Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Testing, Testing 1-2-3 \ A lith the season ending just three the MotoGP men were back In actlon in pre-2006 season testing at the 3.'1l-mile Sepang Circuit In Malaysia, with the top factory men taking to the track for day one of a three-day test on Monday, November 28. Much like in the final race of the season at Valencia in Spain, the Hondas of Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden led the way early in the test, the two still riding their 2005 Honda RC21 IVs as they await the new bike. Rain the night before cost the teams the morning of the first day, but when things got going again it was Melandri and the Fortuna Honda Iapplng the fastest, the Italian setting a best of 2:02.019 while testing tires for Michelin. "It's only three weeks since I raced the bike and I felt good and did a lot of laps," Melandri said. "The track not in good condition, but I found a decent rhythm. We spent the day working on the general bike settings for the bike before we started testing tires for Michelin. I was injured when the race was held here, but we improved the setup from the last time I tried the RCV here. We tried several front and rear tires before I stopped my test one hour early. I was quite sick while I was in Japan last week so I didn't want to get too tired because we have two more days testing. Tomorrow we will try some chassis changes and HRC want us to try something new on the electronics." Following Melandri was Hayden, the former AHA SupertMke Champion lapping at 2:03.027. "It was a decent days work IookJng back on It," Hayden said. "Good weather this afternoon and we just kept chlppln' away at the job all across the board, and we made good progress In some places. There were a few things I really liked about the bike today. We tried some chassis changes and they help a lot - like going Into the comers the bike Is better and that was good for my confldence. We also tested front and rear tires for Michelin, which seem pretty good. We have to work hard at this test and get more consistent. A lot of guys are working hard for me here and we have to take a lot out of this test." Team Honda Pons arrived at Sepang with its all-new lineup for the 2006 season - Spaniard Carlos Checa and Australian Casey Stoner. The team spent the opening day 01 the test acclimating to the RC211 V. though that didn't stop Checa from ending the day as the third quickest rider In his second ride on the RC21 I V. Checa lapped at 2:03.605. "I enjoy riding this bike," Checa said. "It seems very positive, but I still have to Ieam a lot about the bike. I am still In a little pain y y weeks ago, 8 from my crash at Valencia earlier this month. For me it's a good experience to ride with this team. If you had told me halfway through the last season that I would be riding for the team with Santi Mulero as my chief mechanic, I would have been very happy for my future. I feel we can grow together into a good team. At this test I want to do a lot of laps with the bike and try various setup options and test as many tires as possible. Now we have found a good riding position I am ready to begin tire testing tomorrow." Stoner ended the day ninth after suffering his first crash on a MotoGP bike. "The whole day was pretty good except for the crash," Stoner said. "The front end just went away from me. I need a lot of laps on the bike, but we made an Improvwnent from the test at Valencia. The team has made the riding position better for me - the size of the bike suits me better than a 250. I felt good out there, really comfortable, but I have to take the test step by step. After the crash I didn't make much more progress." Hayden's Repsol Honda teammate Danl Pedrosa ended up fourth qUickest at the test, his best effort thus far In the off-season. "I was looking to get a good feeling on the bike try to find the best riding position for me get comfortable," Pedrosa said. "Then just ride and get more Information for the team and gain experience with the bike, engine chassis and tires. The mechanics need experience with the new group everybody has to grow up together. Today I think we made big Improvement In confidence compared to the test at Valencia. I am now much more confident on the bike. Braking hard on this high bike was much better than the last time I tested it. We only tried two different types of Michelin tires today. I don't have any experience of the Michelin tires so we let Michelin do our thinking for me today because they know DECEMBER 7, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS the tires. Me and my chief mechanic, Michael LeItner, don't have the experience yet. But I could feel the front end pushing, but I think this Is coming from the big rear tire. The step up to MotoGP Is very big, much bigger than from 125 to 250. I like the Sepang circuit and this will help dUring this test... Fifth and sixth quickest on day one was the Yamaha pairing 01 Colin Edwards and World Champion Valentino RossI. Edwards lapped at 2:03.78 with Rossi just behind at 2:03.80. 'It,s usual it was hot and humid out there, but It feels good to be back on the bike." Edwards said. "We had a bit of a rain delay In the morning and got started a bit late, but once we did get going I instantly felt comfortable on the bike. I said in Valencia that I needed to get out and do lap after lap to really ingrain this new style into my head, and this test Is offering me that chance. As soon as I started, I felt that it was coming much more easily than at the last two races - I didn't have to make such an effon to consciously think about doing It and It felt more natural. We played around with some new settings and electronics and found that we are moving even more toward Valentino's settings; it all felt good. We test- (Top) Marco Melanclri the MalaysIan MoloGP fa..... rider. off as the (Wt) Nkky Hayden talks 10 hi. new __ m~, Doni '-elrosa. (RIght) The new Yamaha M 1. ed a couple of tires for Michelin, but mostly today was about getting back Into the swing of things and getting comfortable with my new style." Uke Edwards, RossI had a new Yamaha at his dlsposa/. "My first Impressions 01 the new bike are very positMl," RossI said. "The engine seems a little bit faster and It feels more stable. HOWIMlr, I only did a shan run, just a few laps, so It's really too early to make any detailed observations about it at this stage. Tomorrow the real work will stan and we will take some time to try to understand the new bike and begin to work on the setup. Most of today we spent on the 2005 bike, testing tires for Michelin and trying to understand the problems that we had here during the race In September. We made some investigations and tried to gather some information to help us, and we made some good progress. We will continue like this tomorrow as well as getting started working on the new bike."

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