You forgot these drivers! 2017 edition.

The principle of a wildcard is simple: It involves rewarding a driver and making him take part in a grand prix in order to replace another injured driver, or to add a machine to the grid. All the biggest ones start in the smallest categories. It is during these races that the young guns must prove their worth to the world.

In MotoGP, these are more often testers, but also guests. Each year, these drivers come one after the other, sometimes without leaving the slightest trace and never reappearing at the highest level. In this new format, we will explore the entirety of the MotoGP grids, in search of these heroes of one day, totally forgotten.

This first article focuses on the 2017 season, a year rich in wildcards. We start with the “least forgotten” of them, Michele Pirro.

The Italian is a regular MotoGP. In fact, he plays the role of “backup and test pilot” for Ducati Corse since 2013. Whether during testing or as a replacement, Pirro never disappoints and displays a very good level.

 

 

In 2017, his employer allowed him to participate in three rounds of the world championship Mugello, Misano and Valencia. At the San Marino Grand Prix he finished fifth on a wet track, his best result up to that point.

In the category of "fairly well-known", let's not forget Sylvain Guintoli, very popular here. The Superbike world champion replaced Alex Rins, injured, during three consecutive races. His best performance, at Le Mans, resulted in a 15th place.

 

 

We no longer present Mika Kallio, test pilot KTM, who also took part in four Grands Prix, with a good tenth place in Austria.

 

 

On the other hand, do you remember the affair Jonas Folger ? The latter, with a bright future, had to end his season due to a recurring health problem. Monster Yamaha Tech3, host of the German for the 2017 season, was forced to look for replacements for four consecutive races.

The Japanese pilot Kohta Nozane was powered by the firm with three tuning forks. If you have an excellent memory, you may remember his Moto2 wildcards at the very beginning of the 2010 decade.

 

 

His freelance, planned in Japan, ended in abandonment. Today, Nozane teams up with Garrett Gerloff within the training GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team. Another driver was found for the Australian round, in the person of Broc Parkes.

“The Aussie” had already ridden in MotoGP during the 2014 season, full-time with Paul Bird Motorsport. Unfortunately, he did not equal his best career result (11th at Assen in 2014), and failed to finish in last place in front of his home crowd. An endurance specialist, he ended his career at the start of 2021, aged 39.

 

 

For the last two rounds of the season, Monster Yamaha Tech3 gave a chance to Michael van der Mark, current official pilot BMW in Superbike. The two tests were honest, with a 16th and a 17th place, without ever knowing MotoGP before.

 

 

Among the other freelances, we also list Katsuyuki Nakasuga, the regular. His case is so special that we have already dedicated an article to him! The latter, present in Japan, raced for the 100% Japanese Yamaha factory team, the Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team, which explains the difference in colors with the two officials. The guy finished in the points, in 12th position!

 

 

In the absence of Jack Miller in Japan, Hiroshi Aoyama took his place at EG 0,0 MarcVDS. The 250 2009cc world champion, formerly an official Honda tester, crossed the line in 18th position. This race was one of his last before retirement.

 

 

Finally, here is the least known driver who participated in the 2017 season. This is the first test driver Suzuki, who also had his chance thanks to the injury ofAlex Rins. Takuya Tsuda finished 17th in Jerez.

 

 

That's all for this year! If you like the concept, we can see other recent and older years. Don’t hesitate to tell us what you think in the comments!

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport