Moto2

The Estoril MotoGP round saw the long-awaited announcement of the list of teams whose entries for Moto2 have been accepted. Among the expected candidates was a name which raised one or two eyebrows in the press room: The Hayate team, formerly the factory Kawasaki team, had been granted not one but two entries for the Moto2 class next season.

In the pursuit of radical cost-cutting measures, testing has been one of the main targets of all parties involved in the MotoGP series. Post-race testing has already been cut back to what many perceive to be the bare minimum, with one-day tests after the Barcelona and Brno MotoGP rounds, but the cuts to winter testing have been nothing short of radical. Instead of six or seven multi-day tests, as was the case in 2007 and 2008, winter tests have been cut back to just three true winter tests, plus testing after the final race of the season at Valencia.

The testing season kicks off on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Valencia - traditionally the time at which riders switching teams get their first shot at their new bikes. There will then be a three-month layoff during which no testing will be done at all, before the teams head out to Malaysia for a couple of two-day sessions, starting on the 4th and 21st of February. Three weeks later, the teams return to Qatar for another two-day test from March 14th, in preparation for the season opener four weeks later.

The new test schedule sees a break with tradition and the end of a pre-season aperitif: Apart from the traditional post-race tests at Valencia, no testing will be done in Europe during the off-season. What this also means is an end to the official IRTA tests in Spain, which had turned into something of a crowd pleaser over the past few years, with upwards of 35,000 fans turning up to watch the single one-hour qualifying session shootout for a BMW M coupe, referred to by the fans as "Grand Prix Zero". As yet, it is unclear whether the shootout for the BMW will take place at the final test at Qatar or not, but all the signs are that this, too, has been consigned to history.

Since being called up to take the place of Mika Kallio at Pramac Ducati, Aleix Espargaro has made a big impression. So good an impression has the Spanish former 250 rider made that Pramac are looking to keep the Spaniard, even though Kallio will be returning to the satellite Ducati squad now that Casey Stoner will - presumably - be returning to action at Estoril.

As predicted last week, Pramac have now made Espargaro an offer to ride for the squad at Estoril, in place of the disappointing Italian Niccolo Canepa. However, Canepa will not go quietly. According to GPOne.com, Canepa's manager Carlo Pernat met with team principal Paolo Campinoti to discuss the situation today, where Campinoti announced their intention of going with Espargaro at Estoril, an announcement that Pernat met with displeasure. Canepa and Pernat will be holding Pramac to the contract they have for the rest of the year, though that only means that Canepa can be sure of being paid, as the Pramac squad can decide to pay him and let him sit out. If Espargaro continues the strong form he showed at Indianapolis and Misano, the Spaniard could finish out the rest of the season in Canepa's place.

The two men could continue their dispute over seats at Pramac into next year. According to the Spanish news site Motocuatro.com, Canepa is trying to negotiate a Moto2 ride with the Pramac team for next year, but Espargaro could be in the frame for this seat as well. Until the official list of teams and riders is announced at Estoril, and we find out whether Pramac will be fielding one or two bikes in Moto2, speculation over who will get the ride will continue. So far, though, it is Espargaro who is holding the strongest cards. 

The arrival of the Moto2 class to replace the much lamented 250cc bikes has generated a great deal of excitement, both inside and outside the MotoGP paddock, and as the official announcement of the full list of entrants in Moto2 at the Estoril Grand Prix draws nears, that excitement is reaching a crescendo. Many projects have already been announced (which we will cover in a separate story later), and many names have been linked to the series, but little concrete has been announced.