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2010 MotoGP - Valencia Test |
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2010 MotoGP - Valencia Test |
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Valencia Test - Day One -- Ducati Less than 24 hours after the 2009 season had concluded the Ducati Marlboro Team was back on track at Valencia as Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden completed their first day of testing for the 2010. Warm sunshine and strong winds welcomed the riders onto the track for the afternoon session, with a full day's work scheduled for Tuesday and another half day on Wednesday, when the track will close at 13:00. Stoner and Hayden enjoyed a positive day, clocking the fastest and fifth fastest times respectively. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st; 1’32.660 (32 laps) “We tried a new engine configuration designed at improving the rideability of the bike and for the moment it is going really well. The feedback is more smooth and we improved traction with the same set-up we used over the weekend, so that is positive. We also tried some different forks and in general I am satisfied. We didn't do many laps today - just tried to make sure we were working in the right direction. I think we are and I can't wait to get back on track tomorrow, when hopefully it won't be as windy." Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team), 5th; 1’33.358: (58 laps) “I was really looking forward to getting back out on track today and starting work on next season. We have a direction to work in and loads of work to do but we made a lot of progress already today. We don't have a lot of tyres available and just worked with two sets - a hard one and a softer one - with very similar times on both that were not far off my qualifying time from Saturday. We tried some engine updates on one of the bikes, some forks and a couple of different settings but this is just the start and it is early to say which is best because the lap times have been very similar. Generally it's been a good first day and I'm happy." -- HRC Weather: sunny, cool and windy Ambient temperature: 18 degrees Track temperature: 28 degrees Pedrosa fastest Honda RC212V rider on opening day of Valencia test The 2010 season opened with the traditional post Valencia GP test, the first MotoGP winter test session where the teams and riders get to test the latest technical developments from the race machine manufacturers R&D departments. Testing started after lunch and ended at 17.00. Early progress was hampered by fine sand blown onto the track surface by strong overnight winds. Once the track had developed a clean racing line the riders set about testing in earnest. The Repsol Honda factory team have a full programme of testing with a new engine, chassis, electronics and suspension parts to test. Dani Pedrosa tested Ohlins suspension for the first time today taking his time to get a good feeling from the Swedish hi-tech suspension equipment. Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso has already done the hard work initial shake down test with Ohlins over the final half dozen races of the season. Pedrosa spent much of his time in the pit box as team technicians worked on the various setting possibilities restricting Pedrosa to 31 laps. Italian Dovizioso spent the first afternoon of the test evaluating the new stiffer chassis, which features slight geometrical changes, and a new swinging arm developed to improve the weight distribution of the RC212V. Dovi was happy with the improvements made and goes into the second day of the test in a very positive frame of mind. Frenchman Randy De Puniet set ninth fastest time of the afternoon on his LCR Honda. The team technicians worked to overcome a rear end problem that had deprived De Puniet of grip in Sunday’s GP. Problem solved the team moved on to test new suspension links and new traction control software. San Carlo Gresini Honda will field a new two-rider line-up in 2010 with former teamster Marco Melandri rejoining the Italian squad where he is joined by the 2008 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli. Both men spent time working on basic machine set up, Simoncelli feeling more comfortable, and improving his lap times, as the day wore on, Melandri moulding the riding position. Melandri last rode an RC212V in 2007 and was pleasantly surprised by the improvements made to the RCV during the intervening two season. Once he had accustomed himself to the riding position moved on to test various geometry settings in preparation for tomorrow’s full day on track. Newly crowned, and last ever, 250cc World Champion Hiro Aoyama took to the track for his first ever MotoGP test aboard a Honda RC212V. Everything was new for Aoyama! New machine, engine type, carbon brakes, consequently the 250cc World Champion took his time while unravelling the mysteries of the 800cc V4 four-stroke Honda! Several riders took to the track to test race machines that will contest the new, for 2010, Moto2 category. Thai rider Rathapark Wilairot setting a time of 1m 39.815s using a standard CBR600 engine in the SAG prepared chassis. Rider lap times and quotes: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th - 1m 33.088s, 31 laps “We tested with the new 2010 bike today and also used Ohlins suspension. The key thing was to begin getting used to the new suspension because the feelings are quite different and we need some time to find the set-up for the new chassis. We didn’t do so many laps this afternoon because, with this kind of testing, you spend quite a lot of time in the box. The feeling from the chassis was quite similar today - it’s the suspension that really feels different, and I think this is normal when you make a change like this. The initial feeling is positive and we’ll come back tomorrow and get back down to work.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 7th - 1m 33.675s, 51 laps “Today we tried the 2010 machine with the new chassis and swing arm. It’s very early days of course, but the first impression is positive and the feeling is that we are working in a good direction. The weight distribution is different in order to improve the stability of the machine under braking and to better suit the Bridgestone tyres. We have two more days of testing here, and tomorrow we have the whole day to continue evaluating the new machine.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 9th - 1m 33.775s, 61 laps.“First we tried to understand what happened yesterday when I struggled with rear grip issues during the race but we have not found a real solution to that problem. After that we worked on some new things like the 2010 link of Ohlins suspensions, modified traction control software and some new braking system components. I am pretty satisfied about the performance of the bike but I would like to get more stability in the rear which is our main job for tomorrow.” Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 10th – 1m 33.839s, 51 laps. “I had a very positive feeling this morning when I entered the garage and tested my position on the bike. It was a very good surprise to feel how different it is the current Honda machine to the bike I used to ride in 2007. We started working on the geometry of the machine while tomorrow we will focus on suspension and some other details but I’m really very happy. The engine is a little different to use compared to the one I was used this year and I need to get used to controlling the gas. Anyway my pace was quite consistent and not too far from the other Honda riders”. Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 14th – 1m 35.229s, 59 laps “I was impressed by the speed! It is not aggressive but the engine pushes. The first impression is that it’s not so easy as people say. After the test I shared with the technicians my first impressions and tomorrow we will continue working. We started with some settings studied for riders with different physical sizes than I so we did immediately important changes and I improved constantly. We have to continue like this, step by step as I need to understand the new machine and the direction to take for the set up” Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda MotoGP: 17th – 1m 37.964s, 40 laps “Today we started a little bit later than the other riders as last night we celebrated my 250 title. Yesterday my dream came true and today a new adventure starts. Even if I knew that I was going to ride a MotoGP bike, till yesterday I was 100 per cent focused on the 250. Today I tested a 4 stroke MotoGP bike for the first time. We lapped without traction control and electronic system (anti wheeling) to get used to the new machine. I was not used also to carbon brakes so today I concentrated to study the carbon brakes. For me everything was new today: new bike, new team so the first thing was to make laps and study the bike. Tomorrow we have the whole day to test, this would be very important as today we only completed 40 laps .” -- Yamaha One day after sealing the Triple Crown of titles for 2009, the Fiat Yamaha Team was back at work in Valencia today looking towards the next season. World Champion Valentino Rossi and runner-up Jorge Lorenzo tested this afternoon and will continue tomorrow before finally getting the chance to take some time off. Lorenzo finished the day second fastest behind Casey Stoner and Rossi was just behind him in third. Both riders had a new evolution of the 2010 prototype YZR-M1 to try alongside a 2009 bike, a step on from the first version they tried in August in Brno. They both reported back positively to the Yamaha engineers and were able to set some good times on the prototype bikes. Lorenzo's best time was just 0.025 seconds off Stoner, with Rossi 0.141 seconds behind his team-mate. Lorenzo, Position: 2nd Time: 1'32.685 Laps: 45 "I was really excited to try this new version of the M1 today and I had a lot of motivation to get back to work. The feeling out of the corner is much better and we have more grip already in the rear so it's a big improvement for me. We still need to work on acceleration but I like what we have so far and I think we will continue to be competitive like this year. We have to wait and see the comparison between the old and new bike at a different track next year, but I am excited. I'm quite tired because this is already our fourth day riding here, but I am happy to have one more day of testing." Rossi, Position: 3rd Time: 1'32.826 Laps: 37 "It was quite hard work to get back on the bike today but it's a very important test for us. The new prototype we have already feels better than what we tried in Brno, so this is positive. I was faster than with the old bike straight away so we know we're working in the right way and hopefully we can improve some more tomorrow. Of course we still have a 2009 specification engine and we won't have an update until the next test in February, but the bike already feels more stable and has more rear grip. Tomorrow we have quite a lot to get through and it will be an important day before we can finally relax." -- Suzuki Álvaro Bautista made his MotoGP entrance onboard a Rizla Suzuki GSV-R at a cool and windy Valencia in Spain this afternoon. Bautista has made the step-up from the 250cc class and performed well on his first ride on a four-stroke MotoGP machine He completed 52 laps of the 4,005 Ricardo Tormo circuit as he familiarised himself with the difference in performance between the 800cc bike and his previous ride in the quarter-litre class, finishing the day with a very impressive lap-time of 1’35.772. Loris Capirossi used the short afternoon session to begin testing new components for the 2010 Suzuki GSV-R. He began by evaluating a new cowling designed to improve cornering confidence in windy conditions and also tested some new Akrapovic exhaust systems which will be a factor in Suzuki’s performance development for next year’s machine. Rizla Suzuki has a full day of testing at Valencia tomorrow and another half-day on Wednesday morning, when both riders will continue with their respective test schedules to get the maximum preparation under their belts in readiness for the 2010 season. Loris Capirossi: “The test this afternoon has not been too bad for us, because the weather was so similar to yesterday we were able to do back-to-back comparisons on a couple of things without having to worry about outright lap-times. We will make some big changes tomorrow because we have a lot of time and also a lot of things to try. We got a better feeling today than we had all weekend and the new cowling and pipes certainly made a bit of difference. It will be really important to get a full day tomorrow and make sure we understand the direction we are going in. I think already that the direction for 2010 is clear and that we can improve a lot.” Tom O’Kane – Crew Chief, Álvaro Bautista: “I would firstly like to welcome Álvaro to the team and the whole crew is looking forward to working with him. I have been very impressed by the way he took to the bike today and his feedback has been excellent considering it is his first time on a MotoGP machine. His times are also very pleasing, but that is not the important thing right now. We need to get him familiarised with the bike and then we can start making adjustments and improvements that will help him to improve on his times. He has already gelled with the team and he looks like being a big asset to Suzuki.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The conditions today have been very similar to yesterday’s Grand Prix, which was a good thing because it has helped us compare things in particular areas where we have struggled. The new cowling design that Loris tested was not a fundamental fix, but it has certainly helped his confidence. Although the ultimate lap-time isn’t important the biggest benefit has been that his consistency and rhythm has improved a great deal. Along with some other detailed test items it has been a productive afternoon for Loris and small first step towards improving our level in 2010. “We have been delighted to see Álvaro riding the bike today - as well as him smiling a lot and basically enjoying himself. He has never ridden a four-stroke motorcycle before – let alone a MotoGP machine – so to make a lap-time in the 1’35s within 50 laps of riding the GSV-R is very encouraging. He is already starting to feel a part of the bike and the team. Overall from both sides it has been a good first day of the test, so let’s hope we can continue upwards tomorrow. “A quick ‘thank-you’ is also due to our new technical partner Akrapovic, who are working so hard to help us and already in the first test with their systems we have found a good step forward in power delivery.” Valencia Test - Day One Times |
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