Motorcycles and news

Repsol riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa both improved on their performances of yesterday at Sepang today as the first of the year’s three-day Moto GP test sessions continued at the 5.548 km Malaysian track. The Repsol Honda factory riders worked through an extensive programme of tests aimed at further developing the prototype RC212V that will campaign the 2007 season.

Hayden, the reigning Moto GP World Champion, began his day working on the front end of his RCV trying various front forks and settings in combination with a variety of Michelin front tyres. The team also worked on engine power delivery to improve top speed.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda:
“We actually learned quite a lot about how the new bike works today and we improved by almost half a second so it’s nice to see some progress. We weren’t testing new parts from HRC, just working with suspension, wheelbase, springs ­ general settings stuff to try and get the bike a little bit quicker. We definitely improved the bike and learned some more about how it works and reacts to different settings and conditions. We’re still some way off where we need to be though so we’ve got to keep our heads down and keep working really hard.”

Hayden’s Repsol Honda team-mate, Dani Pedrosa concentrated his efforts on overall chassis and suspension performance of his RCV. Pedrosa emerged unscathed from a slow speed crash at turn nine to set a best lap time half a second faster than his best of yesterday.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda:

“Today we worked hard on many different ways to improve the bike. With testing there are always some things that work and some that don’t work so it was a useful day even though we didn’t set a very fast lap time. Unfortunately I made a small mistake on the brakes into the slow left-hander at turn nine ­ I was a little off-line and lost the front, but it wasn’t a big crash, just a human mistake. Tomorrow we will try to go a little quicker and we’ll also be working with Michelin on some tyre testing.”

Gresini Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias both put in 70 plus laps at the 5.548km circuit today. Italian Melandri working hard on machine balance, geometry and the clutch before moving on to test a range of tyres for team supplier Bridgestone. The former 250c world champion ended the day with a best lap time a full second faster than his best on the opening day of the test.

“It was a demanding day. The temperatures were very high and we worked non-stop to finish today’s programme. We struggled a bit in the morning but in the end we found a solution that I like. We tested different set up solutions and studied the geometry of the bike before starting to test tyres. I’m quite satisfied, the clutch has improved and I have a better feeling now. Tomorrow we will focus on tyre testing. I’m confident that there is enough time to be ready for the championship. I see the Honda Engineers and the Bridgestone technicians very motivated”.

Toni Elias, Gresini Honda:

“Today we focused on tyre testing without making too many changes on chassis and suspensions. We tested many variations, rear tyres and front tyres, in order to find the right solution for the Honda- Bridgestone package. It has been a tough day but I’m happy and confident. At this moment of the year is important to work step by step, because we need to understand how the new bike works with these new tyres.  Tomorrow we will continue the tyre testing while in Australia we will go back working on the setting of the bike”.

Elias worked almost exclusively on tyre testing for Bridgestone. Working methodically the team tried several combinations of different profiles, constructions and compounds. The Spaniard improved on his best lap time of yesterday by six-tenths of a second.

Shinya Nakano ran into front-end problems on his Konica Minolta liveried RC212V but despite the front ‘hopping’ under heavy braking the Japanese rider lowered his lap times by half a second. Near veteran Spaniard Carlos Checa continued his efforts to adjust to the 800cc four-cylinder RC212V and put in a mammoth 86 lap stint that saw him improve his feel for the machine and his lap times of yesterday.

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda:

“Today I am a little bit disappointed because I was struggling with the set-up of the machine. In the beginning it went quite well so I thought I could mark good lap times. Then the front end started hopping during braking which made me a little nervous. I tried Michelin new 16 inch tyre but as the basic set-up wasn’t well fixed yet, I couldn’t feel the advantage of the tyre. But it is only the second day here and I still have improved my lap times from tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry so much. Tomorrow, I will change front suspension set-up drastically and see how it goes.”

Carlos Checa, LCR Honda:

“Basically all the Honda riders have the same difficulties but we are working hard to fit the bike and I am pretty confident for the future. The last two years I raced on different bikes with different tyres and need more time to adapt to the new bike. I put more miles on the bike today testing different tyres with Michelin but we still miss something to be faster especially in the exacting part of the track.”

Team Roberts changed to a second all new chassis overnight. The RC212V powered machine, which has the same geometry as the first chassis tested yesterday. The version tested today has a different method of construction to that of the chassis used on day one.

Kenny Roberts Jnr, Team Roberts:

“We basically got on our new machine this morning and on the first run I got down into the high 2m 03s lap times. The bike felt a little bit more positive on turn-in and was better on mid-corner grip. We went through some settings and tried some different swing-arms - kinda a replica of what we did yesterday. Then we did some tyre testing at the end of the day but the team had a late night last night ­ until about two in the morning ­ so we stopped with a few hours to go to regroup and see what we had left, and to make a battle plan for tomorrow so that we can run all day.”

Team rider Kenny Roberts Jnr felt some improvements on turning into corners and mid-corner speed and he was immediately able to lower his time to 2m 03.88s in the morning. With the hotter afternoon temperatures he wasn’t able to further improve his time. The team tested the same swinging-arms from yesterday, worked on some tyre testing and experimented with the engine braking control. Tomorrow they’ll work on engine power management.

Sepang Moto GP test ­ day two
Unofficial lap times