Bartholemy is also launching a major test programme, using Jacque's development talents to the full. The Frenchman will run a total of 13 test sessions this year, including several at
Jerez, three at Estoril, and one at the new Indianapolis circuit in the USA.
All this makes even more frustrating the winter leg injury to newcomer Hopkins, the man signed to win races. Hopkins may complete only a part of this weekend's three-day test at Jerez, and his drive to reach the top of the podium will inevitably be delayed until later in the season.
Friday pm - Pneumatics Becomes the New Buzzword
If tyres was the F-word in the paddock last year, this season it's definitely the rush to pneumatic valve-gear which is provoking chatter. But is pneumatic valve gear really necessary in MotoGP?
Some paddock pundits are saying that while this form of valve control might give an extra 1,000rpm at the top end, higher revs increase fuel consumption at a time when everyone's trying to coax a race distance from their 21 litres of fuel.
So let's hear a crew chief's opinion. Pete Benson, who tended
Nicky Hayden's Honda to the championship in 2006, is firmly in favour of pneumatics.
"They give you a lot more scope for making radical cam profiles, which helps with things such as acceleration," he says. "The problem with a spring is getting it to do what you want for a reasonable mileage. There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in spring quality at the moment."
Sadly, for an engineer so firmly pro-pneumatics, Benson won't be using HRC Honda's version of this technology at Jerez this weekend - and possibly for several races into the season. The new engine has proved problematical in testing, so Nicky and Dani Pedrosa will be relying on old technology to start the year.
Friday pm - Freddie and Eddie's Self-Cures
"Remember Freddie and Eddie." That's the advice that Honda HRC media man Iain MacKay has offered to
Dani Pedrosa, who is recovering from arm injuries sustained during the winter.
