testing, with the presence of the test teams of Aprilia, KTM, Yamaha, Honda and Ducati.
For this test, all manufacturers have Michelin and Pirelli tyres at their disposal, in order to continue developing the current 1000cc model and, if that is the case, continue advancing the 2027 prototype, with an 850cc engine and which will use tyres from the Italian manufacturer.
The weather forecast for these two days in Misano is sunshine and maximum temperatures close to 30 degrees ambient temperature, ideal conditions to work with the MotoGP bikes, especially after the last official test, held last Monday in Barcelona, was drastically cut short by the rain that fell over Montmeló.
Precisely the presence of Pirelli, which will not become the sole tyre supplier of MotoGP until the end of the year, when the current agreement with Michelin concludes, prevents the teams from being able to provide detailed information about their programmes. However, as Motorsport.com has learned, it was Ducati that rented the Misano track, inviting the rest of the manufacturers who, as usual, will pay the proportional part of the use of the circuit.
The riders who are going to be in Misano these two days are Michele Pirro (Ducati), Dani Pedrosa (KTM), Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia), Augusto Fernández and Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha) and the Japanese Takkaki Nakagami, who will continue with the development of the two Honda bikes, the 2026 and the 2027, due to the injury of Aleix Espargaró. The one who could also be in Misano is Pol Espargaró, KTM test rider, if the recovery of his injured left arm has been completed.
Ducati will focus on the development of this year’s Desmosedici GP26, with Pirro at the handlebars. The rest of the teams, if conditions are good and the work with the 1000cc bike is completed, could dedicate part of the two test days to working on the 2027 prototype, or at least on its tyres.
Nakagami could be in Mugello
Takaaki Nakagami, Honda HRC
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
One of the options is that, after the test, the Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami travels to Mugello, barely 220 kilometres away, to take part in the Italian MotoGP GP.
HRC’s test and development team does not plan to make a wild card appearance in Italy, so the only reason that could take Nakagami to Mugello is to replace the injured Johann Zarco in his former team, LCR-Honda.
The Monegasque squad directed by Lucio Cecchinello issued a statement this Monday taking some time before making its intentions known: “While Johann Zarco awaits surgery, the Castrol Honda LCR team continues searching for his replacement for the upcoming races. We will soon share more information, once everything is finalised and secured,” the note states.
FIM regulations oblige any team to field a substitute rider for an injured one if, between the day of the injury and the following race, 10 or more days pass, as is the case.
However, neither Gresini Racing, which has Alex Márquez injured, nor LCR, have expressed themselves in that regard, beyond the aforementioned note from Cecchinello’s team.
In the provisional entry list, next to Alex, it says that he “will not be replaced”, while next to the Frenchman, it reads ‘TCB’, which means “to be confirmed”.
The coincidence, this coming weekend, of the Italian GP with the SBK event at Motorland Aragón prevents the MotoGP structures from being able to look for a replacement in the production bike championship.
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