MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST – 2 MAY Portugal MotoGP Official Test – 2 May – Estoril – 02/05/2011 Date : 02/05/2011 Weather : Dry Temperature : Air 22 degrees, Ground 33 degrees Humidity : 52% Positive test in Estoril for Repsol Honda riders The Repsol Honda Team returned to the Estoril circuit today to resume development work on the RC212V in the first after-the-race test of the 2011 season. Casey Stoner, recovering from the physical problems he suffered in his back yesterday during the race, tested the new 2011 Ohlins front fork with various hydraulic settings, a new clutch and two new specification Bridgestone tyres. Andrea Dovizioso also tested a new clutch which he found to reduce ‘hopping’, and he also completed a tyre test with Bridgestone. After his great victory yesterday, Dani Pedrosa chose to complete only 17 laps and reduce his testing program due to his recent surgery and the effort it took for him to take part in yesterday’s 28 lap race. Pedrosa completed a few laps with the modified clutch. CASEY STONER 1’36.602 “We haven’t had a lot to test, there aren’t really any new parts, we tried a different system on the clutch which was fine but not actually improving on what we have. We tried a few Bridgestone tyres with a new construction and compound, they were definitely an improvement especially on the left side, so that went well. We tested the new 2011 fork and everything worked well with them, last time we tried them we had some issues with chattering but we seem to have fixed that now. This is a big improvement as these forks work better on the bumps and on the brakes so hopefully we can continue to use them in the future. The beginning of the day my back was really sore and difficult to ride with but then it eased a little as the day progressed, so I hope it continues to get better”. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 1’37.460 “Today we tested a new clutch that gave us positive feedback and we had less hopping. We also tested two different settings that gave me a better feeling under braking. In general I was riding more comfortable than during the race weekend. Bridgestone also brought two new rear tyres but the feeling was not so good as I had some chattering on the front. Anyway, it has been a positive test and I’m looking forward to the next races”. DANI PEDROSA 1’37.679 “The shoulder is a bit better than last night thanks to some muscle relaxing tablets I took, but I’ve still got a lot of pain. I did a few laps with the bike I used yesterday for the race, but I saw immediately that I wouldn’t be able to do the full program today. I tried one modified clutch looking to reduce the hopping, the bumping on the rear we have when we release the clutch. It’s a shame not be able to profit from this test because we wanted to also try the new 2011 front fork and rear shock to get more traction, but I was unable to do it. Now, the plan before Le Mans race is to rest as much as I can for three or four days, trying to recover. Then I must check what is the best technique to relax the muscles, because it would be good to arrive in Le Mans in good shape and not so tense”. Testing Results 1 Marco Simoncelli 1’36.211 ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2 Jorge Lorenzo 1’36.316 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 3 Casey Stoner 1’36.602 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team 4 Cal Crutchlow 1’36.850 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 5 Valentino Rossi 1’37.382 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 6 Colin Edwards 1’37.410 USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 7 Ben Spies 1’37.421 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 8 Andrea Dovizioso 1’37.460 ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 9 Nicky Hayden 1’37.463 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 10 Dani Pedrosa 1’37.679 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 11 Hiroshi Aoyama 1’38.032 JPN HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini 12 Karel Abraham 1’38.087 CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing 13 Toni Elias 1’38.412 SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 14 Loris Capirossi 1’38.633 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Yamaha Take a Positive Step Forward at Estoril MotoGP Test The MotoGP paddock remained at Estoril today following the weekend’s race event for a one day official MotoGP test. Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies enjoyed warm temperatures and blazing sunshine for the morning and afternoon sessions. The focus of both Spies and Lorenzo centred on a new swing arm and updated suspension components. Lorenzo also took the opportunity to test new electronic settings in the hunt for more grip from his YZR-M1 and both riders also tested some new Bridgestone tyres. Still riding high from his podium finish yesterday, Lorenzo was fast from the off, finishing the morning session as the fastest man on track with a 1’37.170. The afternoon session saw more of the same, the Young Mallorcan making full use of the new settings to break under the 1’37 mark and get down to a 1’36.316 as he wrapped up the afternoon session in second place just 0.105 from the front. Spies was enjoying a better day following the unfortunate premature end to his Portuguese race yesterday. The Texan rider and his crew had tested all their new parts by mid afternoon, finding nearly seven tenths of a second in the afternoon session to finish with a best time of 1’37.421 in seventh place. The team will now take a short break before round four of the 2011 MotoGP Championship at Le Mans next week. “A very successful test I would say,” said Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg. “It will be useful for the rest of the season I’m sure. We made some very important changes to the bike and the problems we had yesterday are now solved. Bridgestone brought some new tyres which help as well. The most important thing we improved was corner speed entry and front end safety so that’s a double plus we can use at all tracks.” “Today we profited from a good test,” commented Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director Massimo Meregalli. “We tried some different bike set ups that gave us good information so we are satisfied on both sides of the garage with what we’ve learnt. Fortunately the weather gave us good conditions so we could test properly. We are going to study the data from today to be ready with some new settings for Le Mans.” Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: 1’36.316 Laps: 91 “I’m very happy with the test we have done today. Before I was not feeling as safe and as comfortable going into corners as I did last year and in 2009. Now we have found something with the chassis set up that works much better so I feel comfortable again. I think we can be faster with the corners now so I am looking forward to going to France to keep fighting for more podiums.” Ben Spies Position : 7th Time: 1’37.421 Laps: 69 “It’s been a decent day of testing for us after what happened yesterday. We started over today and I’ve been happy with the sessions. We learned something later on this afternoon which I think is really going to benefit us in Le Mans that we haven’t been able to try before now. There was a good lap time improvement today, I did the best I could with what I had so I’m looking forward to Le Mans to start fresh.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone concludes day of tyre testing for MotoGP’s 1000cc era Round 3: Portuguese GP Official post-race test Estoril Circuit, Monday 2 May 2011 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear (asymmetric): Medium, Hard Additionally, test tyre specs: Front: Soft. Rear (asymmetric): Medium Bridgestone made full use of the official one-day post-race test at the Estoril circuit today, supplying every rider with one test front slick tyre and two specs of rear slick in addition to the normal test allocation. The test was a valuable opportunity for Bridgestone to continue tyre testing, specifically with a view for the 1000cc MotoGP bikes next year. Whilst the test was for the current 800cc MotoGP machines, fundamental future tyre development work continues but now with a specific practical focus towards tyres for next year’s new engine capacity regulations. As well as a wide operating temperature range, there is an added objective of improving feedback from the tyres and ‘rideability’. Conditions at Estoril today were good; much better than during the Grand Prix weekend. With only light rain falling overnight, the circuit was much cleaner and, with the extra rubber laid during the races yesterday, grip was much better and this was reflected in the laptimes. Marco Simoncelli ended the test fastest, setting a best lap 0.7seconds under the lap record, just ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner. All riders present at the test dedicated time in their busy test schedules to use the new test tyres, although Randy de Puniet and Hector Barbera did not ride today, and Nobuatso Aoki took the place of Alvaro Bautista for the Rizla Suzuki team. Tohru Ubukata General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “I am very happy with the results of the test at Estoril today. Conditions were good and the laptimes were very fast with Marco heading the field, 0.7seconds faster than the lap record. We brought one new front tyre and two new rear tyres for testing today as we continue preparing for the new engine regulations next year. I must thank all teams and riders for their support today in taking the time to test our tyres and provide to us very valuable data, in particular Casey who despite still suffering from back pain dedicated his afternoon’s running to tyre testing. Rider feedback was good, especially for the new rear tyres, so I can say we have identified the direction of tyre development for the next test and preparation for the 1000cc era is going well.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: ELIAS ENDS TESTING DAY AT ESTORIL WITH THE 13th LAP TIME Estoril, 2 May: Following on from the action of yesterday’s Estoril GP, which saw Pedrosa taking the victory of the third round of the season after the postponement of Japan GP, the premier class riders and teams joined the windy Portuguese race track for an additional day of testing. The testing session has started at 10 am proceeding until 6 pm with sunny skies and premier class riders have proceeded their adjustments work ahead next Le Mans GP scheduled on the 15th of May. LCR Honda MotoGP rider Toni Elias circulated the 4128m circuit 108 times today aboard his RC212V aiming to find a solution for the rear grip problems which prevented him from showing his real potential in the first three rounds of the season. After yesterday’s positive 11th place, the Catalan and his squad spent one more intense day of work on track adjusting the Honda machinery posting the 13th quickest lap time on 1’38.402. Elias 13th 1’38.412 Elias: “Well … I am happy about the further improvements we obtained today. We worked hard with the guys completing 108 laps but now we are closer to the top seven. I have improved my yesterdays race lap time of 1 second and this gives more further motivation. We have tested a new link concentrating our TO DO list on the suspension regulations and now the bike is more stable”. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: ROSSI AND HAYDEN HAPPY WITH PROGRESS IN PORTUGAL TEST A long, intense day of testing following the Portuguese Grand Prix allowed Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden to try various updates that were prepared by Ducati’s racing department. The two Ducati Marlboro Team riders concentrated mainly on finding a setup with updates that were made to the frame, which both of them pronounced promising when the test was concluded. After several runs spent finding a base setup, Valentino Rossi consistently lapped in the 1:37 range. Nicky Hayden also liked the new chassis, and by the end of the day, he had dropped his time under 1:38. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team), 5th, 1:37.382 (82 laps) “It was a positive test because the new updates were immediately better. The bike was more sensitive to changes made to the front, which makes it easier to work on a setup that works better for me. I realized that as soon as I got on the bike and then, over the course of the following hours, we constantly progressed. We also had an engine with a slightly smoother power delivery that I liked a lot. We’ll start using it when the rotation plan allows it. I liked the tyres that Bridgestone had us try, they seemed very good. Of course the other riders also made great progress, and the less positive about today is the gap to the front on my best lap. Anyway, everything that the Ducati technicians brought worked, and that means that we’re on the right path. We have to continue working, but today’s test gives us confidence.” Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team), 9th, 1:37.463 (89 laps) “We were lucky to get a really good day with the weather. We improved, because I consistently went a lot faster than in qualifying, but it looked like everybody else improved too. I did my best time on the 2012 tyres, so Bridgestone made a nice step there. I got on the updated chassis after lunch, and it had a better feel over some of the bumps, and still good stability under braking. The updated engine made the bike a little smoother, and I liked it overall.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow and Edwards make big progress in Estoril test Less than 24 hours after claiming a brilliant double top 10 finish in the Portuguese MotoGP round, Cal Crutchlow and Colin Edwards were back in action to complete a hugely productive test session at the Estoril circuit today. With seven hours of track time available and conditions ideal with no sign of forecast rain emerging, Crutchlow and Edwards dedicated the majority of the day on improving the set-up they used during Sunday’s 28-lap race. Changing handlebar position and modifying the wheelbase of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine helped Crutchlow produce the performance of the test, the British rider shaving almost two seconds off his best time set when he finished in eighth position in the Portuguese Grand Prix. The 25-year-old took full advantage of the revised set-up to log a best time of 1.36.850, which secured him a fantastic fourth place on the final timesheets. Only Marco Simoncelli, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were able to lap faster than Crutchlow, who completed 71-laps. It was a profitable day for Edwards too, the American working on a range of different suspension settings to try and improve rear grip with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine. Edwards was able to lap inside the top three for a large part of the test and a best time of 1.37.410 secured him the sixth fastest time in a 51-lap stint. Crutchlow and Edwards were also able to give Bridgestone vital feedback and information on two new specification rear tyres designed for the new 1000cc MotoGP class in 2012. Both declared themselves impressed with the improved fe edback and edge grip and both set their fastest times of the test on the 2012 tyres. Cal Crutchlow 4th 1.36.850 71 laps “Today was really positive and I can’t really ask for much more than finishing fourth quickest with only three of the fastest riders in the world in front of me. I was able to lap nearly two seconds faster than I did in the race but I was quietly confident that the changes we planned to make for today would mean I could go a lot faster. Losing so much track time because of the weather at the weekend meant I couldn’t risk taking a gamble on making too many changes for the race. I honestly didn’t expect to break into the 36s but I felt comfortable and even with 25-laps on the same set of tyres I was doing low to mid-37s. I know everyone goes faster in a test but my time today was faster than Dani Pedrosa’s best lap in the race and he won, so my pace bodes well for the future. We moved the handlebars and lengthened the wheelbase and I just felt much more comfortable. The bike was a lot easier to ride and much less aggressive and I was fast throughout the whole day. If I’d had this set-up for the race I’m sure I could have had a battle with Colin, and he was sixth, so that’s really encouraging. I can’t wait for Le Mans now. It is the home race for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and today’s result has given me a lot of confidence that I can be competitive again on another track I have to learn from scratch.” Colin Edwards 6th 1.37.410 51 laps “It was a really positive test and it was good to get an opportunity to have a play around with some different settings that you don’t necessarily get chance to try over the race weekend. We just concentrated all our effort on finding some rear traction and i t felt like we’ve made a big step. We tried various different combinations for the rear shock and linkages and we’ve found a good direction and we definitely made it better than it was for the race, so hopefully we found a set-up that will help us at the next race in Le Mans. I really like the direction Bridgestone is going in for 2012. I felt comfortable immediately on the new tyres and they’ve done some phenomenal work. Right from the first lap you get a lot of understanding and feel. The lap time was pretty similar with both and I’d love to have them this year. Based on what we’ve figured out today and the improvements we’ve made, I’m looking forward to going to France and getting another top six finish for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in its home race.”