Valentino Rossi could be counting on the contribution of a World Champion to help him develop the 2012 Desmosedici: Carlos Checa, freshly crowned WSBK champ. This weekend at Magny Cours, it was the Spaniard himself who admitted he could possibly be testing the 1000cc Ducati, according to a report in Motoworld.es.
On several occasions Rossi has expressed his disapproval over the limited number of test days allowed for factory riders, and Ducati has indeed already used 7 of their 8 allotted. This means that the only viable option for further development work is with test riders, but they don't always guarantee the same level of performance as a race rider. In this case Carlos would represent the exception, getting on the bike while still fully active in racing, and currently on top form.
Checa is obviously familiar with both MotoGP machinery and Ducati, having raced for the factory in 2005, alongside Loris Capirossi. Additionally, he also made two wildcard appearances with team Pramac last season, filling in for the injured Mika Kallio at Estoril and Valencia. His candidacy might also be the result of something that Filippo Preziosi said to GPone at Imola, when he was asked about Troy Bayliss testing the GP12: "He could get a go on the Desmosedici, even if Troy is a particular rider who uses an atypical setup."
In this respect the Team Althea rider seems like the more viable option, having a style more similar to that of Valentino's, and benefiting from considerable experience on both 500cc two strokes and more current MotoGP machinery. El Toro is also exempt form any intensive test work on the 1199 Panigale Superbike, since the new production based racer won't make its WSBK debut until 2013.
When we spoke with Carlos just a few days before the Imola around, we asked if he would ever like to race a MotoGP bike again: "On a 1000cc yes, since I don't really like the 800's." His test could be the first step toward making that happen.
source: gp one
