Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128306
Briefly··· Kurtis Roberts was imp re ssive in his first ride on the Proton V·five , lapping fa ster than several more experienced MotaGP riders. Marlboro Ducati did everything it could to keep the working mule Desmosedici out of view w he n it was in the garage. As 500n as test rider Vitto Guaraeschi pulled in, the garage door came down . keepi ng o ut prying eyes. Cecchinelli shed some light o n a machine described as a bridge between the 2003 and 2004 machines. The exhaust pipes were routed d ifferently, with one com ing out under the seat and the other off the right side. And the fairingwas more sleeklyshaped. "We have tried to make a bike that is easier to work on (or the mechanics, it runs a lot cooler and that performs better in the areas w he re we had problems last year," Cecchinelli said. "It is normal that with more horsepower you generate more heat. So the more refined the aerodynam ic shape is, the worse it is for cooling." Along with overheating, Loris Capirossi said the team had problems w ith wheelspin. "To me that was at the stop-and-go tracks ," he sa id. "Exiting (or slow corners and hard bra king for slow comers is where we are looking for the big im prove me nts." Cecchinelli said it wasn't tha t Du cati was looking for more stability (ro m the chassis , but it was clear (rom the results on those type of tracks that's the area where they suffered. "Our bike is already the best or close to the best at really fast tracks likeAssen, or the fast part of Phillip Island, but trated every lap for three days," the mu ltilingual Spaniard said. ''And in racing it' s very difficult because at the e nd of the day everyone is looking fo r the lap time, but many of the times you have to put that behind to see what the pace is, to see w hat happens whe n you've got 30 laps on the tire." The debate over front tire size wasn 't settled, Gibernau said, after he spent the day swapping fronts . "It's very difficult to go back and fort h between the 16.S and the 17," he said. "The riding style is comple tely differe nt. So that's why at the e nd I'd bee n able to do low 33s with both, and tha t is why I'm so happ y. Now I can race w ith any o f the tires , although 1 think my mind is quite clear on what I would like to have ." The differen ce on the Honda is that the 16.5 moves very fast fro m the right to the left. Not so much o n turn-in from vertical, but in mo re rad ical transitions. Marlboro Ducat l's Troy Bayliss was t hird fastest and the n rushed off with out comment to catch a plane to his European base in Monaco. He and teammate Loris Cap irossi were try ing parts from the 2004 Desmosedici, a test mule version of which was being ru n by test rider Vitto Guareschi. "My best time in the race was a 34.658; I did a 33.58 after 15 laps on the rear tire, " Bayliss said on Thursday afternoon. "We 're working on lots of t hings. We haven't had anything new that makes a big diffe re nce ." Edwards tied with Pramac Honda's Makoto Tamada for the fourt h-fast est time , though Tamada might have eclipsed him had he not crashed early on the final day, the Japanese rider highsiding after 20 laps when an oil leak slicked his rear tire. He was unhurt, but his lone RC-21 IV was too heavily damaged to continue . His I:33.40 from we are not so good in the slow tracks or the slow sections of the track," he said. "Th e new exh aust system is better because it is simpler. There is a better layout, and the id ea is to have less parts and to have less heat under the seat of the rider. We have to check the data back at the factory to see if that has worked." Th e intro d uctio n of the ne w exhaust is not for power reasons , Cec chin elli said, but it ob vio usly tried to make something that was better for power and rideability. It has also changed th e airbox, but C ecch inelli did n't want to o ffer any specifics: "The fuel tan k and airbox are different, but I can't say how. The bike that was in Valencia will be very close to what we will have in South Africa (o r the first race next season. There will be some small changes to the fairing, but the shape and the exhaust layout will be the same come the first race ." Camel Pramac Pons' Max Biaggi is hoping Honda keeps its word. With the departure of Valentino Rossi, the Japanese giant said it would Colin Edwards hod his seco nd te st on the Honda RC211V and ended up fou rth q uicke st afte r getting comfortable wi th the front end. the day before was matched by Edwards after the Texan made a crucial fro nt-e nd change . Showa technicians fitted the same type of forks that he preferred on his 2002 World Championship-winning Honda RCS I, with very spec ific valving. "Put it on there and went half a second faster in two laps and kept it there ," Edwards said. "I did 33s the whole time. It was good. I had no clue what was going on . Then as soon as I put those forks on, I said, 'I re me mber these. I missed you . T hanks honey, for coming back.?' His day was also shortened by a mechanical problem. Edwards wouldn't say why he stopped on the course, but a team member said it was an engine failure. That kept him milling around until early in the afternoon, eage r to get going. "So I was like, 'When I get back on we'll go as hard as we can for as long as we can,''' the Te xan said. Edwards is a fan of the 16.S-inch front, has been for some time, but the Honda was a different animal, and there were adjust ments to make. The Aprilia IRS-Cube) and the Honda IRC-S I) you could run it on that limit every comer," he said. "This one, that area's a little bit smaller. You've just got to find it," Capirossi ended up wit h a time just . 12 of a second off of Edwards but faster than he'd gone in the race. The Italian dilige ntly worked through engine and chassis parts and also tried the 16.S-inch fronts. "For sure this is the tire of the future because everybody push for this," he said. ''And the bike improve a little bit. Anyway I think for us is very important the next test www.cycienEWs.com be supplying six equal machines to the halfdozen factory-ba cked riders . "Th is is ve ry nice to hear," Biaggi said. A rider will emerge as the best, but Biaggisaid it wouldn't come from winter testing . "Honestly, it's not bad ifyou can be the fastest in tes ting," he said. "But on the other hand , there is another negative point that if you falldown to make this when it's not necessary, there's always a give and a get. And I believe in th e winter test there is no po int to sco re . No winn ing. For me it's 50-50 . I don 't really believe that this isa target, but I believe the target is to understand and to make them understand how it works, what you need, what's the fut ure item that the y can make . This is most important things. Because in w inter tests , especially he re, it's difficult to use the same rubber and construction for the tire that you use in the race - it's 20 degrees down ." The bilingual Biaggi described the signing by Yamaha of arc hrival Val entino Rossi in Ameri can colloquial terms. "Now when you have some hot potatoes. it' s in his hand ," he said. '" think it's good for everyone. It 's good for the people who invest money sponsoring on the CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 14,200 4 63