MotoGP test Sepang, Malaysia 25.2.2010. Day one of two day test. Weather: Slightly overcast. Hot and humid. Temperature: air 35 degrees, ground 51. Dovizioso fastest Honda RC212V rider on opening day of Sepang MotoGP test The grand prix world championship teams and riders returned to Malaysia for the second MotoGP winter test at the 5.548km Sepang circuit, after a three-week break. They were greeted by warm humid weather conditions and a good, clean track surface, conditions that allowed for optimum rider performances and fast lap times. HRC engineers and the team technicians had used the intervening time to further develop the RCV based upon the data gathered at the first Sepang test. The results of their endeavours apparent on the opening day of the two day test when all six RC212V riders present bettered their fastest lap times set three-weeks ago. Andrea Dovizioso was the fastest RC212V rider at Sepang today, with third fastest lap time. The Repsol Honda factory team rider lapped at 2m 01.631s, almost six-tenths of a second faster than his best lap at the first test. The young Italian had spent the morning adjusting his riding position and suspension and his lap times improved each time he took to the track. Dovizioso’s Repsol Honda team mate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, was four-tenths of a second slower than his team mate on the opening day. Pedrosa, a notorious slow starter at test sessions, adopted step by step on the set up of his RCV working mainly on the suspension to end his days work with seventh fastest lap time and not best pleased with the feed-back he was receiving from his base line machine set up. The Spaniard crashed his RCV at slow speed escaping unscathed from the fall. Marco Melandri has made a seamless return to Honda machinery after a two year absence, and with is old Gresini Honda MotoGP squad. Melandri took the San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V to tenth fastest time of the day just half a second off the time set by Dovizioso on his RCV. The team technicians arrived at a good base set up during the last Sepang test and today focused on suspension work, with good results! The second San Carlo Gresini Honda will be campaigned by Marco Simoncelli in 2010. Simoncelli is a MotoGP debutant, in every possible way; new team, new machine, new race tyres and much stiffer competition out on track. However, the former 250cc World Champion makes steady improvement as he unravels the mysteries of the powerful 800cc four-stroke V-four Honda. That progress is particularly notable as Simoncelli set his best lap time on tyre that already completed 20 laps. The reigning 250cc World Champion, Hiro Aoyama (Interwetten Honda) made a giant step forward early today while working on base-line set up established by his team staff based on data gathered from the first test.. This was reflected in his lap times, his best at 2m 02.419 was 0.6seconds faster than his best lap time set in early February. But the Japanese rider struggled with front end problems later in the day. Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda, put in a massive 76 laps of the 5.548km circuit today but despite beating his best time set in early February, by over one second, the Frenchman was not happy with his day. De Puniet made progress early in the day but struggled from then on. Honda rider quotes. MotoGP. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 3rd. 2m 01.631s 52 laps. “I’m very happy about this first day of testing, we have the third fastest time but the most important thing is that we were able to consistently improve our pace. Every session out of the pits we improved and I could ride consistent and this is encouraging. Of course there is still a lot of work to do as we have to reduce the gap from the first riders, but I’m confident, and I’m very happy of the work done by Honda. Today we changed my position on the bike with a very positive feeling and then we tested some new electronic set up. Tomorrow we want to do more laps to confirm the race pace.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 7th. 2m 02.036s 47 laps. “We did a lot of work today and ran through quite a few machine adjustments but the bike was moving around quite a lot and we didn’t find the solution for that today. Tomorrow we will focus on increasing our speed in the corners and look to make a few improvements to the settings which should help us. I had a slow-speed crash in the hairpin because basically I braked too late but didn’t want to run off the track – and the front folded. Testing time is important for us because there’s not too much time left before the season starts, so we’ll be looking for a productive day tomorrow.” Marco Melandri, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 10th. 2m 2.086s 32 laps. “It was a good day. We did change the weight distribution as we found a good set up last time and we focused more on the suspension. I’m still not able to be fast with soft tyres but I’m not worried as this year we will have different tyres and tomorrow we will try the new soft tyre.” Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 12th. 2m 02.419s 57 laps. “After the first Sepang test, my team analyzed the data and today we started with a different set up. I could feel immediately an improvement so this is a good point. During the day we made other changes but we were not able to make another step forward. We are struggling especially with the front and the rear. Now we will analyze the data and tomorrow we will focus on these two points to improve my feeling.