The 2006 and 2007 champions between the drops…
The official MotoGP testing has taken place over the past three days in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia. Sunday’s "wet" qualifying session was flown over by world champion Casey Stoner, but in the dry, Nicky Hayden dominates…
The entire 2008 line-up of the Intercontinental Circus met this weekend in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, to take part in the first official tests of the season. "Official", so unlike previous winter chronos, the times achieved during these last three days are indisputable.
Better still, the 40-minute qualifying session – organized on Sunday afternoon – is considered to be a real time-trial session, in the same way as the qualifying sessions held each day before the Grand Prix to develop the starting grids. !
So it reigned in the paddocks like an atmosphere of the beginning of the season, the race in less … Come on, more than three weeks !
They won’t be racing this year, but development drivers Nicola Canepa, Olivier Jacque and Vittoriano Guareschi finished 19th, 20th and 21st respectively, less than four seconds behind the best rubber-clad drivers qualifying. !
The freelance round
So let’s hope that Canepa and Guareshi will get a few freelancers – at Mugello or Misano in particular – to come and swell the ranks of the Ducatists, and that our national OJ will have the opportunity to make us vibrate during a remake of the 2005 Chinese GP, why not ?
With 18 starting this season, wild cards will be welcome and may even score a few points by letting the guys in front give up or fall….
Among the surprise guests of the year, we can hope to see rolling for the Greens Yukio Kagayama or Tamaki Serizawa – with the screamer? (read) -, at Suzuki Nobuatsu Aoki in Japan and above all AMA SBK champion Ben Spies on "his" two American stages.
Persistent rumors
Let us also point out this persistent rumor, relaunched regularly and no later than Monday by our colleagues from The team : that of the participation of the five-time Formula 1 world champion, Michael Schumacher, on the handlebars of a Ducati whose partners and sponsors correspond advantageously to those of Ferrari !
"It’s wrong", Carmelo Ezpeleta, MotoGP big boss, would have immediately retorted in an interview with The Gazetta dello Sporto : "OK, maybe we’ll get it with (Kimi) Raikkonen in a sidecar !"… Or, behind Mamola in the two-seater Desmosedici? Unless another monumental Michael (Jordan) takes his place behind Randy? Business that will necessarily be followed….
The last of the 18 drivers to take the start of the Qatar night GP on March 9, John Hopkins set his best time of the weekend on day one. "My injury caused me a few more problems than I expected and it is still painful", confessed Saturday night the new Kawasaki recruit…
Victim of an ugly highside at Phillip Island at the end of January (read), the n ° 21 even preferred to forfeit the stopwatch session on Sunday: "my priority is to get back to full health for the first race, I didn’t want to risk making my injury worse just to try and win a car I don’t need !", aptly summarized the Anglo-American.
So, Hopper certainly doesn’t occupy the place he’s actually worth. On Monday, he contented himself with completing 20 laps and took the opportunity to train for the starts. "I’m going home tomorrow to get the most out of therapy and ultrasound treatment", concluded Hopkins who will certainly not be at the forefront from Losail….
Injured pilots
The Pedrosa case is similar: injured in Sepang a week earlier than Hopkins (read), the Spaniard made his comeback on Saturday at the HRC box. Unfortunately, little Asimo quickly realized that he could not shine during these IRTA tests, unlike last year when he was the only one to compete with the winner of the "first test" 2007, Valentino Rossi (read)…
"My hand is not yet 100%. Today I couldn’t really do more than five laps in a row", regretted the new n ° 2 in the category after having completed 37 laps on the first day, against 107 for his teammate Nicky Hayden !
The next day, Pedro even stayed warm and dry, the rain on Sunday morning and the track remained wet in the afternoon having got the better of his swollen hand … Finally on Monday, the wind was blowing too hard on the track to that the young Spaniard take full advantage of his RCV specially adjusted to reduce the strain on his right hand … Difficult to ride injured! (read)
¡Caramba !
The vice-world champion should therefore have a particularly difficult start to the season: "the latest tests in Qatar (at the end of next week, Editor’s note) will be very difficult, especially for us because we still have a lot of work. And it will also be hard because we will be riding in the spotlight for the first time, so we will have to adapt to it."Dani pointed out on Monday evening. ¡Caramba !
