Pedrosa Fastest RC212V Rider on Second Day of Losail MotoGP Test

From a Honda Motor Sports press release:

MotoGP test Losail, Qatar. Day two of three-day test, February 14, 2007.

Pedrosa fastest RC212V rider on second day of Losail MotoGP test

Mild weather and a steady breeze greeted the MotoGP riders as they took to the track on the second day of the three-day test at Losail, Qatar. The full compliment of teams contesting the senior two-wheeled world championship tested the latest technical developments to their 800cc four-stroke machines as they endeavoured to extract the maximum performance from both man and machine in time for the opening race of the season.

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was the fastest Honda man on track today setting a lap time one second faster than his best time of yesterday. Pedrosa was fast from the off this morning and continued to run at a consistently fast pace while putting in 87 laps mainly testing tyres for Michelin with chassis and suspension adjustments necessary to his Repsol Honda to get the best out of the variety of different tyres he tested.

Following a strong showing on the opening day of the test World Champion Nicky Hayden experienced a frustrating second day at Losail. The American fell from his Repsol Honda RC212V twice today, escaping unscathed on both occasions.

Hayden’s first crash happened in the morning and slowed the excellent progress made yesterday.
Back on track Hayden later ran into an engine problem and his technicians were required to change front forks from one RCV to the other losing more time. To compound a miserable day for the World Champion he suffered his second crash of the day late in the afternoon. Despite his misfortune Hayden retained his ever-positive approach to testing and goes into the final day determined to end the test on a high note.

Marco Melandri maintained his impressive pre-season form with another solid day. With Losail hosting the opening round of this years MotoGP World Championship on March 10 Melandri concentrated on preparing his RCV for the race.
The Gresini Honda team technicians have established a good base set up for the RC212V and it works well at the 5.380 km desert circuit.
This allowed Melandri to spend a large part of his day tyre testing for Bridgestone. The Italian tried several combinations with positive results that he feels will serve him well when he returns to Losail to race.

Toni Elias on the second Gresini Honda has yet to find the optimum type of Bridgestone tyre to suit his all-action riding style. The Spaniard improved on his lap time of yesterday and is confident the cooperation between the technicians at Bridgestone and his Gresini Honda pit crew will have positive results and provide him with the tyres he needs in time for the final MotoGP test of the season, at Jerez on February 23 – 25.

Carlos Checa put in a gruelling 108 laps aboard his LCR Honda today running at a constantly fast pace. The vastly experienced Spaniard worked with HRC engineers on the engine management system before moving on to tyre testing. Checa has worked diligently throughout winter testing and almost ready to race but he will go into the last pre-season test aiming to improve still further.

Konica Minolta Honda rider was delighted with his day in Qatar, the Japanese star finding the elusive corner speed he has lacked so far in his brief Honda career. Nakano has struck up an excellent working relationship with the Konica Minolta technicians and the team grows in confidence with each test and is beginning to understand how to get the best out of the Michelin tyres he will race with for the first time in his career. Riding with greater confidence Nakano shaved half a second off his best lap time of yesterday.

Team Roberts worked through a series of chassis and suspension settings on the KR212V while testing tyres for Michelin. Team rider Kenny Roberts Jnr is pleased with the progress made with the new chassis at Losail and goes into the final day confident development is moving in the right direction.


Honda rider quotes and lap times.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 57.629s – 73 laps."Well really it wasn't the best day to be honest. Yesterday went well but today wasn't so smooth. In the morning session I had a small crash and I also had an engine problem which meant we had to take the forks I like from one bike and put them on the other bike. At the end of the day I tried to go out and finish off strongly and had another crash which is a little frustrating. We'll definitely try and sit down with the team tonight and go through all of the data to get things sorted for tomorrow - we'll be looking to finish off with a strong day."


Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 56.712s – 87 laps “Today we were able to improve things a little bit more and it was a positive day. Basically we’ve been testing tyres and settings for the chassis and everything went quite well. At noon it was very windy, but it didn’t really interfere and we could test a lot of stuff and get through the programme we had in mind. The wind it was not too much of a problem, and anyway, it’s also good because Qatar is normally very windy and we can easily have these conditions at the first race here”.


Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 57.59s - 76 laps "The team is doing a great job. I like the bike, I have a good feeling when I'm riding.
Today we tested several tyres with Bridgestone and we found some interesting solutions that can be good in preparation for the race. I did my fastest time with race tyres because at this moment it is important for us to be ready for the first round of the season. We still have to work hard but I'm confident".


Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 1m 58.99s - 61 laps.
"We are struggling a bit because we still haven't found the tyre that it's good for my riding style and my characteristics. I'm confident because we are working hard with the Bridgestone technicians. We will get probably some new stuff to test in Jerez for the next IRTA test session, this would be very important for us "


Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 1m 56.874s – 108 laps.
“I am quite satisfied about today’s position. The improvement we had show that we found the right direction to go but we need to work hard on the chassis and the engine. I gathered some important data for the HRC engineers to improve the engine performance. Then I tested different tyres trying to do a race simulation but the conditions were not suitable. Anyway the pace seems to be good and constant and this is very important cause the first race of the season is right here in a few weeks time”.

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 57.274s -
73 laps. “I’m very satisfied with this second day of testing as finally I was fast, despite a harmless crash! Most of the time today has been dedicated to the important job of testing the Michelin tyres. These are vital for the set-up of the new Honda RC212V. Today, I found a good front tyre and with this I was able to increase my corner speed, which is important on this new breed of 800cc machines. During tomorrow’s final day we will continue the job of tyre testing for Michelin by aiming to find a good rear tyre to be used as a reference point for the race which takes place in less than four weeks time! In the afternoon, if we have the time to do so, we have scheduled a race simulation. I’m looking forward to getting to know my new bike even more and aiming to give the Team all the feedback and information they need so we can improve still further.”


Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR212V: “We are running with the latest chassis today mainly worked on suspension and tyres and I feel we are moving in the right direction. We struggled a bit when the wind got up so we didn’t run real fast times, the same for everybody I guess. We stopped early when we hit the engine mileage limit. Tomorrow we will continue where we left off today, working on the basics.”



MotoGP test Qatar. Day 2 unofficial lap times:

1. C. Edwards                1m 56.296s
2. V. Rossi                     1m 56.537s
3. D. Pedrosa               1m 56.712s
4. C. Checa                   1m 56.874s
5. C. Stoner                   1m 57.040s
6. J. Hopkins                 1m 57.065s
7. S. Nakano                 1m 57.274s
8. R. De Puniet              1m 57.288s
9. K. Roberts                 1m 57.504s
10. M. Melandri              1m 57.591s
11. N. Hayden              1m 57.629s
12. L. Capirossi             1m 57.698s
13. C. Vermeulen           1m 57.770s
14. A. Hoffman               1m 57.999s
15. A. Barros                  1m 58.513s
16. M. Tamada              1m 58.610s
17. T. Elías                     1m 58.990s
18. S. Guintoli               1m 59.138s
19. S. Itoh                     1m 59.617s
20. A. Pitt                     2m 02.453s