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Alex De Angelis and Gresini Racing again fastest Honda RCV rider at Phillip Island MotoGP test

In MotoGP

31 gennaio 2008

The rain came to Phillip Island on the morning of the second day of the three-day MotoGP test. Despite the rain easing off at lunchtime the track surface did not dry completely out until mid-afternoon. The day was not a wash out as the Honda riders took the opportunity to test their 2008 spec RCV’s in wet conditions for the first time.

However, once the track had dried it was the Gresini Honda teamsters, Alex De Angelis and Shinya Nakano who set the pace for the RCV riders to chase. De Angelis has impressed since he moved up to MotoGP level following his third place in the 250cc championship last season. The young Sanmarinese was fastest RCV man on the Island for the second successive day ending with second best lap time of the day.

De Angelis loves the fast flowing layout of the Phillip Island circuit as his performance indicates. He spent time learning the characteristics of his new charge in the wet making slight chassis adjustments to his RCV before moving on to test a range of Bridgestone race tyres when the track dried.

Shinya Nakano was as pleased with progress as his teammate and worked on machine geometry and the front forks while also undergoing more testing with the teams new Nissin brakes. Both Nakano and De Angelis will spend the final day of the three-day test working on general machine set up.

Andrea Dovizioso was fast in both wet and dry conditions aboard his JiR Scot Honda RC212V despite a slow speed crash. The young Italian, former 125cc World Champion and runner up in the 250cc series last year, ended the day in third place on the time sheets as he continued to adapt his riding style to suit the big 800cc four-stroke Honda.

LCR Honda rider Randy De Puniet was very happy with the RCV in wet weather testing his first time on the Honda in the wet and the Ohlins suspension finding good rear end grip from all areas of the tyre. On the dry track surface De Puniet struggled for grip mid corner and on the exit while running with the same dry machine set up he used at the end of a dry day one. The team has several basic set up options to try on the final day of the test tomorrow and is confident they can help Frenchman De Puniet improve both his feeling with the RCV and his lap times.

Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 1.30.449s – 54 laps. "I'm satisfied of today's test session, finishing with the second fastest time is a satisfaction. This morning we started in wet conditions, but in the afternoon the track dried out and things improved. We worked on the cycle parts to improve traction. We only tested race tyres and my rhythm was good. Tomorrow we will test some new tyres and hope to make another step forward. I feel much better than at Sepang, my results on track prove this".

Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 1m 31.074s – 60 laps. “After our very positive first day I can also have that feeling again today, despite the weather and a small crash! Again, the main thing is that Phillip Island has never been my favourite track because the layout of the track is complicated and there are so many elevation changes. Also, the thing about this layout is that it’s close to the sea so you can imagine how slippery it can be. Also, the strong winds you get here play a part of in dictating the track conditions, so you can imagine overall how tricky it can be to ride here in less than perfect conditions! Still, overall we are satisfied at the result we achieved today and the feeling from the Honda on Michelin tyre is very good. I was fast in wet conditions with lap times very close to the times you would expect in wet races here, so I am happy. In the afternoon the racetrack was drier but the temperature was particularly low, but we know conditions will be better tomorrow – one day of rain is enough thank you!”

Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 1m 31.316s – 74 laps. "I'm happy of the work done today even if I haven't improved my lap time of yesterday. I kept on working on the general set up: geometry, forks and Nissin brakes. It was an intensive programme but it was worth it. I have found a good feeling and I have fun riding, this is very important for a rider. Tomorrow we will keep on working on the new Honda RC212V".

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 31.373s – 72 laps “You know, we get a lot more dry races than wet, so the dry’s more important, but we’ve got to be ready for everything, so today was useful. We were able to check the bike in the wet and make a few little adjustments. Conditions stayed stable long enough to do that, which a lot of times in the rain is hard, you know, it’s dry, it’s wet, it’s pouring, it’s deep water, but today it stayed pretty stable so we got to check some stuff. The general feeling in the wet was okay, then in the afternoon it dried out enough to get some dry lap times. My best time was about the same as I did yesterday, I wasn’t able to improve, though conditions were a little bit cooler and not as good today, so I think that’s a positive. We’re not where we need to be on race pace consistently. I tried to test a few tyres today but at the moment we’re struggling for traction on the edge. So we need to have a meeting tonight with Michelin and maybe try something completely different. We struggled a bit here when we were here for the race, so we need to definitely address the problem tomorrow. We get one more day at it and hopefully the weather looks a lot better, so we’ll come in here and try to make a big step forward.”

Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 31.575s – 72 laps. "We lapped in the wet till midday and my pace was pretty fast. It was the first time for me in the wet on this bike and felt quite comfortable. We tested several rain tyres gathering important data for the season. After lunch, when the track started to dry up, I came out to proceed with my set-up work but the surface was dirty and slippery. We tested a couple of rear race tyres and we worked on engine map to improve the engine connection. The problem I had yesterday with the front is almost fixed and the bike is more stable now".