TEAM-SPEAK: Qatar MotoGP Test, Night 1 (Pics)

March 18, 2010 by admin
Filed under Breaking News

Fiat Yamaha

Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi continued his domination of the pre-season testing programme in Qatar today, finishing the opening day of the final test 0.3 seconds ahead of Casey Stoner. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo made a welcome return from injury to finish the day a creditable seventh and with Ben Spies third and Colin Edwards fourth, it was four Yamahas in the top seven.

Valentino Rossi • Courtesy Yamaha

Testing began at 6pm under the floodlights at the desert track and Rossi was in command from the word go, finding yet more improvement in the 2010 M1 at what is not generally one of his best tracks. A break for dinner saw both Stoner and Spies better his time but the Italian was determined to finish the day on top and improved again on his last run to regain first place.

Lorenzo missed the last test after breaking his hand and he was unsure how much strength he would have today, but the 23-year-old Spaniard was happy to find himself in better shape than expected and he steadily improved all night. He found the hard braking areas the most difficult but he was able to ride well enough to continue with his interrupted testing regime, and he is hopeful of further improvement tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi, Position: 1st Time: 1′55.402 Laps: 64
“I am so happy today because this isn’t one of our best tracks and to come here and be fastest shows what a great job Yamaha has done with this new M1. To start with the track was quite slippery but anyway we were still fast, and as the track started to improve I felt better and better. We are quite competitive and this gives me a good feeling, and I was happy to make this quick lap right at the end. We still have

Jorge Lorenzo • Courtesy Yamaha

to decide the right tyre and the best setting for it, and we will keep working on the electronics but the most important thing is that we’re faster than last year! Tomorrow we will continue with our work and try to finalise everything before the race.

Jorge Lorenzo, Position: 7th Time: 1′56.838 Laps: 45
“It’s really good to be back on my bike and actually when I went out on track the first time today my hand felt better than I had expected. The pain has decreased a lot in the last few days and I’ve been doing a lot of physio to make sure I’m in the best possible shape for this test. I was able to do quite a lot of laps today and my time is not so bad in the end, it’s definitely interesting and important to be here and see our level after missing the last test. Dainese have made me a bigger glove and I have some protection on the hand; changing direction is okay, it’s just the hard braking areas where I have some problems. I need more practice but I think we have made a good start.”

REPSOL HONDA

The final round of MotoGP testing ahead of the 2010 season commenced today under floodlights at the Losail International Circuit near Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The Repsol Honda Team was back in action at the venue which will host Round One of the World Championship in a little over three weeks’ time, with riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso running through a series of tests in preparation for the night race here on Sunday 11 April.

Dani Pedrosa • Courtesy Repsol

As the sun set over the desert circuit, the factory Honda riders ventured out on track shortly after the pit-lane opened at 6pm to begin their first evening’s work. Dovizioso and his crew evaluated a series of settings adjustments to the new-for-2010 Honda RC212V including an updated swingarm and an altered riding position. He finished the day with a best lap time of 1m 56.811s which put the Italian in 6th place.

After a steady start, Pedrosa made progress through the evening as he and his team continued their work in pursuit of the optimum settings for suspension and chassis. The Spaniard tested modified chassis components and reported an improvement during the six-hour test period, with further progress expected tomorrow. He finished the day in 10th place just a quarter of a second behind his team-mate with a best lap of 1m 57.047s.

The Repsol Honda Team will complete another evening at Losail tomorrow, which will mark the end of winter testing and the beginning of the build-up for the eagerly anticipated first race of the season.

