Jerez MotoGP: Practice to revert to one-hour format

Track time for MotoGP practice will revert back to a one-hour format from the next race in Le Mans, France.

Opening practice sessions for the 125 and 250 classes on Friday afternoon will also be run over one hour after time schedule revisions were approved by the Grand Prix Commission today in Jerez.

For 2009, practice time was slashed from one hour to 45 minutes and Friday morning practice axed completely to cut down on expensive engine mileage in the global economic crisis.

The time reduction was under review after several teams and riders expressed concern that the 45-minute session left little time to make crucial set-up changes.

The solution was to extend practice back to one hour but introduce a limit on the number of laps completed to help keep engine mileage down.

But that plan was ditched after a meeting of the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association ahead of last weekend Japanese GP at the Twin Ring Motegi.

A big fan of the increase is struggling factory Ducati rider Nicky Hayden.

The American has endured a tough switch to Ducati’s GP9 machine and he said: “That’s the best news I’ve had all day. It will help me more than other guys because I need seat time.

“I need more time to understand things and that extra 15 minutes will be a benefit.”