FIM MotoGP World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain June 6, 2012 Test Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (Yamaha), 1:49.187 2. Ben SPIES, USA (Yamaha), 1:49.442 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (Yamaha), 1:49.687 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (Yamaha), 1:49.887 5. Hector BARBERA, Spain (Ducati), 1:50.196 6. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Ducati), 1:50.204 7. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (Honda), 1:50.294 8. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (Ducati), 1:50.369 9. Stefan BRADL, Germany (Honda), 1:51.146 10. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:51.977 11. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda-FTR), 1:52.452 12. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:52.502 13. Colin EDWARDS, USA (BMW-Suter), 1:52.589 14. Ivan SILVA, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:53.929 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Lorenzo goes fastest at Aragón test Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time of the second in-season test at the Motorland Aragón track today, ahead of Ben Spies and Cal Crutchlow. Lorenzo set a 1.49’187 late in the day, as the Yamaha team set out to confirm what they had found on Monday in terms of engine spec and electronics, whilst also working on the set-up for the track. His teammate Spies was just over two tenths behind. Their satellite team counterparts in the form of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 were closely in tow, with Crutchlow half a second behind Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso a further two tenths down. Dovizioso, who finished Monday’s test fastest, continued his work on electronics, engine, and track set-up, while Crutchlow tested all the components he couldn’t test due to crash damage last time out. With the Repsol Honda Team absent, it was up to their satellite counterparts to represent the brand, with San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista finishing top Honda just over a second off in seventh, having worked solely on Aragón bike settings, while LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finished the day in ninth. He initially set his bike up for the track, after which he continued work on suspension and chassis stiffness. The Ducati Team pair of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden were not testing the new aluminium swingarm, instead focussing their work on new bike settings. Hayden looked comfortable all day, ending up in sixth, yet still a second off the front, while Rossi looked to be struggling in eighth, over 1.7s off his teammate. Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá was fastest Ducati once again in fifth as he evaluated electronics, while Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham was suffering from a hand injury sustained on Monday and ended the day in tenth after completing only 19 laps. The CRT field included Bautista’s teammate Michele Pirro, who was fastest CRT in 11th, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards set the 13th quickest time as he continued to improve the Suter-BMW’s electronics package. Avintia Blusens’ Iván Silva was evaluating the part-carbon Inmotec chassis, but damaged the bike in a crash, meaning he switched to the FTR chassis for the afternoon. His teammate Yonny Hernandez finished the day 12th, while Silva’s limited time with the chassis left him last in 14th. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Yamaha Factory Racing Complete Aragon Test The Yamaha Factory Racing team wrapped up a successful one-day test at the Aragon Motorland circuit today. Riders Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo spent the sessions re-confirming areas tested in Monday’s Catalunya test. The focus was again on a new engine specification, various chassis settings and some electronics. The riders also took time to work on set up for the Aragon track ahead of the race later in the season. Spies led the majority of the day as the fastest rider on track, only overtaken by team mate Lorenzo towards the end of the session with a gap difference of 0.255 seconds. The Factory riders were followed by satellite Yamaha riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso, making the top four all Yamaha. Jorge Lorenzo “This test has been very important because it’s not easy to find the best set up for the 1000cc bike here as there is so much change from the 800. We tried the engine again like we did in Barcelona, there wasn’t so much difference so the engineers now have to make a decision for moving forward. They will consider the data from today to help them.” Ben Spies “Today was a good test, to come back after not such a fantastic race on Sunday and be consistently fast here and in the Catalunya test is important. We’ve worked really well with the bike and the electronics and just tried to change a few things and fine tune. The track was a lot better than we thought, we were expecting it to be quite dirty but it wasn’t. I feel like I’m getting back up to the potential of the bike and myself which is good.