Gotta call BS on that one! If the pressure plate was that fragile, the car wouldn't make it around the block! Just don't get crazy and do a bunch of full-throttle speed shifts. The manufacturer has to write those instructions toi discourage idiots from doing stupid stuff- - - -which they're going to do anyway! There's nothing wrong with doing a few shifts with the wheels free-spinning to check for normal operation.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!