Mixed Weather Kicks Off Second Sepang Test Yamaha Factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies were back in action today for the second official IRTA test of 2012 at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Weather proved to be the biggest challenging factor for the day with rain sweeping in after lunch to wash out much of the afternoon’s testing. Lorenzo and Spies made the most of the dry time they had to make a final shake down on differing YZR-M1 engine specifications to finalize a standard set-up for the start of the season. The focus is also on finding a solution to the chattering problem affecting all teams on the track. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 3rd Time: 2’02.436 Laps: 22 “We started with a different engine spec to the one we used in the last test. Today it was difficult to make any comparisons as the track was in much worse condition than last time and the lap times were much slower. The rain also meant we couldn’t finish everything we wanted to today on the track so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.” Ben Spies Position : 4th Time: 2’02.819 Laps: 31 “Everything was good this morning; we were just waiting for the weather to improve in the afternoon. The Yamaha engineers delivered a lot for us to test again, it’s important we go the right way with the parts and not worry too much about what everyone else is doing. We have to focus on the task at hand which is what we’re doing and getting through all the updates methodically. We will keep working and hope for some good weather in the next two days.” Test Times 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2’01.761 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’02.005 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.436 4. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.819 5. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2’02.959 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2’03.132 7. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2’03.213 8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2’03.245 9. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’03.612 10. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2’03.820 11. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2’03.830 12. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2’05.563 13. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2’05.563 14. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’08.109 15. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 2’08.767 Sepang Record Lap C.Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: The Repsol Honda Team returns to Sepang on top The Repsol Honda Team had a positive start to the second Official MotoGP test in 2012 in Malaysia. Honda factory riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa topped the time sheets at the end of the first day both happy with the feeling they had with their 1000cc machine. A thunderstorm stopped the activity on track early in the afternoon, and Dani took the opportunity to ride a few laps on the RC213V in wet conditions for the first time while team mate Casey chose to remain in the garage instead and discuss testing plans for the second day with his crew. The current MotoGP World Champion has been working on various set ups and he set the best lap of the day with a time of 2’01.761 on lap 8 of 16 completed. Dani focused on the chassis geometry, rider position and power delivery of the new engine and finished as the second fastest rider of the day with 2’02.005. On his last run, the Spanish rider had to stop on track for an engine problem that technicians will analyse tonight. CASEY STONER 1st – 2’01.761 “It was really hard to leave Switzerland, Ally woke up for a feed at the same time as I was leaving for the airport and I didn’t really want to leave! The first day of testing has gone well, we started off where we left last time but the track conditions have been a little worse. We have a some work to do, this morning we managed to compare a few things back to back, we’ve tried a new set of brake disks to try and reduce the brake fade that I’ve been having at the last test so that’s been an improvement. We’re trying a few other things with set up, to shorten the wheelbase and get a little more traction. We have a couple of things we can try to change the stiffness and also move the weight around a little bit to try and upset the chatter and reduce the frequency. This afternoon I have no doubt we would have gone a second or a second and a half faster, but the rain came out and the track didn’t dry up enough to warrant going out so we’ll wait until tomorrow” DANI PEDROSA 2nd – 2’02.005 “It was a good test for us, we made a couple of good runs. The track was very dirty at the beginning of the practice and you could feel the grip level was not so good, but it’s been improving little by little during the day and we could work through our testing program. It was much warmer than in the last test; after the first run I was sweating more than in the three days we came here last time! Today we did some tests on the engine, to see how can we manage the power delivery, and also worked on the chassis. Also, on the rider position to work on the balance and it was positive. In the afternoon I did some