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 15th. 2m 02.535s 76 laps. “Today we didn’t improve so much compared to the first test session that we did here in Sepang at the beginning of February. Today we worked mainly on suspension but there is still a lot of work to do. We need to study the data with my team and decide the direction of work for tomorrow.” Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 16th. 2m 03.254s 53 laps. “If I look at the lap times of course I cannot be happy, but now it’s not the moment to look at lap times. We improved compared last time when we did the best lap time with a new tyre while today I did my fastest lap with a tyre that had 20 laps. The new category is new for me and my technicians but every day we learn something new so I’m confident: I have to improve my feeling with the bike, it’s not easy with such few days of testing”. Official practice times: 1 Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha 2m 01.068s 47 laps 2 Casey Stoner, Marlboro Ducati 2m 01.219s – 33 3 Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda 2m 01.631s – 52 4 Loris Capirossi, Suzuki 2m 01.687s – 52 5 Ben Spies, Yamaha Tech3 2m 01.843s – 42 6 Colin Edwards, Yamaha Tech3 2m 01.897s – 35 7 Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda 2m 02.036s – 47 8 Mika Kallio, Ducati 2m 02.038s – 76 9 Alvaro Bautista, Suzuki 2m 02.078s – 33 10 Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 2.086s – 52 11 Nicky Hayden, Marlboro Ducati 2m 02.221s 61 12 Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda 2m 02.419s – 57 13 Aleix Espargaro, Ducati 2m 02.449s – 35 14 Hector Barbera, Ducati 2m 02.485s 62 15 Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda 2m 02.535s – 76 16 Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 03.254s – 53 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA TEAM RESUMES TESTING AT SEPANG Twenty days after the previous MotoGP test at Sepang, the Repsol Honda Team picked up where it left off at the Malaysian circuit and continued its meticulous preparations for the upcoming season. Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa made the most of the hot, sunny weather at the 5.548km circuit to complete a full day’s development work with the new-for-2010 Honda RC212V on which they will mount their challenge for the MotoGP World Championship. Dovizioso took full advantage of the good track conditions today to up his pace from the last test, setting the third fastest time today with a lap of 2m 01.631s. It was an improvement of more than 0.6s compared with his best from early February, and Dovizioso said he was pleased with the progress he and his team are making in the limited testing time available ahead of the first race of the season in April. Pedrosa finished the day with a best lap time of 2m 02.036s which was good enough for seventh place with a gap of just under a second to today’s fastest time. The Spaniard was less satisfied than his team-mate with the results of the day as he struggled somewhat with the feeling from his machine. The 24-year-old was unhurt in a slow-speed fall as he braked late in to the tight left hand hairpin. With another day of testing here tomorrow, Pedrosa and his crew are confident that improvements to suspension and machine settings can see him close the gap to the front. Official lap times V. Rossi Fiat Yamaha 2:01.068 C. Stoner Marlboro Ducati 2:01.219 A. Dovizioso Repsol Honda 2:01.631 L. Capirossi Rizla Suzuki 2:01.687 B. Spies Yamaha Tech3 2:01.843 C. Edwards Yamaha Tech3 2:01.897 D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda 2:02.036 M. Kallio Pramac Ducati 2:02.038 A. Bautista Rizla Suzuki 2.02.078 M. Melandri San Carlo Honda 2:02.086 N. Hayden Marlboro Ducati 2:02.221 H. Aoyama Interwetten Honda 2:02.419 A. Espargaro Pramac Ducati 2:02.447 H. Barbera Aspar MotoGP team 2:02.485 R. De Puniet LRC Honda 2:02.535 M. Simoncelli San Carlo Honda 2:03.254 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Valentino Rossi continued from where he left off at the last test in Malaysia today, setting the fastest time once again on the first day of the second pre-season outing at Sepang. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is not in action at this test as he is currently recovering at home in Spain from a hand injury. It was a dry day in Sepang with temperatures reaching 37 degrees and 31-year-old Rossi made the most of it, completing 47 laps. He and his crew continued to work on the development of the 2010 YZR-M1 prototype, checking different settings and trying some new electronic maps. The Italian’s best time of the day was 2’01.068, just a fraction off his best time at the last test and 0.151 ahead of Casey Stoner in second place. Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 2’01.068 Laps: 47 “We started well today and we’re already very fast, so we’re quite happy about this. We’ve confirmed that the work we did at the last test was good and it’s clear we’re in good shape at this track. We worked on two or three different settings and today we’ve more or less made a decision about the right way to go with balance, suspension etc so this is good progress. We also tried some new electronic maps, to try to improve acceleration, but we need to do more work on this again tomorrow. It’s good to be fast at this stage and now we’re really just waiting to go to another track, to see how this new M1 will perform there. Tomorrow we will do a long run, maybe not race distance but just quite a few laps together, which will be the final part of our work at this track.” Spies and Edwards storm top six in Sepang Ben Spies and Colin Edwards continued their 2010 MotoGP preparations in impressive fashion in Malaysia today, the American duo both occupying a place in the top six on the timesheets. In typically hot and humid conditions at the 5.548km Sepang circuit, Spies was one of the fastest and most consistent performers on track, the Texan clocking a best time of 2.01.843 to finish fifth overall. The ideal track conditions presented Spies with the perfect opportunity to continue learning more about his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine. The 25-year-old spent time working on revised geometry settings to improve rear grip and he managed to shave close to 0.4s off his best time when he made an impressive debut at the technical Sepang circuit just three weeks ago. Just one place and 0.054s further back was Edwards, who clocked a best time of 2.01.897 despite a minor technical issue this morning costing him precious track time. Edwards still had a positive day, making big strides with a new YZR-M1 swingarm while also evaluating new electronics as Yamaha works tirelessly to ensure it remains the dominant brand in MotoGP this season. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team has one more day of testing tomorrow in Sepang before the reduced pre-season schedule concludes in Qatar next month. Ben Spies – Position: 5th Time: 2’01.843 Laps: 42 “It was hot out there today but I’m happy with how I performed and I feel I’ve accomplished a fair bit. I automatically picked up where I left off here because my fourth lap today was only three-tenths slower than my best time at the first test. I’m close to half-a-second faster than the last test and I’m more consistent. My fastest laps were all on tyres that had done race distance and that makes me happier than anything else. It’s not so much that I got under the 2.02 barrier but I did it on worn tyres and I think that will be one of my big strong points this season. I feel like I’m getting closer to finding the limit of the Bridgestone tyres and I’m getting more comfortable on them, but we still need to do more work. Today we played around with the bike a bit more than previously just to understand a few things but it was nothing major. Some changes were good and some were bad and I feel we made some important progress and I definitely had more grip. Everyday I’m trying to learn something and go a little bit quicker and that’s what I achieved.” Colin Edwards – Position: 6th Time: 2’01.897 Laps: 35 “After the small problem I had this morning I had to play catch up pretty quick to the rest of the guys but I managed to do some good laps and I’m happy with my pace. It was a productive day and I feel like we’ve learned a few things. Everybody is testing electronics and Yamaha have done another good job because what I tried definitely has some good points and they are moving in the right direction. Yamaha might have dominated last year but they definitely haven’t just taken the easy option and sat back. They’ve worked really hard on improving what was already a great bike, and some of the improvements have really helped me. I did more work on the new swingarm and I like it. It seems to help the front and the rear of the bike and it gives me a lot more confidence. And it helps a lot with my front feeling, which I had an issue with a bit last year.” 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2’01.068 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’01.219 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 2’01.631 4. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’01.687 5. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’01.843 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’01.897 7. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’02.036 8. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Racing Team 2’02.038 9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’02.078 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’02.086 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’02.22 12. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP 2’02.419 13. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’02.447 14. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 2’02.485 15. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 2’02.535 16. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’03.254 More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER ON THE PACE AND HAPPY, HAYDEN TAKES THINGS STEADY FOLLOWING ARM OP The Ducati Marlboro Team completed the first day of a second test session at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia today as they continue their preparations for the 2010 MotoGP season. Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were second and eleventh fastest on the unofficial time sheets today, without using the new tyres (hard front and medium rear) that Bridgestone have made available to the teams here. Both riders plan to try the new rubber during tomorrow’s second and final day. Stoner knocked a tenth off his best time from the last test at Sepang three weeks ago on just his second outing of the day and reported positive feedback from the new bike. Hayden also managed to improve his lap times from the previous session here although he was careful not to put too much stress on his right arm, which underwent surgery two weeks ago. