It's a delicate question. The Yamaha factory riders have naturally handled testing chores on the pneumatic. And no team wants to be handed a half-developed engine that breaks frequently and for which spares are scarce. A
MotoGP rider requires a minimum of four to five complete engines, plus a bank of spares, to compete effectively.
Meanwhile, Toseland will ride the valve-spring job in this three-day session that they call Round Zero. Riders take to the track tomorrow, and on Sunday battle to set fastest lap and win a
BMW Z4 M Roadster. In a way it's harmless fun - they test for three more days before the first round at Qatar in March - but whoever performs well in this 40-minute session leaves a psychological scar on his opponents.
Can Valentino win the car? Yamaha has made huge progress with its YZR-M1 this winter, and Rossi will want to unsettle Ducati and
Casey Stoner by proving that he can again run at race-winning speed.
Let's hope it works out like that, because
Dani Pedrosa's accident in winter testing may blunt the world No. 2's early-season charge on the Repsol Honda. Only Rossi and Yamaha can prevent the series from becoming another red rout, it would seem at this stage.
But racing is full of surprises – no one forecast Stoner's championship performance last year. On Sunday we will start to see the truth.