laps in the rain, but on my second run it started to dry up quickly, so we finished earlier. On my last run, I had a small issue, I saw a red light on the dashboard, so I took the clutch and stopped. We have to analyse now what it was”. Testing Results 1 Casey Stoner 2’01.761 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Dani Pedrosa 2’02.005 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 3 Jorge Lorenzo 2’02.436 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 4 Ben Spies 2’02.819 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 5 Alvaro Bautista 2’02.959 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini 6 Nicky Hayden 2’03.132 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 7 Cal Crutchlow 2’03.213 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 8 Valentino Rossi 2’03.245 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 9 Hector Barbera 2’03.612 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing 10 Stefan Bradl 2’03.820 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 11 Andrea Dovizioso 2’03.830 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 12 Colin Edwards 2’05.510 USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing 13 Franco Battaini 2’05.563 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 14 Ivan Silva 2’08.109 SPA BQR-FTR BQR 15 Yonny Hernandez 2’08.767 COL BQR-FTR BQR More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: Rain affects day 1 at Sepang Test The second winter test in Sepang, Malaysia, began today, but the riders’ and technicians’ work schedule was affected first by a dirty track surface and later by rain. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden nonetheless discovered a number of positive aspects in the shortened day. The Italian decided to take advantage of the wet track in order to try out some changes to the rain setup, while the American received confirmation that the recent operation on his left shoulder was successful, and despite his fitness still not being at 100 percent, he was able to start working with the GP12. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 6th, 2:03.132 (32 laps) “I’m obviously still not at 100 percent, but considering I had shoulder surgery three weeks ago, it went better than I expected. I felt much better than at the last test and was able to give some good feedback, so I owe a big thanks to Dr Ting and his staff. This is the first time I could really ride this bike well, and I enjoyed it. The chassis gives you a lot of feedback, and it’s easier to understand the limit. We made some changes throughout the day and I pretty much got quicker every exit. It would have been nice to ride in the rain, but I didn’t want to do something silly and crash on the shoulder. Hopefully it’s not too sore when I wake up so I can do another half-day or so tomorrow.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 8th, 2:03.245 (39 laps) “Paradoxically, we actually started too early this morning! It would’ve been better to start at 11 like the others, because before that the asphalt was quite dirty, and by the time the conditions started to improve, the tyre already had about fifteen laps on it. We decided to save the second tyre for the afternoon, but it started raining after lunch. As a result, we didn’t get much done today. We didn’t even start working with the new software that we have available for this test. On the plus side, we were able to confirm that the feeling in the wet is still pretty good with the GP12. Weather permitting, and with a couple more tyres at our disposal, I think that tomorrow we’ll be able to work a little more comprehensively and understand things a bit more.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL BACK ON TRACK AT HUMID AND RAINY SEPANG CIRCUIT Sepang, 28 Feb: four weeks after the first 2012 official outing, the premier class teams and riders returned to Malaysia for the second MotoGP winter test for a 3-day practices session proceeding the fine tune of their 1000cc prototypes ahead the season kick off on the 8th of April in Qatar. On day one LCR Honda MotoGP Team rookie Stefan Bradl and his colleagues were greeted by warm humid weather conditions including some poor rain at lunchtime but the German rider completed 31 laps aboard his Honda RC213V getting the 10th fastest lap of the day (2’03.820) whilst Stoner topped the time sheet on 2’01.761. Stefan 10th: “Well… the surface conditions today were not very good due to the rain but we could make our first long run in the wet to see my feeling on wet tyres. I lapped 2 seconds slower than my first test here but on these conditions I take the most of the bike and we will proceed our set up work in the next two days. Technically speaking we have compared the 2 chassis spec. working on rear suspension too and we have tested a new map which includes the wheelie software”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Honda takes early control of Sepang Test The second Official MotoGP™ Test of 2012 commenced in Malaysia on Tuesday, with Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa topping the timesheet at midday before stormy tropical weather conditions washed out much of the afternoon’s testing. Leading the early pace in the opening half of day one was reigning World Champion Casey Stoner