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow and Dovizioso complete successful Aragon test The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team enjoyed a successful ending to an intense period of MotoGP action in Spain this week, with Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso working through a range of new parts and set-up options during a one-day test at Motorland Aragon track. Gloriously sunny conditions enabled Crutchlow and Dovizioso to begin testing shortly after the track opened at 10am, and both took full advantage of the hot temperatures and better than anticipated grip levels to put in 121-laps between them. Today’s session gave Crutchlow the opportunity to gain a more accurate assessment of an electronics and YZR-M1 engine upgrade, having had his schedule disrupted by an early high-speed crash during Monday’s Catalunya test. The British rider completed 67-laps and was impressed with the new electronics package that gave him smoother mid-corner power delivery. He also evaluated a revised engine spec and was satisfied with improved acceleration performance. He logged a best time of 1.49.687 to finish third fastest behind factory Yamaha duo Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies. Dovizioso was able to confirm the new electronics package he used to top the timesheets in Catalunya on Monday were also a significant step at the Motorland Aragon, the Italian rider lapping at a quickest pace of 1.49.8 87. Dovizioso, who scored his first Yamaha podium in last Sunday’s Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya, also spent more time on a revised YZR-M1 engine spec, giving additional feedback to Yamaha technical staff to focus on further improvements in the coming weeks. Today’s test was the fifth time in the last six days that Crutchlow and Dovizioso have been on track, and the pair will now enjoy a thoroughly deserved break before the 2012 World Championship resumes at Silverstone next weekend. Cal Crutchlow 3rd 1.49.687 67 laps: “Today was really important for me because I was unable to make a proper judgement on the new parts after the early crash in Catalunya. To be honest I’m happy to have completed the test and put a lot of laps in because after the big crash I am not in the best physical condition. My ribs are hurting and if I cough it is really painful, so leaving here with a positive test gives me good confidence to take to my home race in Silverstone. We were worried the track might be a little dirty here but the grip level wasn’t too bad and it meant we could get a lot of important data. I liked the new electronics and engine, so it was a positive day and I could have gone a bit faster but I made a couple of mistakes on one of my best laps at the end on new tyres. We spent a lot of time working on the set-up of the chassis today too because I’d like the bike to turn better. Yamaha is doing a great job though and the bike is working well at all tracks, so I am sure when I return for the race I will be challenging for a strong result.” Andrea Dovizioso 4th 1.49.887 54 laps: “Today’s test completed a very positive week for me and I go home quite tired after so much time on track but also very happy. After the strong race and test at Catalunya it was important to understand our level here in Aragon. This has not been a strong track for me in the past but I was very fast and consistent and now I have a great feeling with the Yamaha and it is beautiful to ride this bike. The strong points of the Yamaha like braking and corner entry is what you need at this track, so when we come back for the race later in the season I am sure I will be very competitive. We were able to confirm the improvement from the electronics here and I am looking forward to using them next week in Silverstone. The upgrade gives me better control on old tyres and also the endurance of the tyre is longer, so this will be a good advantage over a race distance.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati: Busy day of testing for Ducati Team at Aragon The Ducati Team took advantage of a beautiful, sunny day to complete a busy test schedule at the Spanish Aragon circuit. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden worked hard, riding from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and turning 70 and 66 laps, respectively. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 6th, 1:50.204 (66 laps) “We couldn’t really have asked for a better day, weather-wise. It was pretty hot, but not unbearable, so a good opportunity to try some things and do some good work. The day started out pretty well, as we were able to make a couple of good steps straight away. This afternoon we tested some bigger parts for Ducati and weren’t able to go faster. Of course we’d like to be closer to the top, but we got some good data, and hopefully we can put it all together soon with a good result.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 8th, 1:50.369 (70 laps) “It went pretty well because it was important to do some riding at this track, where I didn’t know all the ‘secrets.’ I’m just sorry to have had a small problem at the end of the session. Maybe a cable in the ECU broke, so I was stuck in the garage for fifteen minutes, which prevented me from using the second soft tyre that I had available. Otherwise, I think I could have been a little bit better. We didn’t have enough time to try the aluminium swingarm again, but since we found some positive things, we can say that it was a good test.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL CONTINUES IN-SEASON TEST AT ARAGON Aragon, 6th of June: the MotoGP paddock had only one day’s rest before the second in-season test held at Motorland Aragón today scheduled from 10 am until 6 pm. A reduced number of premier class teams (14 riders) took to the 5.078km surface test this morning including Stefan Bradl on LCR Honda. The German rookie initially got his bike set up for the track and after he continued working on suspension and chassis stiffness. At the end of the testing day Bradl circulated the track 72 times posting the 9th fastest time overall (1’51.146). Stefan: “Well”¦ we have done a lot of work today: at the end I lapped the circuit 72 times and I feel a bit tired now. We found some good improvements ahead next races but when you work on different adjustments you lose track time… that’s why my lap time is not excellent. We have changed suspensions, swing arm, front fork and other things. We were expecting a different feeling with the tyres on this asphalt but with today’s hot temperature they worked differently. I am pretty sure it was an hard-working day for everybody but I am a rookie and it’s essential for me to ride this bike as much as possible”.