MotoGP 2003 - Pramac Honda - Testing - Sepang - Day 1

Pramac Honda team forces are being doubled for the entire pre-Championship test period: Makoto Tamada, the Pramac Honda team challenger for 2003 made his track debut together with Shinichi Itoh, official test rider.

Itoh will be taking part in all the test sessions from now until the Championship gets under way. The aim is to enable Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone to intensify its development programmes before the season officially starts up on 6 April in Suzuka.

After the fine but constant rain of the last few days in Sepang, the 5.54km track was dry and the riders were out on their bikes right from nine in the morning. Testing was unfortunately stopped by rain at 3:30 p.m.

The test programme is absolutely essential for Bridgestone, whose technicians are gathering their very first data from four-stroke GP motorcycles. The material, all 2003 spec, was tested today by Shinichi Itoh, while Makoto Tamada focused mainly on trying out different settings on the suspension system of his RC 211V. Bridgestone has an ambitious goal but even this very first day out made it possible to gather a considerable about of data that will now be carefully analysed to find out what exactly needs to be developed.

Makoto Tamada: 2m09.2 – "The first day of testing was, as always, dedicated to the set-up of the bike, partly because it’s the first time I’ve ever been to Sepang and I need to understand and interpret the circuit. I’m pleased with the way things went today, as I’ve been able to prepare well for the days ahead. There’s plenty of room for improvement, and we’ll be carrying on with the test programme tomorrow."

Shinichi Itoh: 2m07.5 – "I hadn’t ridden at Sepang for a year – and last time I was using tyres from a different manufacturer. I noticed the difference, and after trying out a few solutions we drew up the work programme for the coming days. It’s going to be pretty intense but I’m not worried about the quantity of work as I’m sure we’ll be able to achieve some excellent results."