MotoGP – MotoGP 2007 is no more: Viva 2008! –

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MotoGP 2007 is no more: Viva 2008 !

MotoGP - MotoGP 2007 is no more: Viva 2008! -

The final gong only sounded on Sunday evening and the MotoGP tightrope walkers are already setting the scene in Valence: discovery of the premier class for the top names of the 250, new machines for some regulars and change of teams for others.

The appetizer of the 2008 MotoGP season, with the tests in Valencia at the start of the week, is served us with mastery by the brand new world champion, Casey Stoner, but reveals some surprises: the 2008 season promises to be enticing !

Eagerly awaited, these first tests of the season were to allow us to gauge the performance of pilots who decided to change machines, but also the reverse: the whole season was peppered with controversies over a brand’s engine superiority, or the unalterable domination of a tire company…

Once past the traditional press tests (without Site this year, sniff!) And VIP – which allowed to admire the attack of the ace of F1, Michael Schumacher, the first steps of Ben Spies on the Suzuki under the tutelage of Kevin Schwantz – and where a European journalist accidentally crashed with Nicky Hayden’s bike (!), the riders were able to start their first test session on Tuesday afternoon.

Suspect preconceived ideas !

Without any real surprises, it’s Casey Stoner – not yet decided to adopt the No. 1 next year because "n ° 27 is precious to me, it has been with me since my debut in the Spanish championships", says the young Australian – who wins Tuesday and Wednesday !

The opportunity to prove that he did not become "Number One" for nothing and to put his finger on what prevented him from pocketing his 11th victory last Sunday: "we haven’t made any particular changes compared to Sunday, we only tried a new fork to improve the feeling with the front. I think with these improvements we could have fought for the victory on Sunday. The whole season has been fantastic and I am very happy to have ended it with such a positive test.", explains the Ducati rider who, by beating the best time achieved on Sunday by 0.7 seconds – but with which tires? -, can look to the future with confidence….

The Ducati is not that easy…

A serenity that we do not find – yet? – on the side of his new teammate, Marco Melandri, who had to face a lot of pressure during these first tests compared to the competitiveness of his new machine … Observers were indeed anxious to see the value of this Ducati GP7 in the hands of a young driver who would not be marked by the success of his box neighbor.

However bad tongues will be able to revise new excuses until the next tests (scheduled in Malaysia on November 15, 16 and 17): the Ducati does not seem to be this bike so superior ready to win in two stages three movements !

If these were only the first contacts between the Desmoscedici and the "Hedgehog" of Ravenna, his 13th final place at 1.740 sec from his teammate nevertheless validates the consistency of the Stoner-Ducati package….

"So far the thing that has impressed me the most is the way the team works. I’m not used to having so many people listening to me and asking me a thousand questions when I get into the box! Today we worked a lot on electronics and the engine to understand their influence on the bike. It is imperative, because the feeling with the accelerator and the engine is completely different from what I was used to. At the end of the session, I felt that we were making progress and that we were on the right track. It was too late to improve my time, but I had a good feeling. I’m quite happy, because I’m starting to understand the enormous potential of this bike", said n ° 33 about his factory Ducati.

… and the Honda not so bad !

A status of factory pilot that Randy de Puniet gave up by joining the ranks of the LCR team: a choice source of concern for many of his fans, who feared the competitiveness of a satellite RCV promised to few developments by the director of the HRC itself !

But the French rider did not disappoint and said he was enthusiastic about his team, his bike and his tires! Turning quickly faster than Carlos Checa he replaces, Randy even allowed himself to grab 5 km / h in the straight line to the veteran Spanish, and this just with "some small adjustmentsBetter: on the last day, he improved his lap times by almost a second and finished third in the “classification” of these tests !

In front of such a performance, one could wonder if Randy would not have tasted the qualif tires of Michelin, but it is not so: "I am surprised by the performance of Michelin tires and the difference between the tires is not as big as I imagined. Honda engine seems easier to operate at low revs", he notes with a touch of provocation towards all the detractors of the Honda-Michelin duo !

"Using the same type of race tire as Pedrosa, I was 0.3 seconds faster than my best lap with the Kawasaki on Sunday. We also reduced the "traction control" to give us a little more power. My decision to change the team for 2008 is already bearing fruit and the team is like family to me", adds one of our best representatives of the category.

As for the other "Frenchie" engaged, the picture is less spectacular, although pleasing: finishing less than 3 tenths of his experienced teammate Toni Elias, Sylvain Guintoli has also improved his time compared to that made on his Yamaha M1.

"My first contact was very positive with the bike and with the team. The Ducati seems to me to be quite complete, with a very good engine as well as a very competitive chassis and suspensions. I took advantage of all the turns to improve myself and adapt to everything. I lowered my lap times yesterday and also went faster than in the race on Sunday"said" Syl ", quite proud of his rapid progression in the ranks of the category. !

Especially since if his box neighbor went faster, he also made a mistake: no sores for the fiery Elias who even finds that "it was a better start than i had hoped for", says the Spanish star, noting that his times were better than with the Honda…

Stammering – first vocalizations – little news

For his part, the double 250 cc champion will leave with the best of his opponents: ranked 11th at the end of practice, Lorenzo stuck almost 0.4 seconds to Dovizioso and De Angelis. But the 20-year-old Mallorcan does not display his usual exuberance and is content to line up the towers to learn, in all modesty.

"I am proud to be in this box and it is a very moving day for me. I am very happy to try the new bike. I went slowly, because the difference in power with my 250 is immense! I am certainly very far from the limits, but I think I made a good start", underlines the Yamaha Michelin rider who says he is finally impressed by the importance of the pilot in the control of the throttle: the Spaniard thought that the" traction control "had more influence on the piloting.

