MotoGP – Honda Repsol fight back! –

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Honda Repsol fight back !

MotoGP - Honda Repsol fight back! -

Absent from the top 3 for the first two days, Hayden and Pedrosa put on soft tires yesterday and doubled ahead of four very efficient Ducatis in race configuration. Races in which Rossi will participate in 2007… and in 2008 !

The Honda, Ducati and Suzuki teams had barely completed their tests in Malaysia (read) when they all left for Australia to join the technical and grueling circuit of Phillip Island..

They took advantage of optimal weather conditions there: sun, light wind and an average of 24 ° C. In fact, only the end of the first day was marred by a downpour and a strong gale, preventing the pilots from turning the last hour and a half..

This premature stop did not however penalize Shinya Nakano, who had left the circuit shortly before the arrival of the rain to reach his hotel, victim of stomach aches. Last time of the first day and penultimate of the final standings, the Japanese could not give the best of himself during these tests…

However, Super Shinya is said to have made a lot of progress on his front axle problem, as his technical director Giulio Bernardelle explains: "in braking and entering a curve, things have improved compared to Sepang"where his Honda vibrated excessively.

Nakano and Roberts Jr still in the fight

In the grip of the same difficulties as Tamada last year on his RC211V, Nakano is aware of being far from the leading pack but above all retains his progress in a crucial area in this period: "I better understand the way the team works and I work well with them", he confides.

Six days in his native Japan should allow the Konica Minolta driver to regain his strength before returning to the entire Intercontinental Circus in Qatar, an important meeting since it is precisely there that the opening of the championship will take place. this year, March 10, 2007 !

Team Roberts are also eager to join Qatar in order to "improve our situation". Used to playing the leading roles at the end of last season, the American outsider must once again take his troubles patiently…

"It’s our sixth day of testing on the new machine and I think we’ve made a lot of progress in understanding the bike.", relativizes Kenny Jr. His best time (1’31.10) was achieved on race tires – unlike the three top picks – and the American has"comfortably shot in 1’31".

But before competing for the 2007 podiums, the pilot of the unique KR212V will have to improve further … Just like the pilots of Team Gresini !

Elias is waiting for new tires

Fortunately, Toni Elias (8th fastest) has a good reason to believe in the future: if he continues to work on all the settings of his Honda, he is especially waiting for new Bridgestone compounds "which should better match my characteristics"during the next tests.

Because the Japanese manufacturer is keen to supply specific tires "to each team and also to each driver", insists the boss of the motorcycle racing department, Hiroshi Yamada. Bridgestone’s main goal during these pre-season tests is therefore to store as much information as possible about its riders, four of whom are new to him this year: Elias but also Melandri, Stoner, Barros and Hofmann.

Like his teammate, Marco Melandri is showing impressive serenity as one month from the start of the season, the Italian does not shine in the rankings. But unlike Toni, Marco did not put on qualifying tires to set his best time in Australia, recorded narrowly from day one. !

Melandri loves her new RC212V

Effectively modifying his Sepang set-up, the no.33 set the 2nd fastest time on Tuesday, subsequently focusing on "different adjustment possibilities to understand the behavior of the motorcycle".

Riding for the first time on the motorcycle he will use at the start of the season, the Italian hedgehog recalls that "the RC212V is really a new motorcycle, very different from the RC211V 1000 cc". His new mount gives him"a good feeling at the front"and its Bridgestones are certainly no strangers to it.

Also equipped with Bridgestone but on Suzuki this time, Hopkins and Vermeulen perform similarly to the two Honda Gresinis while they largely dominated them in Malaysia.

Suzuki skate

For John Hopkins, this decline in form is ultimately not so surprising: the Anglo-American and the GSV-R have never been very swift on this antipodes track. Thus, n ° 21 was satisfied "to chain turns", without however achieving the goal he had set.

Like last year, the Suzuki therefore rolled their tires, relegating their drivers to the background: Vermeulen 9th and Hopkins 11th. "The team has certainly taken a big step forward in terms of chassis settings and engine mapping to overcome the difficulties of this circuit.", still tries to reassure manager Paul Denning.

"The bike was hard enough to ride without slipping the rear tire, which fatally affected its endurance", enlightens us Vermeulen who had never turned so fast on this circuit. Let us note that the local of the stage has released a system recording his heartbeats:"it will help me know how to improve my vigor while running by showing me how my body reacts to different situations". You can not stop progress !

Without touching the qualifying rubbers, Carlos Checa for his part managed to dominate his young compatriot Toni Elias! Constantly improving during these tests, the Catalan driver could well be the surprise at the start of the season…

"We are quite satisfied with our three days", concludes the n ° 7 who seems more and more at ease on his 800 cc. Carlos has not reiterated the lack of protection of his RC212V: exploded by a seagull on Wednesday, the pilot was able to realize the effectiveness of his bubble !

Ducatis close ranks

The Borno Panigale firm offered a superb group shot at Phillip Island, led by the hand of the stainless Capirossi. However the first two days, it is the indestructible Barros who dominated the tests on the handlebars of his Ducati d’Antin….

Signing a superb 1’30.00 on the second day on soft tires, Alex Barros greatly impressed his opponents, as he had done during the two Superbike rounds taking place last year on the same circuit (read).

"Having already obtained a good general tuning of the motorcycle, we focused on the racing simulation with satisfactory results.", explained the n ° 4 last night, without forgetting to"thank Ducati for the material provided" !