Official lap times

1. Valentino Rossi 1:55.402
2. Casey Stoner 1:55.717
3. Ben Spies 1:55.954
4. Colin Edwards 1:56.540
5. Randy De Puniet 1:56.588
6. Andrea Dovizioso 1:56.811
7. Jorge Lorenzo 1:56.838
8. Nicky Hayden 1:56.855
9. Mika Kallio 1:56.923
10. Dani Pedrosa 1:57.047
11. Loris Capirossi 1:57.099
12. Marco Melandri 1:57.605
13. Hector Barbera 1:57.822
14. Hiro Aoyama 1:57.888
15. Marco Simoncelli 1:57.891
16. Aleix Espargaro 1:57.898
17. Alvaro Bautista 1:57.960

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – Best lap 1m 56.811s – 65 laps

Andrea Dovizioso • Courtesy Repsol

“I’m quite satisfied because I could lap consistently tonight – which gives us a good base for tomorrow, when the target for us will be to lap in the low 1m 56s. Today we changed my riding position a little bit and the feeling was very good. We also tested a different swing arm which allows us to use some different set-up options. Compared to the Sepang test I’m more satisfied with where we are and we could lap well in the first part of the session, although after 10pm the grip changed each time we went out on track. We didn’t reach our full potential today, so I think that tomorrow we can improve further.”

DANI PEDROSA – Best lap 1m 57.047s – 60 laps

“We made some progress today and moved forward from where we were at the last test in Malaysia – this is positive. I’m confident that tomorrow we can take some further steps and get closer to the front, and we’ll be working hard to make sure that happens. Our issues are still with making the rear suspension work well for us and also with the bike feeling quite nervous under acceleration and going into the corners. So these are the areas we’ll be thinking about overnight and focusing on tomorrow. We’ve got one testing session to go so we’ll be looking to make the most of it.”

RIZLA SUZUKI

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has completed the first day of a two-day night-time test held under the floodlights at Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

Loris Capirossi • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Loris Capirossi recorded a best time of 1’57.100 from his 40 laps of the Losail track to give him 11th place overall. He worked through only a small amount of his scheduled test programme today because, unfortunately for Capirossi and the whole team, he had to finish the session early due to sickness.

Alvaro Bautista (P17, 1’57.960, 56 laps), used the first day to acclimatise himself to riding a MotoGP bike at the 5,380m Qatari track under the strange atmosphere of artificial lighting. He started to find a rhythm with his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R as the test rolled on and is sure he can improve dramatically tomorrow.

The cooler track conditions were exactly what the team wanted this evening, as it gave them a chance to evaluate the steps that have been taken this winter to improve the performance of the GSV-R in changeable conditions.

Rizla Suzuki has one final day at Qatar on Friday, which will then signal the end of pre-season testing for the MotoGP class, before the season begins – also at Qatar – early next month.

Loris Capirossi:

“I think that the bike is a bit better compared to last year’s, but I didn’t make many laps today because I don’t feel so good. This will now make tomorrow very important because we have some big things to try and some other bits to fix. I am really optimistic and think that the

Alvaro Bautista • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

new bike is a step in the right direction and we have an opportunity to make an improved performance in the championship.”

Alvaro Bautista:

“The first day here has not had the same feel for me as I had on the last day in Sepang, this is because it is a new track for me on a MotoGP bike with new reference points and I don’t feel 100% yet. The problem I have is in the exit of corners, I can keep a good line and go out through them, but it is difficult to get it right every time and enjoy it. We’ve tried different solutions, but I don’t have a good feeling. We decided to stop a bit early because it has been a long day and my body is not feeling the changes we are making to the bike. Tomorrow we have another day and I hope to be 100% and to enjoy riding the bike and to go much better.”

MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo Ben Spies and Colin Edwards produced dazzling performances under the Losail International Circuit floodlights in Qatar tonight.

Ben Spies • Courtesy Tech 3

Spies was in sparkling form to post a best time of 1.55.954 that secured him a stunning third place on the timesheets. Earlier on a balmy night in Doha, Spies had topped the timesheets for a brief period in the six-hour session that ran from 6pm to midnight.

What made the reigning World Superbike champion’s performance even more remarkable was he’d never ridden under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit before. Yet Spies finished just over 0.2s behind circuit specialist and triple Qatar race winner C asey Stoner with Valentino Rossi once again quickest on his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.

The 25-year-old was forced to finish early after a crash at the second corner in the final hour while using a hard compound Bridgestone front tyre. But he declared himself delighted with progress in his 44-lap stint.