Sixteenth fastest time of the three days, Toni Elias drowned at the 19th position of the qualifying session disputed on wet track. "I have to be honest: today I didn’t have much faith in the bike and the result proves it", the Spanish admitted on Sunday.
After apologizing to its mechanics, the n ° 24 set off again the next day to attack the Spanish track on the handlebars of its freshly decorated GP8 "Alice". "I made a mistake on my last quick lap (…), I missed turn 6 and could have finished in a better place"said the Ducati d’Antin rider who was three tenths from 13th place on Monday evening….
Only two hundredths behind Toni, Marco Melandri does not hide his disappointment either: equipped with the same equipment as world champion Casey Stoner, Loris Capirossi’s replacement also seems to have compatibility concerns with the beautiful Italian…
Fluctuating weather
"For the moment, we are struggling to find the right balance at the rear that would give me enough confidence to pass all the power.", complained Monday evening the Hedgehog of Ravenna … To console himself, Marco pointed out that"constant fluctuations in weather and track conditions did not help", although these factors are the same for everyone.
A remark that Melandri anticipates by also recalling that "this circuit is probably not the most favorable for us"… Indeed last year, Casey had finished" only "5th in the race of Jerez – 5 seconds behind Rossi – after blowing everyone in the opening GP (read our).
And this year, during the same IRTA tests, the Australian is only in 8th place, a full second behind Nicky Hayden! However, Marco cannot be satisfied with such a defense and prefers the attack: "we still have to make progress. Hopefully we can do it in Qatar, where the night test will bring a dose of the unknown to the whole mode."… And will allow it to shine? Answer in a few days on Site !
Guintoli satisfied
Unlike the two Ducati riders (Elias and Melandri), Sylvain Guintoli declared Monday evening to be very satisfied with his tests in Spain: "I feel I am making good progress on the bike", assures rider Alice Ducati.
However, at the end of the first day, the observation was rather bitter: only 20th time, the Frenchie may look for it, he does not find the right settings allowing him to cross the 1’42.5 mark that all his rivals have yet crossed….
Ninth in the qualifying session the next day, Sylvain once again demonstrated his measure: "it is not a sensational result, but a good boost before the start of the season. It’s a shame that I couldn’t improve my performance on my last fast lap. We tested another rear rain tire which did not perform as we expected. In addition, the wind increased, which limited our performance.", he said at the end of his 14 laps on Sunday.
The French n ° 50 finally finished the IRTA tests in Jerez in 14th position, completing his best lap in 1’41.177 on qualifying rubber. That is more than a second faster than his fastest lap in the race last year at the controls of his Yamaha Tech3 Dunlop, but just a tenth better than during the qualifying session for the 2007 GP. The Ducati and its Bridgestones do not deliver so not their secrets so easily…
"Lots of settings to test"…
"With John injured we have a lot of settings to test", Anthony West suddenly realized on Saturday night! Focused on testing new Bridgestone tires for most of the first day, the young Australian was counting on the following two days to"coordinate the settings of the bike to the characteristics of the Jerez circuit".
But on Sunday, 15 laps were enough for frog n ° 13 (we will long remember his first MotoGP getaway in the English rain, read) to climb to 4th place in the qualifying session! But no triumphalism: "we are getting closer to where we need to be but at the same time i am not completely satisfied today", then blurted out West…
During the final day, the Kawa rider did a good job of improving the handling and steering of his ZX-RR, giving him more confidence in his front end, but "Ant" ultimately claimed that in this area, "progress was still possible"Regarding the new Japanese tires, Anthony West was nevertheless satisfied, both on the qualifying ones."promising"than those of race"more constant"…
In front of him is another Australian: Chris Vermeulen! Once again, it was in the rain on Sunday morning that the new n ° 7 proved to be the most efficient on the handlebars of the last GSV-R. But in the dry, it was another story…
Vermeulen in the rain
"It appears that we are having trouble finding grip on the angle, we can’t really get the grip we want to then pass the power", regrets Chris at the end of the first day of testing which he finishes in 15th place.
So in the rain, the Australian managed to deceive himself, keeping the provisional 2nd place until the qualifying session began: "it hadn’t rained for a while but it was still wet. I tried to think of it as dry, but we had even more trouble", summarized the pilot Rizla Suzuki on Sunday. It just goes to show that the wet is not just in the head !