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd fastest 2’01.219 (43 laps) “Today went really well, we have taken a good step forward since the last test three weeks ago. We didn’t make any major changes to the bike at the start, preferring to make small adjustments as the day progressed, working in particular on the swingarm. I’m satisfied the bike feels well balanced and the characteristics of the new engine make it easier to ride in general. We definitely have room for improvement in terms of the set-up we could find some more traction, for example, although we are still better off in this respect than we were here last year. We could also improve the bike under braking, especially in the hard braking zones, and find some more edge grip but it is a case of refining a few details. We have a good base to work from so I’m happy for today.” Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 11th fastest 2’02.221 (65 laps) “We started out with the setting from the previous test, working a little bit with the geometry, and in some parts of the track we got better but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We’ve been working on trying to solve a little front-end chatter and we did that a little by changing to the carbon swingarm. The arm is ok enough but I didn’t want to push it too hard.” Today unofficial lap times 1. Rossi (Yamaha) 2:01.068 2. Stoner (Ducati) 2:01.219 3. Dovizioso Honda2:01.631 4. Capirossi(Suzuki) 2:01.687 5. Spies(Yamaha) 2:01.84 6. Edwards(Yamaha) 2:01.897 7. Pedrosa(Honda) 2:02.036 8. Kallio(Ducati) 2:02.038 9. Bautista (Suzuki) 2:02.078 10. Melandri(Honda) 2:02.086 11. Hayden(Ducati) 2:02.221 12. Aoyama (Honda) 2:02.419 13. Espargaro (Ducati) 2:02.447 14. Barbera(Ducati) 2:02.485 15. De Puniet(Honda) 2:02.535 16. Simoncelli(Honda) 2:03.254 More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Spies and Edwards storm top six in Sepang Ben Spies and Colin Edwards continued their 2010 MotoGP preparations in impressive fashion in Malaysia today, the American duo both occupying a place in the top six on the timesheets. In typically hot and humid conditions at the 5.548km Sepang circuit, Spies was one of the fastest and most consistent performers on track, the Texan clocking a best time of 2.01.843 to finish fifth overall. The ideal track conditions presented Spies with the perfect opportunity to continue learning more about his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine. The 25-year-old spent time working on revised geometry settings to improve rear grip and he managed to shave close to 0.4s off his best time when he made an impressive debut at the technical Sepang circuit just three weeks ago. Just one place and 0.054s further back was Edwards, who clocked a best time of 2.01.897 despite a minor technical issue this morning costing him precious track time. Edwards still had a positive day, making big strides with a new YZR-M1 swingarm while also evaluating new electronics as Yamaha works tirelessly to ensure it remains the dominant brand in MotoGP this season. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team has one more day of testing tomorrow in Sepang before the reduced pre-season schedule concludes in Qatar next month. Ben Spies 5th 2.01.843 42 laps “It was hot out there today but I’m happy with how I performed and I feel I’ve accomplished a fair bit. I automatically picked up where I left off here because my fourth lap today was only three-tenths slower than my best time at the first test. I’m close to half-a-second faster than the last test and I’m more consistent. My fastest laps were all on tyres that had done race distance and that makes me happier than anything else. It’s not so much that I got under the 2.02 barrier but I did it on worn tyres and I think that will be one of my big strong points this season. I feel like I’m getting closer to finding the limit of the Bridgestone tyres and I’m getting more comfortable on them, but we still need to do more work. Today we played around with the bike a bit more than previously just to understand a few things but it was nothing major. Some changes were good and some were bad and I feel we made some important progress and I definitely had more grip. Everyday I’m trying to learn something and go a little bit quicker and that’s what I achieved.” Colin Edwards 6th 2.01.897 35 laps “After the small problem I had this morning I had to play catch up pretty quick to the rest of the guys but I managed to do some good laps and I’m happy with my pace. It was a productive day and I feel like we’ve learned a few things. Everybody is testing electronics and Yamaha have done another good job because what I tried definitely has some good points and they are moving in the right direction. Yamaha might have dominated last year but they definitely haven’t just taken the easy option and sat back. They’ve worked really hard on improving what was already a great bike, and some of the improvements have really helped me. I did more work on the new swingarm and I like it. It seems to help the front and the rear of the bike and it gives me a lot more confidence. And it helps a lot with my front feeling, which I had an issue with a bit last year.