Fellow Texan Colin Edwards was equally impressive in fourth position after he posted a best time of 1.57.541 in a 59-lap stint. Edwards continued to fine-tune the race-set-up of his YZR-M1 machine, working on Yamaha’s new swingarm and Bridgestone’s new hard compound front tyre.

Ben Spies 3rd 1.55.954 – 44 laps

“I know this track from last year but riding under the floodlights is definitely a bit different and nothing I’ve experienced before. The perception of speed is much faster with it being at night but I’m having a lot of fun. It’s really well lit up but there are a couple of darker spots on the track that you have to get used to but I’ve not done too bad in adjusting to the lights. I know the track but any track I go to on a MotoGP bike makes it definitely different because of the lines you take. Some of the lines I’d take on the superbike just don’t work but I felt like it was coming together good and following a couple of people it felt like I was doing more of the right things than I was in Malaysia. Obviously it is great for me to be high up the timesheets but I’m still taking baby steps to improve and not getting carried away. The crash

Colin Edwards • Courtesy Yamaha

was nothing too serious. I was running the hard front and I wasn’t getting a good feeling from it. We changed the pressure to try and help for my second run but I just lost the front at the second corner. But to be third is fantastic for my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. They have been giving me great support.”

Colin Edwards 4th 1.56.541 – 59 laps

“It was a good night. It didn’t start off too great and it took me a while to get into the groove. We played around with the set-up using some of the new parts I’d liked in Sepang and also running some of last year’s pieces to get some good information. The lap time was about the same so around this track the new parts aren’t making the difference like they did in Malaysia. I did a long run on the hard front and I like it. I did race distance on it and it felt really good. I ended up doing 27-laps on it, which is five more than race distance, and it still felt really good. I’m getting the feedback I need at full lean angle and it holds the turn much better.”

PRAMAC RACING

Good day of work at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar. Pramac Racing riders Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargarò are highly concentrated in finding the best set up possible of their Ducati Desmosedici Sat. The Finn has finished with the ninth best time while the Catalan rider managed to improve constantly concluding in sixteenth position.

Mika Kallio • Courtesy Pramac

Tomorrow’s final day of testing is for sure a good opportunity for the white and green duo to find the best technical compromise for the opening race of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship which will be held at the Losail International Circuit on April 11th.

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 9th in 1′56.923

“We can feel satisfied with the work done today. Our lap times are very similar to those recorded last year and this gives us great confidence, as tomorrow we will have other hours to improve. For my opinion on this track I can ride my Ducati

Aleix Espargaro • Courtesy Pramac

very well. I feel that we can improve and tomorrow we will do everything to find the best technical compromise.”

Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing rider – 16th in 1′57.897

“In the first day of each test I always have some difficulties but I think is normal as this is my first year in MotoGP. Maybe I go on track too aggressive and I need to relax a bit. However in the final stage of this day I found a good set-up on my Ducati that allowed me to improve. Not enough, that’s clear: tomorrow we will have to take a major step forward.”

DUCATI MARLBORO

Casey Stoner • Courtesy Ducati

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden ended the first of two nights of testing in Qatar with the second and eighth fastest times respectively, the Ducati Marlboro Team riders working throughout a sticky evening to get their GP10 machines to grips with a particularly slippery track surface. The high levels of humidity experienced tonight are also expected for the first race of the season, which takes place here on the 11th April.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd fastest: 1’55.717 (48 laps)
“We tried a few different set-up solutions but the main focus tonight was the tyres. I used the same set for thirty laps and set some of my best lap times towards the end, so we are satisfied with that. We have also worked on the balance of the bike

Nicky Hayden • Courtesy Ducati

because the conditions here are very different to Malaysia and I prefer the bike to be more rigid. So far so good.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 8th fastest: 1’56.855 (77 laps)
“Things went well for the first half of the session then we kind of got stuck. The general feeling of the bike is quite good but I would like to be a step closer to the top guys. The biggest problem is that we’re not able to get the most out of the soft tyre – we can’t seem to get it working at the right temperature so I have to keep using the harder compound. It happened in Malaysia and we’ve struggled with it again today at a circuit where the conditions are very different, so it is important we work out the reason.”

