HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Honda continue hard work on new chassis despite bad weather

At Jerez in the south of Spain, the six rider strong Honda contingent are taking part in the final session of what has been a long winter testing programme. Before a wheel could be turned in anger however this morning, the riders came up against their old adversary, the weather. Overnight rain had left the asphalt sodden, and with heavy clouds looming in the skies it looked as though completing nothing more than a couple of coasting laps on wet tyres was going to be impossible. However, the sun broke through just after midday and the circuit eventually began to dry out, with work able to commence around three o'clock.

When they did finally get out on track, the riders knew they had to make the most of the little time they had been given, and set about working on the bike settings, especially the new chassis and swinging arm, introduced at Catalunya at the weekend. Colin Edwards ended up the fastest of the Honda men, just a hundredth outside the time of countryman Kenny Roberts on the Suzuki, and third fastest rider on the day, with Valentino Rossi quickest on the Yamaha. With the rain returning to haunt the riders once more at 5:30pm however, they hardly had time to get into a groove, with a maximum of three and a half hours out on track.

Alex Barros was fifth fastest, and the quickest of the Repsol Honda duo, with the other four Honda riders making it into the top eleven; Sete Gibernau in eighth place, and Nicky Hayden, Makoto Tamada and Max Biaggi just behind him. All except Biaggi were within a second of the best time of the day, a new circuit record.

Colin Edwards: 1m 42.771s - 40 laps

"I think we've pretty much got the chassis figured out, it didn't take too long. The biggest thing is finding the balance between it all, but it seems to be working okay. We're going good, and dare I say it I'm maybe not 100% with the motor now. I'm crawling trying to keep the front end down. The old one was so friendly in that area, so I think we'll have to mess around with the electronics a bit to get it sorted, but all in all it was okay. We've changed stuff now compared to what Honda brought us at the beginning in Barcelona, and now it feels good."

Alex Barros: 1m 42.974s - 43 laps
"We started with the aim of getting a good base set-up as I have never ridden the RC211V here. We tested two or three different compound Michelins here and worked hard on different suspension settings. When we were ready to push for some fast laps the rain came and it was impossible to make a good lap."

Sete Gibernau: 1m 43.408s - 30 laps

"It's not so bad, but I have a bit of a fever which meant I wasn't sure whether I was going to go out today. It's important to get some more information on the bike though here, so we decided to give it a go. Hopefully the fever will have gone by tomorrow because I feel confident. The new chassis, swing-arm, links and all that are feeling better, I'm getting more feedback than in Barcelona. There I wasn't too confident, but it's definitely coming now."

Nicky Hayden: 1m 43.457s - 43 laps
"The day was really weather affected which after the interruptions of Catalunya was a real shame. The day started off real wet and the track took a long time to dry out. The team worked hard and we got the bike going pretty good. We were confident we were going in the right direction with regards the set-up then it started raining again mid afternoon and that was it really. Lets hope for a good day tomorrow. One more day of testing before the season starts!"

Makoto Tamada 1m 43.541 - 40 laps

"I tried some tyres today which I was unable to test at Catalunya. Honestly though, I wanted to test the new machine more than the tyres. The weather was bad though, and I wasn't able to do either properly! I went out in the wet this morning to show that I am motivated and to get some laps in under rain conditions, but apart from that we hope it's dry tomorrow so I can test some more things."

Max Biaggi: 1m 43.980s - 40 laps

"I didn't find any solutions today, since Barcelona I just haven't been able to go any faster. The problem is that the new chassis is difficult to find improvements in. We have a kind of rear chatter when you transfer to the front going into the turn. Then also we have more chatter coming out of the turn. This makes riding impossible because if you can't go well both going in and coming out of the bend then you can't go fast. We have to work this out and get the cornering right. I have to say I'm a little upset today and just need a little help to sort these problems."