Monday, while the track dried thanks to the strong wind, Vermeulen ensures "have made progress on the concerns we had here this weekend and know the way forward"Their absence from Jerez’s tests at the end of last season (read), would it be enough to explain the relatively small form of Suzuki ?
Vermeulen and his teammate Capirossi, who ranks just ahead of him in 11th place, certainly hope so … Just like their manager Paul Denning who insists that his team is not "where we would like at the end of these tests"and intends to improve this situation on the last tests at Losail, on a track where the speed of passage in the large rows is particularly decisive…
Capirex is showing a bit more positive by providing Monday evening "have found a better solution than that found on the first day", – which he already considered good, Editor’s note! As an experienced driver, Loris claimed on Sunday that his team was about to get the right settings for his Suz ‘. To be checked in Qatar !
Like the Ducati Alice d’Antin team, Fausto Gresini’s team wore the colors of its new title sponsor on these RC212V satellites for the first time: those of San Carlos! A novelty that may have helped the two drivers Nakano and De Angelis to appear in the top 10 ?
Nakano stuck in traffic
Tenth in practice, Shinya Nakano is the last driver not to go under 1’40. At the end of the first day, however, the Japanese did not hide his satisfaction. "I’m happy because the new Honda engine is easier to operate. We’ve also tested the very latest Bridgestone tires – qualifying and racing – and the results have been positive in both cases.", indicated the n ° 56 which got down on Monday to reduce the jolts of the front train of its mount.
Sixth in the qualifying session, Super Shinya even assures that he could have done better if he had not been stuck in traffic "at the decisive momentFortunately, Nakano has 18 sessions left to prove to us that he has regained his best level … and to transform the "test" during the race !
A quarter of a second faster, Alex de Angelis takes the luxury of finishing ahead of his seasoned teammate. "I never would have expected a time like this", even conceded the San Marino at the end of the tests !
And again, Alex specifies that in qualifying tires, he still has some progress to make … As for his race pace, the n ° 15 warns that he will allow him to land in Qatar "with smile". A smile on which we can clearly distinguish long canines, ready to scratch the track !
Winner of the BMW rewarding the fastest driver in qualifying last year, Casey Stoner obtained the keys to a second car on Monday! Starting off on tires slightly harder than most of his comrades, the young world champion literally caught them with a cold with more than 1.3 seconds ahead of second Rossi. !
"Obviously with a harder tire, the grip is not the same, but its endurance is better and on "dry" track, it is a real help."noted Casey, who used this one and the same tire to complete his nine laps during the qualifying session. !
Always the fastest stoner
To those who would consider his performance to be a simple coup, Stoner simply replies that "being competitive during testing means we can be even more competitive in the race, even if no one is perfect and we can always improve".
Victim of a small fall Monday in the middle of the afternoon (a "downside", or loss of the front), the aussie just regrets not having been able to benefit from his two motorcycles for "juggle tires and make direct comparisons".
At the end of the last day, Casey Stoner does not take offense on his 8th place. He could have "do better", it was all up to him to check that the brand new Bridgestone qualifying tires were better than the old ones.they are", warns the fastest man in the world on two wheels…
In front of him is another very fast rider, the fastest in the World Superbike Championship: James Toseland! Fifth best time on Saturday, the Englishman finally finished these first IRTA tests in 7th position !
"It was not easy to adapt, but thanks to the experience of my team and particularly that of my chief mechanic Guy Coulon, I learn quickly and it shows in my time", proudly indicated" JiTi ", author of an astounding 1’39.678 on qualifying tires, then of a no less impressive 1’40.7 on racing tires !
Herve Poncharal’s new recruit proves once again that we can count on him to lead MotoGP, even injured! On the last day, the Tech3 rider was indeed surprised during one of his warm-up laps. "I was coming out of the pits and the rear wheel drove past", clearly sums up n ° 52, who was still able to complete his test day despite a"twisted ankle", cared for by the good doctor Costa and his Clinica Mobile.
So falling back on his feet both literally and figuratively, Toseland was pleased to appear in the top 6 despite his painful mishap! "If we keep working like this hopefully we can raise some eyebrows", concluded the Yamaha rider on Monday….
"Not a single fault!"