Let’s hope that the Brazilian’s good performance is not solely due to his aptitudes on this precise track and that it is rather due to a high level of competitiveness of the satellite team. Alex Hofmann’s performance would tend to confirm the second hypothesis.

D’Antin in clear progress

Author of a good time on Wednesday – he is one hundredth behind the world champion -, the German did not take full advantage of his set of qualifying tires on Thursday: "I didn’t push hard because it was my first experience". What satisfies him, however, is to have maintained a good pace during his race simulation..

The record of Casey Stoner, official Ducati rider, is very similar to that of Hofmann but a tone above, allowing him to follow his teammate. The young Australian, handicapped by cramps during the last Malaysian tests, took advantage of a stopover at home to prove to everyone that he was in the game !

Having fine-tuned his setup on Wednesday, Casey embarked on a very encouraging race simulation on the final day. On the other hand, his test on soft tires was less conclusive, improving his best time by only 19 hundredths..

"As a general rule, we expect a gain of about one second per lap.", says Hiroshi Yamada, manager of the motorcycle racing branch at Bridgestone."The biggest problem we encountered last year during qualifying sessions for the Australian GP was that our tire designed for the one time lap was not holding enough grip for an entire lap. This forced our riders to preserve their tire by giving back control over certain sections, in order to retain grip for the last important turn.".

Big progress is therefore expected in this area from the pilots, Loris Capirossi himself only improving his best time by two tenths….

Fortunately for the famous n ° 65, his motorcycle equipped with racing tires remains very efficient: "if we confirm our good feelings at the next tests in Qatar and Jerez, then we will be satisfied and we will be able to be competitive throughout the championship", launches Capi-T-Rex.

Repsol are the fastest

The GP7 could even have kept the lead of the standings if the Repsol Honda had not put on their Michelin qualifying tires … Although Pedrosa confirms that his times "both on qualifying tires and races were quite good", which – in Asimo language – amounts to informing his friends that he is all ready for the GP !

Third best time in race tires of the second day just a tenth behind the fastest – Capirossi -, Dani Pedrosa confirms that his small size lends itself well to the new MotoGP, even if he is beaten by his teammate Hayden, a giant in comparison !

According to the new world number one, Wednesday was his "best day of these tests and all year so far"During his racing simulation, the Kentucky Kid did indeed"shot regularly in 1’30", a pace comparable to that maintained by the best last year, when the track was still dry !

Completing his best lap in 1 ‘29.54, Nicky Hayden dominated his opponents on qualifying gums but cannot help noting a crucial point: "a certain person was not in these tests, so just being the fastest today doesn’t mean you can rest"…

So even absent, Valentino Rossi – because it is obviously him that Hayden speaks about! – manages to eclipse his comrades … Along with the results of the tests in which they did not participate, Yamaha and Rossi have indeed made it known that they will stay together not one, but two additional seasons !

"Reclaim the title"

"I think last year coming back so close to the title coming out of an almost no-win situation showed how fantastic our team is. That’s why I want to stay with Yamaha", explains the seven-time world champion who appreciates in particular"the atmosphere in the garage always relaxed and happy, something very special and hard to find".

Lin Jarvis, managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing, also welcomes this happy event: "it’s especially good to have finished the negotiations before the start of the season which is fast approaching: this leaves Valentino free to concentrate on his only job: to regain the world title !"

More than delighted, Davide Brivio, the director of the official team, is moved by this decision: "during the last three seasons we have won when we started with Valentino in 2004, dominated in 2005 and lost in 2006: extending the contract for another year at the end of a season as difficult as the last is the best demonstration of the confidence that Valentino places in this team".

But if this information cuts short to speculations on the future of Valentino in the WRC – even in F1 -, it maintains those concerning his future sponsor, still unknown despite many rumors … Perhaps we will know more then. the next tests which will take place at Sepang next week with the Tech3 team, the Kawasaki and the Ilmor team? Stay connected !

Pilot Motorcycle – Tire Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
1 Hayden N. Honda – M 1 ‘31.18 1 ‘30.61 1 ‘29.52
2 Pedrosa D. Honda – M 1 ‘31.29 1 ‘30.44 1 ‘29.72
3 Barros A. Ducati – B 1 ‘30.60 1 ‘30.00 1 ‘30.43
4 Capirossi L. Ducati – B 1 ‘30.78 1 ‘30.34 1 ‘30.14
5 Stoner C. Ducati – B 1 ‘31.40 1 ‘30.39 1 ‘30.20
6 Hofmann A. Ducati – B 1 ‘31.50 1 ‘30.60 1 ‘30.21
7 Checa C. Honda – M 1 ‘31.80 1 ‘30.84 1 ‘30.46
8 Elias T. Honda – B 1 ‘32.00 1 ‘31.51 1 ‘30.50
9 Vermeulen C. Suzuki – B 1 ‘32.00 1 ‘31.18 1 ‘30.72
10 Melandri M. Honda – B 1 ‘30.75 1 ‘30.74 1 ‘30.80
11 Hopkins J. Suzuki – B 1 ‘31.80 1 ‘31.63 1 ‘30.80
12 Nakano S. Honda – M 1 ‘32.23 1 ‘31.35 1 ‘30.97
13 Roberts jr k. KR Honda – M 1 ‘31.90 1 ‘31.55 1 ‘31.10

Best lap in the race: 1 ‘30.332 – Marco Melandri – Honda (2005)
Best time: 1 ‘29.020 – Nicky Hayden – Honda (2006)

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