LCR Honda

Doha, 18th March: Under the state-of-the-art lighting system at the desert circuit of Losail, the premier class Teams and riders completed their first day of testing with Rossi on the top of the timesheets. The two-night test in Qatar is the last chance for the MotoGP riders and teams to fine tune their 2010 bikes before returning to the floodlit track three weeks later for the season’s “kick off” on the 11th of April. The premier class riders have been putting their new bikes through their paces since 6.00 pm local time continuing their set up process at the 5.380 km race track till midnight.

Randy de Puniet • Courtesy LCR

Today the LCR Honda MotoGP team has displayed the 2010 livery branded with the GIVI logo (LCR Team historical supporter which will be one of the great 2010 Event Title Sponsors) and the Official Team launching will be right prior to the first race!

The LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy de Puniet produced a best lap time of 1’56.588 on lap 32 of 54 carrying out further development at the desert circuit where the air temperature reached the 24 degrees (28 on the asphalt) but dropped at the end of the night testing. Despite some stomach pain, the Frenchman has completed his “TO DO” list increasing his confidence aboard the Honda RC212V no. 14 and remains the fastest Honda of the day.

De Puniet – 5th:
“Well.. apart from the stomach pain I am very satisfied. When I arrived here two days ago I was ok but this morning I felt the first cramps and it has not been easy to do my job in these conditions. Anyway when we left Sepang some weeks ago I knew that we have found a good base and today my positive feeling has been confirmed. I lapped consistently fast both on hard and soft tyres and I think we can get a further improvement on soft ones. We will see tomorrow…”

SAN CARLO HONDA GRESINI

In the surreal surroundings of the Losail circuit in Qatar the first night of the final test session before the 2010 season took place. The riders took to the track at dusk and rode until midnight local time, with temperatures of around 24ºC following a scorching afternoon in the desert sun. For San Carlo Honda Gresini Team riders Marco Melandri and Marco Simomcelli it was another demanding session, with both riders clocking up 63 laps. Both riders still have plenty of work to do and along with their engineers and Honda they are determined to close the gap to the lead riders before the first race. They only have one more day of testing remaining and it will be crucial that they gather usable information before lining up for that opening battle on 11th April. Melandri started out tonight´s session on the right foot but was unable to take major strides as it progressed, testing a variety of solutions without ever striking lucky. His rookie team-mate Simoncelli´s goal is to regain confidence following his heavy crash last time out at Sepang and the youngster worked hard to find a good base set-up and consistent pace.

Marco Melandri • Courtesy San Carlo Honda Gresini

Marco Melandri ( 63 laps 1´57.605 ) “We have completed 63 laps and tried a lot of things in a variety of directions but we kept running into problems. We are still struggling to find the right way forward but we still haven´t lost faith and tomorrow we will try and find something working from the base we established today. Sometimes when you find yourself in this situation it can be discouraging but given the fact that other riders are going better on the same bike we know we are not far from putting the pieces of the puzzle together and making up positions. “

Marco Simoncelli (63 laps 1´ 57″ 891 ) “This first day was important for me after the Sepang crash. I want to and have to rediscover my confidence in myself and in the bike and I did that, which was the main thing. We continued to work on the set-up, trying to find a solution that improves my feeling with the bike and we have taken another step forward. Obviously we still have a lot of work

Marco Simoncelli • Courtesy San Carlo Honda Gresini

to and on one hand I am worried because we only have one more day but on the other hand this is the situation we are in and there´s no point despairing. The important thing is that we maintain the faith that we will eventually find out way and leave these difficult times behind us.”

Fausto Gresini “If I am being honest with myself I must admit that I am a little concerned with the amount of work we still have to do but at the same time I am optimistic that we will find the right way forward sooner rather than later. With a lot of effort from everybody – riders, technicians and Honda – we will get through what is clearly a difficult time. We still have a lot of work to do and with just one day of testing left we know we can´t solve all of our problems but I am extremely confident that we will eventually do so and that we will be satisfied at reaching our objectives. The first race is coming up and if tomorrow we can gather some important data then that can form the base of a good start to the season at this circuit. “