MotoGP riders will test in Argentina this year, with the event being unofficially billed as a ‘warm-up’ for an Argentinean Grand Prix in 2014.
The MotoGP paddock will head to the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in July, after the round in Assen, for two days of “intensive” testing in South America.
Argentina was scheduled to host a Grand Prix this year but the event was dropped amid concerns over a political dispute between the Argentinean government and Spanish oil giant Repsol, which sponsors the Honda team and a number of teams and riders in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes.
The dispute centres on the nationalisation of Repsol’s Argentinean subsidiary, YPF. Repsol has since taken legal action against the Argentine government for losses over the seizure of £6.5bn worth of assets.
“The programme will include two days of intensive work on the track, where each team will focus on their competitiveness, while being able to extract data for the circuit for when the Grand Prix of Argentina is added to the calendar in 2014,” said a statement from Dorna.
“Official tests are key to ensuring the development of reliability and competitiveness at the highest levels.”