His team-mate Colin Edwards finished 6th in these official tests, after setting the 4th fastest time on the first day and 14th on the second. And again, the American rider was full of praise for the new Yamaha engine and its electronics….
"There isn’t a single fault I can give and I can’t sit down with the team and say: guys, this needs to be improved", the Texas Tornado was carried away on Sunday evening, which took advantage of an additional day of rest on Monday.
According to the Tech3 rider, the only things to improve on his M1 since finding a front rubber to his liking are: "like everyone else, we just need a little more grip at the back", and manage to establish"faster times more easily". Like everyone else too, finally !
As for the grip, the French engineers are actively working. "Michelin is making great progress with the qualifying tires and I think we have found the right direction for the season", even admitted Edwards. What if Rossi had been wrong to change the manufacturer? ?
Was rossi wrong ?
Blowing out 29 candles last Saturday, the Doctor said he was delighted to celebrate his birthday in Jerez during these tests: "i love riding my motorbike and i had fun today"enthuses Vale. !
Eighth on the first day, the Yamaha Bridgestone rider admitted on Saturday that he still had room for improvement, "especially the entries of curve where we are not yet at the maximum"Fifth overall, his best time on Monday does not yet equal the pole set by Pedrosa last year, and even less the record – unofficial this one – that the Spaniard set last November on the RCV 2007…
However, the famous n ° 46 remains particularly serene: "I haven’t used my favorite qualifying tire so I’m sure when we use it in Qatar we can be faster". As for driving on a wet track, the Doctor was doing his baptism on Sunday:"we are second after only one morning so i think we can be happy with our working day", noted the seven-time world champion on Sunday evening.
It’s less and less of a "surprise" – and that’s good! – Randy de Puniet ranks among the best pilots! Fourth with a time that would have allowed him to steal pole at Pedrosa last year, the LCR driver is gradually establishing his status as a contender for the podiums for the coming season..
Randy getting faster and faster
Because in addition to his excellent times on qualifying tires, the Parisian ensures a series of very good times on race tires: "I started to set up some good lap times on race tires and my pace was really consistent. When I hit the track afterwards with a new compound rear compound, I immediately gained six tenths of a second off my fastest time here even last November, and that really amazed me. Honestly my pace with racing tires has improved considerably since my first ride on this bike.", rejoiced the n ° 14 the first evening.
On the other hand, when it comes to the long-awaited new V4, Randy readily admits his disappointment: "I was hoping for something different. The power input is really very smooth and the maximum power needs to be increased. This is exactly what we are going to work on"…
"The Jerez circuit is too short to develop the new engine, we will be able to work more efficiently in this area in Qatar", estimated Monday evening our national Honda rider … Continued in the next issue therefore !
With a Honda satellite and Michelin tires also, Andrea Dovizioso climbs on the third step of the "first podium" of the year. Even in the delicate track conditions on Sunday, the rookie was remarkably efficient, finishing 5th in the qualifying session, his first official !
Unlike Randy – used to powerful MotoGP after two years of taming the Kawa Ninja – Andrea, fresh off the 250, said he was more satisfied with his new engine "more powerful".
Since his arrival in the big leagues, Andrea admitted not being able to fully exploit the qualifying tires. It is clear that this weekend, the new n ° 4 has crossed a new course … who knows how many he will cross in his first season ?
Lorenzo and Dovizioso get away from it all
But there is even stronger than Dovizioso, on qualifying tires in any case: Jorge Lorenzo! The double champion of the 250 mode has indeed achieved on his new M1 a better time than the vice champion 250 on his RCV !
"We finished the three days in second after a very quick lap this afternoon on the qualifying Michelin, which I’m very happy with", noted Monday the young Spaniard, before specifying however that in configuration of race, the record was not so radiant…
"We have to be faster and for that we have to find more grip and gain confidence", specified n ° 48."We did a good job but we still lack grip and the rear is slipping a lot", insisted his team manager Daniele Romagnoli.
On the other hand, his performance on a wet track was much less impressive than that of his favorite enemy Dovi: 16th fastest time, Jorge confessed on Sunday evening "braking too early and accelerating too late"! Disappointing, but at least Lorenzo knows" what to expect next time it rains" !
Running for a chewing gum…
All that remains is Nicky Hayden, author of the best time of the weekend on his RC212V equipped with the "spring" version of the Honda V4: "these three days were really positive and constructive", concluded the n ° 69, holder of the greatest number of loops on the Andalusian track: 205 in all !
