Hondas dominate again at Sepang

From motogp.com

Day two at the official MotoGP Test at Sepang, Ma;laysia ended with the Honda RC212V having once more displayed its pre-season strength, as Repsol Honda trio Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso took the three top positions on the timesheet on Wednesday.

With the heat having intensified and the track temperature reaching over 60ºC at one stage, the riders and teams worked hard to make the most of the second of the three days.

"We tested a lot of different things including the 2011 fork and new shocks and we found quite a lot of chattering with them," Stoner said. "We spent 90 percent of the day on one bike trying different configurations, changing the geometry to get the new fork working with the bike but didn't find anything that felt really good, but these things are necessary to do before the start of the season.

“We're slowly starting to lean more towards the standard frame but tomorrow will give us more confirmation on this. We found the new forks to be quite amazing in the braking points, in hard braking I didn't need to use half as much pressure and I was able to stop for the corner much quicker, but found a lot more chattering in the last part of the corner. We managed to reduce this but we just seemed to lack the extra feeling that the alternative forks were giving.”

After Pedrosa had already bettered Valentino Rossi’s 2009 Sepang circuit best lap by almost three-tenths with a 2:00.229 in the morning, Stoner stole the best time with his 42nd and final lap of the day, registering a 2:00.171 and heightening expectations that the 2:00 barrier could well be broken Thursday if conditions permit.

"Today we were testing mainly suspension parts," Pedrosa said, "a new front fork in the morning that gives us a more positive feeling on braking, and a rear shock in the afternoon that improves the feeling with the rear tire, so I'm satisfied with the work we've done together with Öhlins. We also tried different settings for the chassis and I'd like to be in the position tomorrow to decide which one we will use for this season.”

With Stoner and Pedrosa having taken the top two spots Dovizioso slotted into third with an effort of 2:00.531, while Yamaha Factory Racing pair Ben Spies (2:00.824) and World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (2:00.931) were the final two under 2:01 for the day as they placed their M1 machines inside the top five. Spies’ day ended with a non-consequential crash at Turn 7.

A notable absence on day two was Rossi, who was eventually unable to ride at all on Wednesday due to illness. The Ducati Team rider, who on Tuesday came in ninth fastest, attended the circuit in the morning but returned to his hotel to rest in a bid to be fit for the third and final day.

The San Carlo Honda Gresini bikes of Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama continue the RC212V theme, making it five inside the top seven. Working on suspension settings to improve braking stability, an issue which has been highlighted by a number of Honda riders, Simoncelli was the final rider within a second of Stoner as he posted a 2:01.033. Aoyama, riding to find out if major changes made the day before brought any significant benefit, was fractionally over four-tenths off his team-mate.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) and Álvaro Bautista completed the top 10, the Rizla Suzuki rider’s day having been interrupted by illness. He managed 35 laps nevertheless, with a best time of 2:02.035.

The sole factory Ducati rider on track, Nicky Hayden worked on the setting of his GP11 and set a best time of 2:02.208, with Pramac Racing’s Desmosedicis belonging to Randy de Puniet and Loris Capirossi closely matched.

Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), who had a fall right at the end of the day, Toni Elías (LCR Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completed the timesheet.

Wednesday Test Times
1. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) 2:00.171
2. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 2:00.229
3. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) 2:00.531
4. Ben Spies (Yamaha) 2:00.824
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2:00.931
6. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Gresini Honda) 2:01.033
7. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Gresini Honda) 2:01.439
8. Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) 2:01.738
9. T2 (Yamaha Test Team) 2:01.792
10. Hector Barbera (Mapfre Aspar Ducati) 2:01.909
11. Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) 2:02.035
12. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) 2:02.208
13. T1 (Yamaha Test Team) 2:02.596
14. Randy De Puniet (Pramac Ducati) 2:02.604
15. Loris Capirossi (Pramac Ducati) 2:02.624
16. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati) 2:02.676
17. Toni Elias (LCR Honda) 2:02.941
18. Cal Crutchlow (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) 2:02.984
19. Noburu Aoki (Rizla Suzuki) 2:04.582