Now the team will test at Estoril next Monday and Tuesday - September 23-24 - and will be encouraged by the fact that Michelin, the most successful tyre manufacturer in MotoGP, will supply rubber.

Ilmor is now seeking sponsorship to support its full-scale entry into MotoGP next year. "There may be peripheral sponsors in Estoril, but no main sponsor," Miller said. "But our plan is to get out there and prove what we are capable of doing."

He confirmed that McCoy will be on a list of potential riders for 2007 if he performs well in the Portuguese and Valencian races.

Swiss engineer Eskil Suter, who has previously worked with the Foggy Petronas world Superbike and Kawasaki MotoGP teams, has designed the Ilmor's aluminium twin-spar chassis.