These, just in:
MotoGP test Sepang, Malaysia 5.2.2010. Day two of two day test.
Honda RC212V riders up the pace at Sepang despite rain showers
The second day of the planned two-day test at the
Sepang Grand Prix circuit, close to Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia, was held in ever changing track
conditions that demanded the best of team
technicians working to establish base line
settings for the all new 2010 MotoGP machines
MotoGP teams and riders arrived at the circuit to
begin testing at 09.00. and were faced with rain
and less than ideal track conditions for their
days work. The rain, which had began during the
night, had washed dirt onto the circuit, an ever recurring problem at Sepang.
Several teams saw the positive side of the
situation as the ideal opportunity to test their
2010 machines on a wet track for the first time.
Bridgestone had brought tyres to Sepang of
exactly the same construction and compounds as
raced by the riders at the 2009 GP held at the
circuit last October. Marco Melandri (San Carlo
Honda Gresini) was the fastest RC212V rider in
the wet with second fastest time.
The sun came out at lunchtime and testing began
in earnest at one-o'clock with the teams granted
an extra hour track time due to the rain.
Repsol Honda team riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea
Dovizioso made the most of the remaining time
both men testing suspension options and overall
machine balance as they endeavoured to establish
an optimal base line set up ready for the next
pre-season test in two-weeks time, again at Sepang.
Both riders improved on their best lap times of
yesterday, Pedrosa by a full second - Dovizioso
by 0.5s, and both left Sepang for home in buoyant
mood and confident that the results of the test
and the valuable data gathered over the two-days
of testing will enable the HRC staff engineers to
further improve the performance of the RC212V. .
San Carlo Honda Gresini riders, Melandri and
Marco Simoncelli, experienced mixed fortunes on
the final day. While Melandri was fast in the wet
and, despite running out of time to test
suspension, also made progress with the dry set
up of his RCV, Simoncelli struggled to establish
his base set-up, an early afternoon crash on cold
tyres did not help his cause .Simoncelli was
relatively unscathed in the crash and managed to
get the RCV back to the pits for repairs before returning to action.
Frenchman Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda began the
day with his RCV with the settings of yesterday
and step by step worked through suspension,
geometry and engine mapping to end the day with
13th fastest time set during a long run.
MotoGP debutante Hiro Aoyama was in a slightly
more optimistic frame of mind at the end of the
day than he was following a disappointing opening
day. But the reigning 250cc World Champion is
only too aware that he has some way to go before
he is completely at home with the RCV.
At five o'clock the rain returned effectively
ending the test. The teams and riders will now
have two-weeks to analyse the results of the test
before returning to Sepang for a three-day test on February 24-26.
Honda rider quotes and lap times..
MotoGP.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th - 2m 01.822s - 50 laps
"We got through a lot more testing today and I
can say that we improved significantly - and
that's important in terms of finding a good
direction to follow. We were working mainly on
the rear suspension and we've managed to collect
a lot of data that should help us for the next
test here in two weeks' time. We were also
testing swingingarms and at the end of the day I
could feel the improvements, and so I'm happy
about that. Yesterday it took me longer to get
into a rhythm on the machine because it was the
first day back in the saddle, but today it was
much better - though I'm not at 100 per cent yet.
To have the second test here in just two weeks
time is really good for us. I haven't asked for
new parts because me and the team think it's
better to analyse what we've found here and focus
on that. I'm going home satisfied."
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 6th - 2m 02.272s - 52 laps.
"I leave Sepang feeling positive and I'm
confident for the next test because we have clear
ideas about the direction we have to follow.
Today we worked on the suspension and tested some
set-up options - with positive results. I'm happy
because, thanks to the electronics, the package
has improved in all aspects - but there is still
a job to do. In particular we need to take
another step forward regarding the balance. I'm
confident that we can work on this at next test
session here in Sepang. Today we were always
running on hard tyres and we didn't look for
ultimate lap times. I think the next Sepang test
will be more indicative about our true pace."
Marco Melandri, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 11th - 2m 02.810s. 55-laps.
"This morning I did two exit on the wet
conditions and the bike was working well. In the
afternoon we continue working on the set up and
the geometry of the bike. We struggled a bit. we
didn't have the time to work on the suspension
but I'm sure that testing different set up we can improve so I'm confident" .
Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 13th - 2m 03.043s. 48 laps.
"This morning we decide not to go out on wet
conditions and we waited that the track dried. We
started with the configuration we finished with
yesterday. We worked on suspension, geometry and
engine mapping. We slowly improved. I did a long
run and I did my best lap times during the long
run so this is very positive in preparation of
the race. Before the long run I tried a soft tyre
but I couldn't improve my lap times. I'm
confident that we can improve. There is the
potential so I look forward to next test session ".
Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 14th - 2m 03.245s. 49 laps.
"I'm happy that I didn't suffer any injuries in
the crash, I flew so high in the high side, this
didn't happen in 250. my first idea after the
crash was to jump immediately on the bike. Maybe
I could have improved my lap times but all in all
I'm satisfied. Everything is new for me, the
machine, the team. So I'm happy about these first two says of testing.
It was important to start knowing the bike and t
understand the direction to follow, I look
forward to next test session here in two weeks".
Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 14th - 2m 03.195s. 56 laps.
"Compared to yesterday we improved but I'm still
not confident on the bike. The machine has
changed a lot compared to the one I tested in
November and here in December, it feels like a
complete new bike and there was not so much time
to test. This morning I only went out shortly on
wet conditions. In general I'm not happy. "
Official practice times.
1. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha: 2m 00.925s
2. Casey Stoner, Marlboro Ducati: 2m 01.320s
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha: 2m 01.680s
4. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 01.822s
5. Ben Spies, Yamaha Tech3: 2m 02.266s
6. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 2m 02.272s
7. Colin Edwards, Yamaha Tech3: 2m 02.479s
8. Nicky Hayden, Marlboro Ducati: 2m 02.493s
9. Aleix Espargaro, Pramac Ducati: 2m 02.647s
10. Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki: 2m 02.763s
11. Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda: 2m 02.810s
12. Hector Barbera, Aspar MotoGP team: 2m 03.032s
13. Randy De Puniet, LRC Honda: 2m 03.043s
14. Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 2m 03.195s
15. Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda: 2m 03.245s
16. Alvaro Bautista, Rizla Suzuki: 2m 03.274s
17. Mikka Kallio, Pramac Ducati: 2m 03.359s
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ESPARGARO' IMPROVES HIS LAP TIMES IN THE SECOND DAY OF TESTING AT SEPANG
Second day of testing has concluded for the Pramac Racing Team on the Sepang circuit, Malaysia. Riders Aleix Espargarò and Mika Kallio have chosen different methods of work and this has reflected on the final result. The Catalan rider, Espargarò, was concentrated in finding the best feeling with the Ducati Sat to significantly improve yesterday best lap times concluding with the ninth best time of this first 2010 winter test. His teammate, Kallio, concentrated on modifying its bike but things didn't go too well and he couldn't manage to improve and concluded in seventeenth position. The Pramac Racing duo will return on track on February 25th in Sepang.
Aleix Espargarò - Pramac Racing rider
"Yesterday we have tried to find a constant pace while today we focused looking for the fast lap. It wasn't so bad; on the contrary, I am really pleased on how things have gone. This is only my first winter test in MotoGP and I can only improve in the future. The arm on which I had surgery on this past winter doesn't hurt anymore and my physical condition, notwithstanding the heat of these days, seems to be in good conditions. I look forward to come back on track at the end of the month here in Malaysia."
Mika Kallio - Pramac Racing rider
"Likely this was just a winter test. We tried many changes on the bike set up, but we had some difficulties to improve the situation and for this reason we lost a lot of time working on our bikes in the garage. We will have to give our best in the next test so that things can change. We are too far from the firsts and our goal is to remain consistently between top 10 riders in every single session."
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FIRST TEST OF 2010 COMES TO A CLOSE IN MALAYSIA FOR TEAM SAN CARLO HONDA GRESINI
The first two-day Sepang test proved to be fairly tough for the Team San Carlo Honda Gresini duo, Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli, who had to work hard on the set-up of their Honda RC212V's. After a confident end to yesterday unfortunately day two got off to an inauspicious start. With wet weather conditions preventing both riders testing in the morning, things were complicated further when Simoncelli crashed in the early afternoon, grazing his elbow, left thigh and severely bruising the little finger on his left hand. Despite the pain, and being conscious of the minimal testing time available before the start of the world championship, "Super Sic" courageously went back out on track to continue his apprenticeship and set-up work with the MotoGP Honda. He picked up his pace once again and collected vital data for future tests. Melandri also ended the day well, finding the right direction to work in and leaving Sepang confident of further improvement during the next test at the Malaysian track on February 25th/26th.
Marco Melandri ( 55 laps, best 2' 02" 810 ) "It's been a very difficult day, continuing our work on the geometry of the bike and trying hard to find the right balance, the feeling in the front end and on corner entry. We found both positive and negative solutions before discovering a setting later on which could serve as a base geometry from which to work in the future. Then we also worked on the suspension, finding considerable improvements, however we still know there is still lots to do. With everything we've found we will be able to prepare a good working plan for the next test, it was just a shame about the rain here which cut the test an hour short and stopped us from testing with new tyres. The important thing however was to find the right direction and I think that in the end we've managed that so we now leave Sepang extremely confident."
Marco Simoncelli (56 laps, 2' 03" 245) "The first half of the day was relatively difficult because we couldn't get the bike to work properly and lost lots of time, then to top it off I had a crash. I had gone out with new tyres and after half a lap I came back in because of the same problems. I did a technical check and I went out once more. In the first left-hander although I was really paying attention (maybe not enough) the bike catapulted me off. I hit the asphalt hard and thinking about it now I was lucky just to get a few grazes, it could have been a lot worse. Later we went back to work in the afternoon and things were much more positive as the bike felt much improved and I was able to ride it better than yesterday, the feeling was better and the time I did wasn't by chance. Now we need to organise our ideas and think about a plan of attack for the next tests so I'm going home with high morale."
Fausto Gresini "It certainly wasn't an easy test, there was a lot to do for both Melandri and Simoncelli. We have a completely new bike and they were two challenging days with different suspension and electronics. Other things affected our work too like the rain and the crash, which fortunately didn't cause too many physical problems for Simoncelli. It's important also to remember that for Simoncelli it's almost a second debut for him and for his technicians MotoGP is a completely new experience. Also for Melandri the bike is something new to discover even for the Honda technicians too, which I have to say have helped considerably in finding the right set-up. In any case, we leave Sepang conscious of the fact that there's lots of work still to do, but well aware of our potential and that of the Honda RC212V. All in all it has been a good confidence boost for the upcoming tests."
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