A notion that did not put off Alex de Angelis: "Once in the saddle, the tension dropped and I could appreciate the power of the RC212V. It seemed easier to me than I expected and I really like to speed up big and feel it slip !", said the San Marinese who is one of those who did the most laps during this day and a half of testing (131).

His 2007 rival did not spare either, since Andrea Doviziso completed no less than 130 laps. "I have found some limits of the bike and the areas where we will have to work in Malaysia. In my opinion, the engine braking is something that we will have to study, as well as my confidence in corner entry which is not 100% with this RCV.", explains Dovi who however recorded an improvement of 0.769 sec between Tuesday and Wednesday: hot ahead, the relief is coming !

The HRC prepares its revenge…

While waiting for the first confrontations, the official pilots of the HRC have not been idle, developing a brand new RCV "who has less tendency to go wheeling and whose mass transfers are better controlled", specifies Nicky Hayden.

The American managed to finish second behind Stoner – whose bike was not evolving -, while his teammate Pedrosa failed in fourth place on Wednesday night. Despite everything, at 0.339 sec and 0.623 seconds respectively from the best lap of the world champion, the two pilots know that the road will be long….

"I did some long runs with the 2007 bike to get comparison data and I was always a little faster by about 0.5 sec. We must try to close this gap by working this winter", explains the former number one in the category.

Same story with Dani Pedrosa: "we need to analyze the data we have gathered to make decisions about the direction to go on the machine", specifies the young Asimo certainly unwilling to (re) see the first manufacturer go astray in the development of his RCV !

As for the third largest manufacturer in the world, the atmosphere was studious at Suzuki. And although Capirossi has failed to improve his morning time with his new 800 GSV-R, he says he does not "be able to dream of better conditions !".

Capirex welcomes in particular the "very good"feeling with the machine, the team and Chris Vermeulen, who also signs the fifth fastest time in front of his former boxmate, John Hopkins, spent at Kawasaki: a good omen for the future !

The absent are always wrong !

Finally, we noted the absence in Valencia of Team KR Roberts, still in expectation for 2008, but also of Tech 3 who will not start its test program until next week at Sepang: a pity for Toseland who must no longer be able to power. to wait to sit on a MotoGP !

If his teammate is more familiar with this exercise, it is rather the absence of the former teammate of Colin Edwards that has caused the most talk: officially resting to recover from his triple fracture in his hand, Valentino Rossi would have been deprived of tests by Michelin…

The Bibendum would indeed see an opportunity to make the seven-time world champion reflect on his "passage to the enemy" and on his criticisms throughout the season … The prodigy of Tavullia – ooops, of London of course ! – recently explained that after two years of trouble with his tires, he was "difficult to drive with maximum confidence in Michelin".

Suddenly, he would have been kindly reminded that he was under a Michelin contract until the end of the year, because like Honda in 2003 when it left for Yamaha, the Auvergne firm should not be in a hurry to see the Italian take the measure of its Bridgestones…

A situation which requires certain changes within the official team itself: if Lorenzo and Rossi will have the same structure and the same name, there will indeed be two entities: one, led by Davide Brivio, with Jeremy Burgess as chief mechanic. which continues its collaboration with the "Dottore", and the other under the management of Daniele Romagnoli and Ramon Foracada for the mechanics.

A risky situation in a particularly explosive context: the Italian star did not really accept the umpteenth engine failure of his M1 in Valencia, which causes him the humiliation of finishing third in the championship and above all … behind Dani Pedrosa !

"We are going to check the data to understand what happened, as it is not all clear. I will need 20 days to heal my hand and will be back in Jerez to start my winter testing program"warns the injured Italian … even in his pride.

Pilot Motorbike Tuesday Wednesday Tours
1 C. Stoner Ducati Bridg. 1 ‘32.348 1 ‘32.095 81
2 N. Hayden Honda Mich. 1 ‘33,176 1 ‘32,434 118
3 R. De Puniet Honda Mich. 1 ‘33.563 1 ‘32.625 142
4 D. Pedrosa Honda Mich. 1 ‘33.387 1 ‘32,718 123
5 C. Vermeulen Suzuki bridg. 1 ‘33,186 1 ‘32.979 137
6 J. Hopkins Kawasaki Bridg. 1 ‘34,277 1 ‘33.058 102
7 L. Capirossi Ducati Bridg. 1 ‘33,266 1 ‘33,163 98
8 T. Elias Honda Bridg. 1 ‘33.508 1 ‘33.294 116
9 S. Nakano Honda Bridg. 1 ‘33.901 1 ‘33,465 138
10 S. Guintoli Ducati Bridg. 1 ‘34.367 1 ‘33.571 125
11 J. Lorenzo Yamaha Mich. 1 ‘34.330 1 ‘33.588 119
12 A. West Kawasaki Bridg. – 1 ‘33.695 99
13 Mr. Melandri Ducati Bridg. 1 ‘34,433 1 ‘33.835 131
14 A. Dovizioso Honda Mich. 1 ‘34,760 1 ‘33.991 130
15 A. De Angelis Honda Bridg. 1 ‘34,471 1 ‘34.060 131
16 N. Aoki Suzuki bridg. 1 ‘35.564 1 ‘35,043 103
17 O. Jacque Kawasaki Bridg. 1 ‘35,727 – –
18 V. Guareschi Ducati Bridg. 1 ‘36.115 1 ‘35,840 107

Best lap: Valentino Rossi – Yamaha – 1 ‘31.002 (pole 2006)
Pole position 2007: Dani Pedrosa – Honda – 1 ‘31.517
Best lap in the race 2007: Dani Pedrosa – Honda – 1 ‘32.748

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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