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Repsol Honda riders top time sheet on final day of Jerez test

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30 novembre 2007

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Repsol Honda riders top time sheet on final day of Jerez test

The long arduous 2007 MotoGP season finally came to an end as the teams and riders completed the three-day test at the 4.428 km Jerez circuit in Southern Spain.

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden were the only two men to break into the 1m 38s bracket during the test with Pedrosa posting a fastest lap at 1m 38.562s with Hayden less than three-tenths of a second adrift. Pedrosa time almost a full second faster than his pole position lap for the GP at Jerez in March.

Both riders rode the 2008 prototype RC212V 800cc four-stroke V-4 working to establish base line settings for engine electronics, chassis and suspension settings for characteristics of the new machine they will race in the 18-round 2008 MotoGP world championship. The initial impression gained by Hayden and Pedrosa about machine development has been positive with steady progress achieved with engine and chassis over the three days at Jerez. But as they head home for the winter break in buoyant mood both men know there is much hard work ahead before they are ready to race.

JiR Scot Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso set fourth fastest time on his 2007 RC212V on what the young Italian MotoGP debutant described as. “A perfect day.” Dovizioso has improved every time he has taken the RCV out on track. His step by step analytical approach to testing has delivered a rich font of knowledge in a very short time.

Randy De Puniet is another Honda man to impress in close season testing but he ended the Jerez test on a low note crashing the LCR Honda twice while struggling with traction problems. The team tried a range of tyre – suspension combinations but was not comfortable with the results.

Gresini Honda riders Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis have joined the team for the 2008 season and have both benefited from the three-day test. Nakano set fifth fastest time today as he completed his test programme, he is regaining confidence and his feeling for the Bridgestone tyres he will use next season.

De Angelis is another 2008 MotoGP debutant who has found the move from the 250cc class to MotoGP not as daunting as first feared. Working with the experienced Gresini technicians Italian De Angelis has quickly adapted to the awesome power of the big four-stroke steadily improving his lap times as he learned more about RCV.

The Honda teams and riders will now take a well earned winter break before testing resumes on January 22 at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Honda rider quotes and lap times.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 39.562s – 72 laps.“Today we focused on tyre testing for Michelin and after three days I think we’ve learned some useful lessons for the winter. The HRC engineers have a lot of data to work with and can now prepare the machine for the next test sessions at the end of January. I think that we have quite a lot more work to do because we’re still some way from where we’d like to be, but the signs are quite encouraging. We have some time before the beginning of the 2008 season and there is plenty of scope for more improvements, so I hope we will use the time well. I have asked HRC for some similar things that I asked for in Valencia - plus many of the things from Valencia have been improved for this test. Now that there is some time we must focus on the areas that have not yet been improved. Today we only worked on tyre testing with the 2007 machine because we have the most reference data for this. We’ve got through a lot of work and this has been a profitable final test of the year.”

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 38.848s – 82 laps "Again it’s been positive today. We spent a big part of the day on the new RC212V and tried the machine with qualifying tyres for the first time. The lap time I did was pretty good and I really didn’t expect to go that much faster than race tyres, so I’m pretty happy. I also did a long run and, although that wasn’t on my favourite tyre, Michelin got some useful information from the run. We also found some good tyres over the three days of the test so it was positive on that front. The one slightly frustrating thing was that I rode the new machine for entire test except for the last hour today and I immediately went faster by about four tenths faster on race tyres which means we’ve got a bit of talking to do. There are still a few issues to iron out with the new engine but Honda knows how to make engines so I’m confident about it. Plus the chassis on this new machine is really good and a big improvement. I guess you could say it’s been a bad year, but it’s certainly not a bad life and so we’ll come back give it everything next season. A big thanks to all the team, sponsors and everyone who’s given me support this year. I’m really excited about coming back in good shape for when things fire up again in Qatar for the night race.”

Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 1m 40.121s – 68 laps. "I'm very satisfied of these three days of testing, we have worked with method and the atmosphere in the garage with my new team is friendly and we are all very motivated. Today we completed the programme testing some new rear tyres and working on the clutch setting. I'm happy because we improved the race pace and I was the first among the riders who use Bridgestone tyres. After a long season, tomorrow I will fly to Japan to spend some time with my family and to relax".

Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 1m 40.185s – 58 laps. "I'm very happy, Today I was more confident. We tested some different electronic setting and improved a lot the feeling with the bike. In particular, we succeeded in reducing the chattering. Today we made a big step forward, I improved the rhythm lapping in low 40.9. I'm very motivated and the relation with my new mechanics helps me a lot".

Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 40.398s – 62 laps. "I am not very satisfied today. I crashed twice but fortunately I was unhurt. We still have the same rear traction problems and the bike is not rideable enough for me. We made many different adjustments with suspensions and tried different tyres solutions with Michelin but I do not feel comfortable yet. When I came out today I pushed a bit more on qualifiers and crashed because the rear was not stable. Overall these three days have been useful for me to understand this bike and the atmosphere inside the garage is good but there's plenty of work still to do in the next tests".

Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 1m 39.747s – 59 laps. “Today was very good – a perfect day! We improved by around one second on race tyres and my feeling on the bike has improved a lot by changing some key settings. My lap time of 1m 40.3 on race tyres I’m very happy with – in fact I’m happy about this whole test. The main reason is that I don’t really like this circuit too much – especially for testing – so this is a good sign. I can go to the holidays happy that we have improved the bike. We have made it a little better stability-wise under braking, but we can still improve. The front-end stability in fast corners has been getting better and better today with the changes we’ve made.”