The rule reads:
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To define a ‘typical’ team competing in MotoGP is not simple, but Grand Prix teams in the main consist of financial backers, management staff, administrative staff, press officers, a group of mechanics, and of course the riders themselves.
Teams in the MotoGP class are generally comprised of two riders and in addition to the riders' and constructors' (manufacturers) World Championships, the teams compete for a title of their own. All points scored by both riders in a team, including substitutes or replacements, but excluding wildcard entries, count towards the Teams World Championship title - which is presented each year at the end of season MotoGP Awards.
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The official announcement came today, and for HRC's part, they are presently saying that they will run with all 3 (Stoner, Pedrosa, and Dovizioso). The rule just says that teams typically have two riders, it doesn't restrict them to no more than two. I have seen some cases in the past when there were three for a race because of a wild card addition. This would be the first one that I can recall where their intent is to run with three for the season. If anyone's pockets are deep enough to do it, HRC is the one.
Lots of time for speculation about who else will go where....
The Rossi speculation comes up every year. Maybe he's going to Ducati, but if he is, it signals to me that he is done trying to win. Anyone who's watched the Ducatis in the 800cc era has seen rider after rider fail to become competitive. Nicky Hayden is just now coming into some level of competitiveness, and even then, podiums are tough to come by. I know Hayden is no Rossi .... but neither is Hayden a Talmacsi.
In my view, if Rossi wants to keep chasing Ago, he will have a better chance if he stays with Fiat Yamaha.
Of course if Burgess also moves to Ducati, and that is also part of the speculation, then Burgess might bring Ducati up quite a bit, and this might be more valuable for their program than having Rossi as a rider .... not more lucrative from a marketing point of view, but better for their long term technical development.
I can't believe that Rossi thinks he might ride at Sachsenring, but seeing him back on an R1 after the sort of break he had is incredible. I guess he's still young enough to heal quickly, plus I'm sure every modern method to accelerate his recovery is being used. The R1 that he used at Misano has now moved on with the FIM team, so he's not going to be back on a bike until FP1 at Sachsenring, and then they'll decide what to do.
