The next season will be decisive for Yamaha’s progress in MotoGP. Under the new concessions system, it is in the tier that has access to more bike development benefits, including six wildcards.
However, for now, they only plan to use half of what they are entitled to, as clarified by team manager Massimo Meregalli to GPOne.com: ‘At the moment we plan to do three. They are useful because [Cal] Crutchlow will be able to continue other work, as happened in Motegi. We can split the commitments, which we were not able to do this year‘.
Primarily intended for test riders to test in a competitive scenario, wildcards are commonly used on key tracks for the development of motorcycles, or in the home rounds of manufacturers as is often the case with Ducati in the Italian GP. A wildcard, besides being a limited opportunity, is also an extra expense, so these benefits must be used with caution and consideration.
