These just in:
Yamaha
Lorenzo Leads the Way on Day Two at Sepang
Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo topped the time sheets today for day two of the second official IRTA test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
Lorenzo was fast straight out of the box in the morning and remained unchallenged all day. Track conditions had improved from yesterday's first run, allowing the champion to get down to a lap time of 2'00.282, nearly 1.5 seconds faster than yesterday's quickest time set by Dani Pedrosa.
Lorenzo's teammate Valentino Rossi's start to the day was delayed slightly whilst the team resolved a small electrical issue with a coil. The Italian was soon out on track, putting in an impressive 63 laps whilst working on improving the YZR-M1's traction on worn tyres. Rossi completed the day in fifth position, over a second faster than yesterday's time.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position: 1st Time: 2.00.282 Laps: 54
"A pretty good day, the track was much better than yesterday, I was surprised in the beginning it was so different. I could be strong from the start; a second and a half quicker and I think I beat my record time here in Malaysia. We improved the setting on the bike and I feel stronger than the first Sepang test so I'm quite satisfied. Tomorrow if the weather is good I would like to try a long run of maybe 24 laps to see what happens with the tyres."
Valentino Rossi
Position: 5th Time: 2.01.065 Laps: 63
"I'm happy, the feeling is quite good. Today was a very long day; I did more than sixty laps because we had a lot of work to do. We lost some time this morning with a small electrical problem that we fixed. We continued to work to increase the rear grip and traction, especially when the tyre has a lot of laps on it. We found something but we are still not 100% happy as we lose a little balance of the bike. Tomorrow the target is to improve the traction without losing the balance and then the bike will be very good."
Wilco Zeelenberg
Team Manager
"The second day of testing went pretty smoothly I have to say, we didn't have any issues. We tested many different configurations of the bike again. We went a lot faster than yesterday but the track has improved as well. Having said that, whatever the conditions we have been consistently fast which is important. Overall it's been very positive so far."
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director
"A good day today, we managed many laps. We found some interesting data and the direction is definitely there. Unfortunately we lost some time this morning with Vale with a little issue with a coil but everything was back on track quickly. We are on target to finalise everything tomorrow and do a long run which will be the last point in our schedule for this test."
********************
Repsol Honda MotoGP
Repsol Honda duo continue productive test in Malaysia
After last night's heavy showers, the Sepang track was a lot better today with the lap times dropping by over a second from yesterday.
Both Repsol Honda riders spent time testing the Bridgestone hard front tyre and working with engine mapping, Dani then continued his work on front forks and shocks. He finished the day 2nd fastest completing 55 laps with his fastest of 2'00.651 on lap 24.
Marc, who spent the first Sepang test familiarising himself with his Honda RC213V, has been able to take a step forward as he is now able to start working more on specific settings. He ended the day 4th fastest with a total of 64 laps, taking his fastest time of 2'.00.992 on lap 9.
The three day test will conclude tomorrow at the Sepang International Circuit.
Dani Pedrosa
2:00.651, 55 laps, 305 km.
"I'm satisfied. Today we were able to put in a lot of laps and we focused on testing things out with the front and rear suspension. It was a hard day, due to the high temperatures, but despite the heat we completed various tasks that we had scheduled in. Now we have to recuperate ahead of the final day tomorrow, in which we will continue to improve the bike."
Marc Marquez
2:00.992, 64 laps, 355 km.
"It was a pretty good day for us. Today we did something that is a little harder for riders, which is trying out a lot of things to give information to the technicians. It's tough, but it is an important job when it comes to deciding which way to go with the setup. We did a good job on the 64 laps that I rode today. Now we have to compile the data and prepare as well as possible for the final day of the test ?in which we will continue to put the laps in and look for the best direction to follow this preseason."
******************
Tech Three Yamaha
Crutchlow charges into top three at scorching hot Sepang
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow stormed to a brilliant third place on a hot and humid second day of MotoGP testing at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia today.
With track conditions a vast improvement on the slippery surface that greeted the field yesterday, lap times tumbled and Crutchlow was able to set a fastest pace of 2.00.907 on a day when air temperatures peaked at well over 30 degrees.
Crutchlow shaved a ma ssive 1.3s off his best pace on a rain-hit first day and his big improvement enabled him to rocket up the rankings from sixth to third behind reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.
The British rider dedicated much of his time on track today to working on different front fork settings and he experimented with a similar set-up used by Lorenzo in an attempt to make his YZR-M1 machine more agile in the fast changes of direction.
The 27-year-old was satisfied with the progress made in his 59-lap stint having finished less than 0.3s behind Pedrosa.
Rookie teammate Bradley Smith was also delighted with his performance today after he quickly restored his confidence following a tumble yesterday at Turn 7.
The 22-year-old concentra ted mainly on improving his braking technique today on his way to clocking a best time of 2.02.369, which was an impressive 1.6s faster than his best pace on the opening day.
Smith was able to get 63 valuable laps under his belt on a day in which he also began to evaluate a range of different settings on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine for the first time.
His best time put him 10th and encouragingly for the future he was only marginally over one second away from the top six.
Cal Crutchlow 3rd 2.00.907 - 59 laps:
?There didn't seem to be a lot of grip out there again today although the lap times have improved a lot. We tried something different with the front fork setting, which was in a similar direction to what Jorge (Lorenzo) uses and there were some good and bad points like with most things you test. I'm happy with my pace because we've tried a couple of different settings and we need to work on fine-tuning the best one. The main goal has been trying to stop the front of the bike lifting so much when I change direction on the throttle. The bike feels quite heavy so we need to reduce how much the fork comes up without sacrificing too much in another area like the braking. I'm sure if I had put in some new tyres at the start of the day I could have gone faster. But I waited to use mine around lunch and I still went faster, even though the track temperature was much higher at that point. I'm not really too concerned about the times though. I'm just concentrating on making the package we have got better for the first race in Qatar."
Bradley Smith 1 0th 2.02.023 - 63 laps:
"After the crash yesterday I am feeling much happier today, though I'm a little bit wary of some things that happen with the front and that can play on your mind a little bit. But the track has more grip and my feeling with the bike is much better. Today I worked a lot on my braking technique because I'm being too cautious at the moment and not using the carbon brakes as they need to be used. We played around with some different settings today too just to gain more of an understanding about what direction we can take in the future if we have certain problems. I think Jorge is doing exceptionally well riding around consistently in the 2.00 bracket because all of the other guys seem to be in the 2.01s. He is on another level at the moment but to be honest I feel quite good doing consistent 2.02s. We are working for Qatar and the first race rather than lap times now. It is not e asy that's for sure but I am confident soon it will start clicking into place and we will start rolling forward."
****************
