In February, BMW Motorrad issued a press release, including a photo, of a prototype motorcycle it described as a “test vehicle” to study “highly dynamic processes in engine and driving dynamics management under extreme conditions” with an eye toward future production models. When contacted by Roadracingworld.com, BMW Motorrad USA’s Communications Manager Roy Oliemuller said that there were no specific plans to go racing with the bike. Roadracingworld.com, however, has been told by a well-placed source that the motorcycle is actually a precursor to an official BMW factory MotoGP racing effort starting in 2007 with the introduction of an 800cc displacement limit. According to our source, the vehicle pictured is powered by a three-cylinder engine, which is will be BMW’s MotoGP engine configuration. The chassis, however, is only a test bed for research and data gathering. The press release stated that the “test vehicle” had only been ridden at BMW facilities but would soon be tested at “other closed-off circuits,” and the motorcycle was, in fact, tested recently in Italy with former MotoGP regular Jeremy McWilliams at the controls. Luca Cadalora has also ridden the motorcycle and is the rider on the machine in the picture supplied with the press release from BMW. Our source did not know further details about the engine or BMW’s timeline for its racing plans. More details will be posted when they become available.