Listen, the 2008 version of the RCV 800cc suits the American better than the previous version, even if last year during the IRTA tests, Nicky was with it in a satisfactory 5th place … "We didn’t make any big changes, just a few tweaks to the race settings, we put on a pair of qualifying tires and did a series of 25 laps.", the HRC pilot recapitulated on Monday.
The day before, the former "Number One" declared himself delighted to be back in competition, via the "GP n ° 0" which he finished in 3rd place. "It was fun, because it’s a kind of competition and not just because a car is involved: we could just as easily have run for a chewing gum, everyone would have given their all. !"noted the Kentucky Kid on Sunday..
Next week in Qatar, the Intercontinental Circus pilots will not be racing for a car, not even for a chewing gum or a Turkish delight … They will simply try to acclimatize to night driving (a great first, read ) and adjust their mounts as well as possible for the opening GP, which will take place a week later on the same track, still at night !
This race, on the other hand, will have a major stake for the pilots: to gain the advantage over their adversaries, as Casey Stoner did last year … With the 2008 world crown at stake. !
Full results
| Pilot | Motorcycle tires | Saturday | Sun. | On Monday | Tours | |
| 1 | N. Hayden | Honda M. | 1 ‘39.200 | 1 ‘50,785 | 1 ‘38.848 | 205 |
| 2 | J. Lorenzo | Yamaha M. | 1 ‘39.528 | 1 ‘53,292 | 1 ‘39,252 | 165 |
| 3 | A. Dovizioso | Honda M. | 1 ‘40,767 | 1 ‘51.312 | 1 ‘39.313 | 141 |
| 4 | R. De Puniet | Honda M. | 1 ‘39.444 | 1 ‘51.979 | 1 ‘39.351 | 176 |
| 5 | V. Rossi | Yamaha B. | 1 ‘40.641 | 1 ‘50.580 | 1 ‘39.568 | 188 |
| 6 | C. Edwards | Yamaha M. | 1 ‘39.629 | 1 ‘52,826 | – | 89 |
| 7 | J. Toseland | Yamaha M. | 1 ‘39.678 | 1 ‘52,755 | 1 ‘39.727 | 140 |
| 8 | C. Stoner | Ducati B. | 1 ‘40.651 | 1 ‘49,263 | 1 ‘39.845 | 160 |
| 9 | A. De Angelis | Honda B. | 1 ‘40,165 | 1 ‘52,463 | 1 ‘39.932 | 144 |
| 10 | S. Nakano | Honda B. | 1 ‘40,192 | 1 ‘51.594 | 1 ‘40.333 | 154 |
| 11 | L. Capirossi | Suzuki B. | 1 ‘40,843 | 1 ‘51.894 | 1 ‘40,442 | 147 |
| 12 | C. Vermeulen | Suzuki B. | 1 ‘41,763 | 1 ‘52,779 | 1 ‘40.576 | 171 |
| 13 | A. West | Kawasaki B. | 1 ‘41,821 | 1 ‘50,799 | 1 ‘41.026 | 162 |
| 14 | S. Guintoli | Ducati B. | 1 ‘42.698 | 1 ‘52.058 | 1 ‘41,177 | 129 |
| 15 | Mr. Melandri | Ducati B. | 1 ‘41.392 | 1 ‘52,238 | 1 ‘41,292 | 190 |
| 16 | T. Elias | Ducati B. | 1 ‘41.703 | 1 ‘57.698 | 1 ‘41.311 | 169 |
| 17 | D. Pedrosa | Honda M. | 1 ‘41.352 | – | 1 ‘41.699 | 72 |
| 18 | J. Hopkins | Kawasaki B. | 1 ‘41.901 | 1 ‘53.708 | 1 ‘42.970 | 49 |
| 19 | N. Canepa | Ducati B. | 1 ‘42.652 | 1 ‘57.453 | 1 ‘42.160 | 98 |
| 20 | O. Jacque | Kawasaki B. | 1 ‘42.557 | 1 ‘53.283 | 1 ‘43,496 | 146 |
| 21 | V. Guareschi | Ducati B. | 1 ‘43,435 | 1 ‘54.694 | 1 ‘45.597 | 93 |
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