with a best lap of 2’01.761 set on a slippery track, three tenths of a second ahead of Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, before heavy rain at the mid way point washed out much of the afternoon’s testing. Stoner ended his day after just 16 laps, while team-mate Pedrosa ventured out after the weather cleared to continue working to find a better position on the RC213V. The Spaniard was happy to finish the day having found improvements that allow him to better handle the heavier 1000cc bike under braking. Yamaha Factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies completed the day third and fourth fastest, with Lorenzo testing a new engine though the slippery track in the morning and rain in the afternoon prohibited testing its full potential. The pair also tried modifications to the YZR-M1’s existing gearbox in search of more stability when shifting. Alvaro Bautista was the highest satellite team rider with a best time of 2’02.959, placing him in fifth position. The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider focused on riding position and geometry as he continues to adapt his riding style to the 1000cc machines, claiming “I think I will have to sacrifice corner speed in order to get more traction exiting the corner.” Returning from surgery just three weeks ago, Nicky Hayden closed out the day in 6th place with a time of 2’03.132. The Kentuckian said via a Twitter that although he is not yet 100% recovered, he feels much better than he expected. He also reported to motogp.com that his plans to work on improving traction were difficult to carry out thus far because of the challenging track conditions. With water still on the track, Ducati team-mate Valentino Rossi was the first to return to the asphalt, donning wet tyres and continuing to work on GP12 electronic package, traction, and corner exit acceleration. His best lap from the morning of 2’03.245 placed the Italian eighth for the day. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso concluded the day in seventh and 11th positions, respectively, with the Italian rider suffering with a rear brake issue that slowed his progress adapting to the Yamaha. Héctor Barberá was ninth and spent the morning searching for more grip from his Pramac Racing Ducati and testing the new braking light that will be required to run under wet conditions this year. Just behind Barberá was rookie Stefan Bradl on his LCR Honda who reported felling confident with his progress on the premier class bike as he continues to work on the Honda electronics. Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) tested a new seat and a new chassis for the Suter-BMW, completing the day 12th ahead of Ducati test rider Franco Battaini and the Avinitia Racing riders Iván Silva and Yonny Hernández. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) entered the track in the morning but exited soon after, eventually withdrawing from the Test completely after the shoulder and back injuries he suffered in crash at Jerez last week proved too painful to allow the Czech rider to continue. More, from a press release issued by Honda: MotoGP Test Sepang, Malaysia Day one of three-day test. February 28, 2012 Weather: Hot and sunny, rain midday. Track temperature: 37 degrees C Ambient temperature: 56 degrees C HONDA RIDERS START STRONG IN MALAYSIA Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa started strongly at the second MotoGP test of the season by topping the time sheets on a rain-interrupted hot and humid day. Stoner left home for the first time since becoming a father earlier this month to continue the domination he showed at the previous Sepang test. Early in his second run Stoner lapped the 5.548Km circuit in 2m, 1.761s. The time was the benchmark for the rest of the day after torrential rains moved in just after the lunch break. As quick as it was, Stoner’s lap did not approach his 1m, 59.607s fastest lap from the first test, which ended on earlier this month. Still, it was the fastest of the day by .244s. And Stoner believes the times would have been faster had the day not been hit by the typically torrential Malaysian downpours. Team-mate Dani Pedrosa finished with the second fastest time. The Spaniard, who had been third in the earlier Sepang test, spent the limited track time working on chassis geometry, rider position, and power delivery. Pedrosa completed 36 laps, but his day ended early with an engine problem that the team will diagnose overnight. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) was the first of the satellite team machines with the fifth fastest time. The Spaniard was affected by the poor track conditions, which he put down to a car race on the previous weekend. That, coupled with only 24 laps of dry track time, left Bautista unable to reach his true potential on the first day. The best of his 24 laps came on his 15th, when he clocked a time of 2m, 2.959s, just .140s outside of the fourth position. Rather than risk crashing, which he nearly did in the morning, Bautista decided to end the day early and continue his testing program in the morning. In his second MotoGP test on the LCR Honda RC213V, Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl finished with the tenth fastest time. The young German put in 31 laps with a best time of 2m, 3.820s. Bradl used his time to compare the two Honda frames, as well as working on rear suspension settings and engine mapping. The test continues on Wednesday. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V): 1st, 2m, 1.7601s “It was really hard to leave Switzerland. Ally woke up for a feed at the same time as I was leaving for the airport and I didn’t really want to leave. The first day of testing has gone well. We started off where we left last time, but the track conditions have been a little worse. We have some work to do. This morning we managed to compare a few things back to back. We’ve tried a new set of brake discs to try and reduce the brake fade that I’ve been having at the last test, so that’s been an improvement. We’re trying a few other things with set up to shorten the wheelbase and get a little more traction. We have a couple of things we can try to change the stiffness and also move the weight around a little bit to try and upset the chatter and reduce the frequency. This afternoon I have no doubt we would have gone a second or a second and a half faster, but the rain came out and the track didn’t dry up enough to warrant going out, so we’ll wait until tomorrow.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V): 2nd, 2m, 2.005s “It was a good test for us; we made a couple of good runs. The track was very dirty at the beginning of the practice and you could feel the grip level was not so good, but it’s been improving little by little during the day and we could work through our testing program. It was much warmer than in the last test; after the first run I was sweating more than in the three days we came here last time. Today we did some tests on the engine to see how can we manage the power delivery, and also worked on the chassis. Also, on the rider position to work on the balance and it was positive. In the afternoon I did some laps in the rain, but on my second run it started to dry up quickly, so we finished earlier. On my last run, I had a small issue, I saw a red light on the dashboard, so I took the clutch and stopped. We have to analyse now what it was.” Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V): 5th, 2m, 2.959s “The track surface was in poor condition and it was very difficult to push, so we focused on experimenting with some different set-up solutions to increase my confidence on the 1000cc bike. The rainfall brought our day to an early conclusion because with the already precarious conditions it was better to leave everything else we had planned until tomorrow. I had a miraculous escape this morning in turn five when I basically crashed, but managed to keep the bike upright on my elbow.” Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V): 10th, 2m, 3.820s “Well, the surface conditions today were not very good due to the rain, but we could make our first long run in the wet to see my feeling on wet tyres. I lapped two seconds slower than my first test here, but on these conditions I take the most of the bike and we will proceed with our set up work in the next two days. Technically speaking, we have compared the two chassis specs working on rear suspension too and we have tested a new map which includes the wheelie software.” More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing: Karel Abraham interrupts the test due to injury Karel Abraham, who completed only 3 laps during the first day of the second official MotoGP test at Sepang in Malaysia, withdrew from the test after back injuries from a crash at Jerez in Spain last week didn’t allowed him to continue. Abraham’s bike was used by Ducati test rider Franco Battaini, who finished in thirteenth position, 3,802s behind the fastest rider Casey Stoner. Karel Abraham: “žIt’s a shame because we lost a lot of time that we could spend by working on the bike. But it doesn’t make any sense to continue with such a pain and the chance that the injury would heal during the next two days is quite small. Now I’m heading back to the Czech Republic. The crash at Jerez was unlucky. There was an oil spill on the track and the bike slipped on it. The crash was very hard, the bike even caught fire. Most of the problems causes me the scapula. I have undervent some tests in a hospital in Brno after I returned from Jerez and there is a possibility that it’s fractured. There are three weeks before the final pre-season test and I know that I have to be fit as soon as possible and continue in the training. We lost a lot of time and now we have only a few days before the first race in Qatar to minimize the gap between us and the other riders.” Martin Havlíček: “žIt’s a big shame for us, but we are staying at Sepang and we will try to get as much data as possible. Thanks to the cooperation with Ducati Team, we could use the experiences of Franco Battaini, who spent the morning on Karel’s bike and then switched to Nicky Hayden’s bike while Nicky decided to skip the afternoon practice due to his injuries. Tomorrow we would like to continue in the same mode, but it depends on Nicky. But Franco, who uses the same set-up of the bike as Karel, is very experienced and has very good feeling for the bike. Gathered data and informations from him are very usefull. Now we are not focusing on the lap times, our goal is to get as much data as possible.”