Thursday, February 27, 2025
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The test and development drivers of the MotoGP manufacturers for the 2025 season

Experienced drivers such as Michele Pirro, Dani Pedrosa and Aleix Espargaro will continue to work on the further development of MotoGP motorcycles in 2025

In the 2025 MotoGP season, the teams are relying on experienced test drivers to further develop their machines and remain competitive. They play a crucial role in the development and optimization of the motorcycles.

Their experience and technical feedback are invaluable to the engineers and teams in remaining competitive in the highly competitive World Championship. Here is an overview of the current test drivers for each team:

Ducati

Michele Pirro: The Italian rider remains Ducati’s main test rider, with a contract running until the end of 2026. Under the manufacturer concession system, which classifies Ducati as a ‘Tier A’ manufacturer, Pirro will be primarily responsible for private and official testing. Wildcards are not allowed for Ducati.

KTM

Dani Pedrosa: The former MotoGP rider remains as a test driver for KTM. Pol Espargaro is also available as a test driver. However, it is still unclear to what extent they will be used as such this season in view of the recent financial crisis at KTM.

In 2024, Jonas Folger also worked as a test driver for KTM, but his contract for 2025 has not yet been extended. In theory, as a “C-list manufacturer”, KTM has the option of entering a total of six wildcards during the season.

Aprilia

Lorenzo Savadori: The Italian remains Aprilia’s test rider. He has just recently signed a new two-year contract. Savadori was also used as a replacement rider for Miguel Oliveira in the past when he was still riding for Aprilia, and will again make several wildcard appearances in 2025.

Yamaha

Augusto Fernandez: The Spanish rider will feature as a test driver for Yamaha in 2025. He will also serve as a wildcard driver and as a replacement driver in the event of retirements by the regular Yamaha or Pramac drivers.

Cal Crutchlow: Although he was unable to race in wildcard events in 2024 due to injury, Crutchlow will continue in his role as a test driver for Yamaha. However, he will no longer take part in MotoGP races, as Fernandez will take over. Andrea Dovizioso will also occasionally stand in and take over test drives for Yamaha.

Honda

Takaaki Nakagami: The former LCR rider will join Honda as a test driver in 2025. Together with him, Aleix Espargaro, who moved from Aprilia to Honda after retiring as an active MotoGP rider, will push ahead with the development of the recently struggling Honda RC213V as test drivers.

Stefan Bradl: The long-standing test driver will remain with Honda and work with Nakagami and Espargaró. He will no longer be competing in wildcard races.

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