(Reuters) -MotoGP riders who have been injured and missed races will be able to conduct tests with their bikes to help their preparations to return to action, the sport’s premier class said on Tuesday. Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin was unable to test his bike with his new team Aprilia Racing this year after recovering […]
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Motorcycling-MotoGP riders allowed to test bikes after injury layoffs
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(Reuters) -MotoGP riders who have been injured and missed races will be able to conduct tests with their bikes to help their preparations to return to action, the sport’s premier class said on Tuesday.
Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin was unable to test his bike with his new team Aprilia Racing this year after recovering from a pre-season injury.
“To be given this provision, a rider must have missed three or more consecutive events or have not been able to participate in events for at least 45 consecutive days during the season,” MotoGP said in a statement.
In another rule change, riders leaving or not joining the grid will be handed penalties.
At the Americas MotoGP in March, there was chaos when the sun came out and riders who had opted for wet tyres sprinted back to the pits to swap their bikes, leading to a red flag.
“Effective immediately, in all classes, if a rider leaves the grid for any reason, they must start the warm up lap from the pit lane, take their original grid position, and serve a standard double long lap penalty,” MotoGP said.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)