MotoGP: Winter test calendar confirmed

MotoGP organise have confirmed the calendar for this year’s winter testing, which will kick off as is traditional at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit immediately after the 2016 season concludes.

The two-day outing at Valencia will be the first chance to see many of the riders on their new machinery, with most anticipation centred around Jorge Lorenzo’s Ducati debut and Maverick Viñales replacing him on the Movistar Yamaha alongside Valentino Rossi.

However, it’ll be Malaysia in late January before testing begins in earnest, with a three day outing at Sepang followed by two further three-day tests at Phillip Island in February and Qatar in March before the opening round at the Losail circuit at the end of the month.

• Valencia: 15th and 16th November
• Sepang: 30th January to 1st February
• Phillip Island: 15th to 17th February
• Losail: 10th to 12th March

And while attention will be centred on the premiere class, there will also be two official outings for Moto2 and Moto3, with the junior riders running at both Jerez and Losail in the build-up to their first race.

• Jerez: 9th and 10th March
• Losail: 17th to 19th March