What the rules say about MotoGP’s winter break

MotoGP imposes a winter break during the off-season, the rules for which are properly defined so riders can get some rest and the development of bikes can be restricted.

How long does the winter break last?

Article 1.15.1.1 of the MotoGP regulations, which covers testing and training, specifies the rule that applies to full-time riders. “Riders under contract or teams under contract” for the following season are prohibited from testing between 1 December and 31 January, inclusive of both days.

Is training banned as well?

Riders are banned from testing a MotoGP bike during the winter break, but they are free to train themselves on road-going machinery.

“These rider training sessions can take place at any circuit, at any time, including during the testing ban period. They are training sessions, they can do whatever they want, but they cannot use a bike in the same category as the one they are racing,” MotoGP race director Mike Webb told the official website.

This doesn’t mean that riders can’t ride bikes with big-capacity engines on track, but the bike they choose must be significantly different in characteristics from a MotoGP prototype. 

“If they’re using bikes with the same engine capacity, so a 1000cc or close to it, it has to be a standard road bike,” explained Webb. “So they’re using a homologated road bike, with small modifications allowed for safety reasons. 

“They can change the brakes, the suspension, some exhausts, but no modifications to the engine or the software. It’s basically a standard road bike, with improvements to the tyres, brakes and suspension.”

How does the winter break end?

Regular riders are allowed to resume testing in February after the winter break. The resumption is done in two stages, depending on the status of the rider and the level of concessions available to each manufacturer.

This year, the shakedown test will be held at Sepang from 31 January to 2 February and will be open to test riders, rookies(Ai Ogura, Fermin Aldeguer and Somkiat Chantra) and regular riders of manufacturers who sit in category D under the concession system, currently Yamaha and Honda. 

The other official riders will have to wait for the first collective test, which will be held in the wake of the shakedown from 5-7 February, also in Malaysia. A final pre-season test will follow at the Buriram track in Thailand, on 12-13 February, and will be open to all riders.

These official tests, organised by Dorna and IRTA, mark the only opportunities for a regular race rider linked to one of the three manufacturers in categories A to C to ride a MotoGP bike before the start of the season. Yamaha and Honda are allowed unrestricted testing throughout the year but are limited to a total of 260 tyres.

Is there a summer break?

Yes. MotoGP also has a mandatory summer break, the exact dates of which are reviewed each year depending on the calendar.  

“At the request of the teams, there is a summer break halfway through the year. We try to have a break from racing and at the same time a break from testing, just to give the riders and teams a chance to rest after a busy season,” explained Webb.

In 2024, the summer break extended from 8 July to 30 July.