MARQUEZ CONTINUES TO LEAD WAY AT SEPANG, PEDROSA CLOSES GAP2014-02-05 08:04Honda riders dominated day two of the three-day MotoGP test session at Sepang, with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V), Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) at the front of the pack. Marquez was fastest yesterday and upped his pace today to lap the high-speed Malaysian circuit under the two-minute barrier. Pedrosa was also very much in the groove, closing to within four tenths of a second of his team-mate. Both riders completed more than 60 laps in debilitating 36 degree heat and 46 per cent humidity. Marquez focused on chassis geometry and compared two different chassis, allowing him to offer vital feedback to his engineers. The reigning MotoGP World Champion also managed to improve stability while braking into corners and was happy with the performance of Bridgestone’s new hard option rear slick. Pedrosa tried Bridgestone’s new soft option slick, using the tyre to set his fastest time and lead the way for much of the morning. He will switch his attention to the hard rear tomorrow. Like Marquez, the former 250 and 125 World Champion also tried two different chassis today, though he has yet to make up his mind which way to go. Bradl was an even bigger improver, going almost a second faster than yesterday to move from fifth position to third, a mere three thousandths of a second behind Pedrosa – further proof that the latest satellite RC213V has a potential very similar to that of the factory machines. The former Moto2 World Champion worked hard at fine-tuning front suspension set-up to allow him to brake later and get into corners faster. Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) improved his best time by almost three tenths, bettering his qualifying pace at last October’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Today the Spaniard solved a front-brake issue, evaluated Bridgestone’s latest tyres and also gained useful data while testing two new Showa rear shocks. Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) worked hard in his second full day on Honda’s RCV1000R production racer. He lowered his lap times by more than a second as he got to grips with the bike and moved from 17th position to 14th. Much of his improved pace came from working on electronics and engine-braking performance. The RCV1000R is entered in MotoGP’s new Open class, for non-factory machines. These bikes must run Dorna-provided electronics software and are allowed to carry more fuel and take advantage of a larger annual engine allocation. Hayden’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was three tenths faster than yesterday, steadily building his pace after running into some issues during the early part of the day. Improvements to the bike’s traction control set-up, some chassis work and a new Bridgestone helped him find more confidence and speed during the afternoon. Honda’s only MotoGP rookie Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini RCV1000R) continued his apprenticeship, steadily reducing his lap times as he learned the best racing lines. Sepang is a particularly wide track, so cornering lines vary more between classes here than they do at most tracks. At the end of the day the Briton was more than a second faster than he had been yesterday and was therefore happy with progress. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Honda RCV1000R) was 25th today, still struggling with an old shoulder injury. Following tomorrow’s final day of testing, teams leave their equipment at Sepang, where the second preseason test takes places on February 26/27/28. Honda rider quotes Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda): 1st, 1m 59.926s “We continued with our work schedule today, with a focus on trying out parts. We carried out various tests, including a chassis comparison, and found some positive points and some negative. As for the set-up, we have improved stability under braking, which is something that I have been finding a little difficult, but in the end we have found a good compromise. I hope that tomorrow we can continue in the same way, because we are consistent and fast, which is important.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda): 2nd, 2m 00.336s “Today we've been trying out the new chassis and comparing it to the previous version, but tomorrow we shall continue working with both because it isn't clear which is best. I felt good with both of them, but I have to put in more laps in order to be able to make a clear decision. We also tried out the new Bridgestone tyres, using the soft tyre today and leaving the hard compound for tomorrow. We have been going pretty well here, but the season takes place at many different tracks and you have to prepare for each one of them.” Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda): 3rd, 2m 00.339s “Today I am very happy: it’s good to be back up in the pack with Marc and Dani. We improved our lap time by one second and, thanks to adjustments in the front, I’ve gained more confidence under braking. We knew that our potential on this bike was higher and today we have been consistent and fast. I hope that we can continue in the same way tomorrow: we plan to work on race distance to finish this three-day test session with a good base for the future.” Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini): 9th, 2m 00.897s “Today was a very productive day, even if I could not run for most of the morning due to an issue with the brakes, which we only solved in the afternoon. I tried a couple of new Showa shock absorbers for the rear suspension: one of these, in particular, seems to work well with the new tyre that Bridgestone brought for this test, so we will continue to work in this direction. Despite the time lost during the morning, we are happy. Moreover, I did my best time in the afternoon, certainly not in the best conditions, with the track very hot and when I was already a bit tired. Tomorrow I am convinced that we can improve, both in terms of feeling with the bike and in lap times.” Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar Honda): 14th, 2m 02.287s “I am happy because we have improved our lap time quite significantly from yesterday, although the pace in general has been quicker. Once again we focused our work on electronics and engine braking, which gave us a bit more in corner entry. You could say I’m still adapting myself because I have spent a long time on a completely different kind of bike. Now I have to readjust my riding style, the way I’m braking and entering the corner. We are happy with the progress we made today but the gap to the top is still too big, so we have to keep pushing to improve. We still have a lot of things to test from a chassis point of view as well as the electronics and also I need to fully adapt to this Honda.” Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar Honda): 18th, 2m 02.825s “At the start of the day the feeling with the bike wasn't what we were hoping for and we had to play around with a few things to improve it. In the end it turned out to be an issue with the tyres because as soon as we changed them I felt more comfortable. From that point, which was around midday, we started to build our rhythm and turned our focus to the electronic traction control system. It hasn't been easy to start with because we are only just getting to know the new system and today we tried something different to yesterday. Finally we did some work on chassis set-up and made some slight improvements to yesterday and then right at the end of the day Bridgestone gave us a new tyre to test, which gave me even more confidence.” Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini): 21st, 2m 03.117s “Today was a little better than yesterday: I could put in a lot of laps and we are slowly closing the gap to the other Honda ‘production racers'. We worked hard on the braking and now I feel more comfortable on the bike. The track conditions and temperatures change a lot during the day and this is making me struggle a little bit, but generally speaking I am satisfied with how my apprenticeship is progressing. From the riding point of view, I'm learning how to brake into corners and how to get the bike turned on exit. Tomorrow we will try to further improve.” Results Sepang Test day 2: Pos / No. / Name / Nat / Team / Make / Best Tm / Lap / Laps / Diff / Gap 1 / 93 / Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 1:59.926 / 38 / 65 / / 2 / 26 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 2:00.336 / 12 / 62 / 0.410 / 0.410 3 / 6 / Stefan BRADL / GER / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 2:00.339 / 13 / 52 / 0.413 / 0.003 4 / 46 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 2:00.464 / 18 / 61 / 0.538 / 0.125 5 / 41 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / NGM Mobile Forward Racing / FTR YAMAHA / 2:00.547 / 16 / 42 / 0.621 / 0.083 6 / 99 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Yamaha Factory Racing / YAMAHA / 2:00.573 / 27 / 49 / 0.647 / 0.026 7 / 38 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 2:00.603 / 27 / 66 / 0.677 / 0.030 8 / 29 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 2:00.855 / 9 / 49 / 0.929 / 0.252 9 / 19 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 2:00.897 / 51 / 55 / 0.971 / 0.042 10 / 44 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 2:01.061 / 4 / 49 / 1.135 / 0.164 11 / 4 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 2:01.146 / 8 / 45 / 1.220 / 0.085 12 / 35 / Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 2:01.396 / 11 / 48 / 1.470 / 0.250 13 / 51 / Michele PIRRO / ITA / Ducati Test Team / DUCATI / 2:02.177 / 6 / 56 / 2.251 / 0.781 14 / 69 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Drive M7 Aspar / HONDA / 2:02.287 / 25 / 58 / 2.361 / 0.110 15 / 5 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / NGM Mobile Forward Racing / FTR YAMAHA / 2:02.545 / 8 / 35 / 2.619 / 0.258 16 / 68 / Yonny HERNANDEZ / COL / Energy T.I. Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 2:02.675 / 13 / 45 / 2.749 / 0.130 17 / 72 / Kosuke AKIYOSHI / JPN / HRC Test Team / HONDA / 2:02.692 / 8 / 68 / 2.766 / 0.017 18 / 7 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Drive M7 Aspar / HONDA / 2:02.825 / 65 / 66 / 2.899 / 0.133 19 / T1 / Katsuyuki NAKASUGA / JPN / Yamaha Factory Test Team / YAMAHA / 2:02.970 / 49 / 56 / 3.044 / 0.145 20 / 14 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Suzuki Test Team / SUZUKI / 2:03.064 / 73 / 96 / 3.138 / 0.094 21 / 45 / Scott REDDING / GBR / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 2:03.117 / 39 / 53 / 3.191 / 0.053 22 / 70 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Paul Bird Motorsport / PBM / 2:03.528 / 37 / 41 / 3.602 / 0.411 23 / 8 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Avintia Racing / AVINTIA / 2:04.551 / 2 / 37 / 4.625 / 1.023 24 / 23 / Broc PARKES / AUS / Paul Bird Motorport / PBM / 2:04.619 / 42 / 43 / 4.693 / 0.068 25 / 17 / Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / HONDA / 2:05.261 / 21 / 32 / 5.335 / 0.642 26 / 63 / Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / Avintia Racing / AVINTIA / 2:05.355 / 4 / 34 / 5.429 / 0.094 Source: Honda Pro Image Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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