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Ducati: KALLIO EIGHT IN SEPANG TEST. ESPARGARO’ THIRTEENTH WITH SOME PHYSICAL PROBLEM Good start in the second winter test of the year for the PRAMAC Racing Team at Sepang, Malaysia. Mika Kallio finished in eighth place after a long day of work and development on his Ducati Desmosedici Sat. The Finnish rider lowered by a second the best time recorded approximately twenty days ago on the same track. His teammate, Aleix Espargarò, wasn’t in the best physical condition due to problems with the heat and jet lag. Tomorrow the Catalan rider will be able to try to improve in the second and final day of testing. Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 8th best lap time in 2’02.038 “I am really satisfied of the work done today: we have concentrated to analyze every single change made on the bike to understand its benefits and disadvantage. Thanks to this methodical work we were able to improve continuously during the day. This is for us an important sign because the last test didn’t finish very well. In the last attempt on the track we have grouped all the positive technical solutions found today and also thanks to new tyres we are now very close to fastest riders.” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing rider – 13th best lap time in 2’02.447 “During the morning I wasn’t feeling very well: last night I didn’t sleep so well and I had a bit of headache. I think is due to the jet lag and the heat we found here. After lunch I felt a little better and lap times started to lower as well. A pity that when I was feeling at the best I slipped with my bike. When I stepped back on track I had to take some time to get back the confidence with my bike and I couldn’t improve my lap times as much as I would have wanted to. I hope I will be able to have a good night of sleep so that I can be at the best tomorrow.” SEPANG TEST 2 DAY 1 RIDERS FASTEST LAP TIMES 1. Rossi (Yamaha) 2:01.068 2. Stoner (Ducati) 2:01.219 3. Dovizioso (Honda) 2:01.631 4. Capirossi (Suzuki) 2:01.687 5. Spies (Yamaha) 2:01.843 6. Edwards (Yamaha) 2:01.897 7. Pedrosa (Honda) 2:02.036 8. Kallio (Pramac Racing – Ducati) 2:02.038 9. Bautista (Suzuki) 2:02.078 10. Melandri (Honda) 2:02.086 11. Hayden (Ducati) 2:02.221 12. Aoyama (Honda) 2:02.419 13. Espargaro (Pramac Racing – Ducati) 2:02.447 14. Barbera (Ducati) 2:02.485 15. De Puniet (Honda) 2:02.535 16. Simoncelli (Honda) 2:03.254 More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI TOPS THE TEST TIMES ONCE AGAIN IN MALAYSIA Valentino Rossi continued from where he left off at the last test in Malaysia today, setting the fastest time once again on the first day of the second pre-season outing at Sepang. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is not in action at this test as he is currently recovering at home in Spain from a hand injury. It was a dry day in Sepang with temperatures reaching 37 degrees and 31-year-old Rossi made the most of it, completing 47 laps. He and his crew continued to work on the development of the 2010 YZR-M1 prototype, checking different settings and trying some new electronic maps. The Italian’s best time of the day was 2’01.068, just a fraction off his best time at the last test and 0.151 ahead of Casey Stoner in second place. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 2’01.068 Laps: 47 “We started well today and we’re already very fast, so we’re quite happy about this. We’ve confirmed that the work we did at the last test was good and it’s clear we’re in good shape at this track. We worked on two or three different settings and today we’ve more or less made a decision about the right way to go with balance, suspension etc so this is good progress. We also tried some new electronic maps, to try to improve acceleration, but we need to do more work on this again tomorrow. It’s good to be fast at this stage and now we’re really just waiting to go to another track, to see how this new M1 will perform there. Tomorrow we will do a long run, maybe not race distance but just quite a few laps together, which will be the final part of our work at this track.” Test Times 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2’01.068 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’01.219 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 2’01.631 4. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’01.687 5. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’01.843 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’01.897 7. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’02.036 8. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Green Team 2’02.038 9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’02.078 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’02.086 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’02.221 12. Hiroshi Aoyama (JAP) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP 2’02.419 13. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Green Team 2’02.447 14. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 2’02.485 15. Randy de Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 2’02.535 16. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’03.254 Sepang: Record Lap C. Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108 Sepang: Best Lap V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2’00.518