MotoGP – Lorenzo dominates the 1st day of Moto GP testing in Sepang –

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Lorenzo dominates the 1st day of Moto GP testing at Sepang

MotoGP - Lorenzo dominates the 1st day of Moto GP testing in Sepang -

Jorge Lorenzo set the best time with his new 1000cc Yamaha YZR-M1 during the first day of Moto GP testing yesterday at the Sepang circuit (Malaysia). In the absence of the defending champion Casey Stoner who suffers from back problems, it was Dani Pedrosa who gave the reply to the Yamaha by placing his Honda RC213V between the M1s …

Jorge Lorenzo set the best time with his new 1000cc Yamaha YZR-M1 during the first day of Moto GP testing yesterday at the Sepang circuit (Malaysia). In the absence of the defending champion Casey Stoner who suffers from back problems, it was Dani Pedrosa who gave the reply to the Yamaha by placing his Honda RC213V between the M1s of Lorenzo and Crutchlow..

False start for Stoner

Soaked by the night showers, the Sepang circuit did not see the first Moto GP riders start setting up lap times until the end of the morning, on a still cool track. The number of laps completed during this very first official practice session of the 2012 season (read) is therefore quite low: between 12 and 48 laps.

"Unofficial" CRT and Moto3 tests in Valencia

While all the Moto GP prototypes and several CRTs officially revise their ranges in Malaysia, some CRT and Moto3 teams (the 250 cc 4-stroke which replace the 125 cc in 2012) are testing their new equipment in Valencia (Spain).

This is the case of Mattia Pasini – who has just joined the Speed ​​Master team to replace Anthony West -, but also of Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro who develop the CRT of the Aspar team. Unsurprisingly, Randy was the fastest on the first day in bright sunshine.

According to the data communicated by the teams (unofficial, therefore), the n ° 14 turned in 1’35.3 yesterday (against 1’31.861 in qualifying for Stoner in 2011), his teammate Espargaro in 1’36.7 and Pasini in 1’37.8.

These three CRTs use a prepared version of the Aprilia RSV4 V4 and a prototype chassis developed by the Noale crest racing department. Or a motorcycle that is technically very close to Max Biaggi’s Superbike…

As a result, yesterday’s performance is not necessarily representative of the level of forces involved. The more so as the new boss of the Moto GP could not make speak the powder on his Honda hit with the n ° 1: suffering from a nasty contracture in the back, Stoner indeed returned to his hotel after a few loops only !

The only rider to defend the Honda-Respol colors, Dani Pedrosa was responsible for hoisting the new 1000 cc RC213V to the forefront … but more than three tenths behind the strongman of the day, Jorge Lorenzo.

Author of the greatest number of laps (48), the Catalan from HRC could not do anything to counter his "old" rival, who signed an interesting 2’01.657 (the lap record is in 2’00.518) on a track whose grip should only improve by the end of testing on Wednesday evening.

"I’m very happy with my day," said Lorenzo after this promising first session. “It was my first time riding the bike in a long time and it was very positive. Yamaha has worked a lot on the M1 this winter. I can very easily see where I need to adjust my bike. riding a motorcycle and I think we have a lot of potential "

"There are a lot of aspects that we want to improve and I’m looking forward to continuing tomorrow. I’m also happy that my finger is fine and I’m not bothered to drive!", Concludes the 2010 world champion who was injured. by hand when testing the .

Cal Crutchlow places his M1 Tech3 at Pedrosa’s asp, while Ben Spies completes a Top 4 in clear favor of Iwata’s crest.

Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha Tech3), who still suffers from his very recent broken collarbone (read), has meanwhile only done about twenty laps: passed from HRC to Tech 3, the Italian has everything similarly ranked sixth at 1’094 from the reference time.

Rossi fifth at 0.7 sec

At Ducati, this first day was rather positive: while Rossi recently announced that a delay of more than a second on his rivals at Sepang would be very difficult to fill thereafter, the n ° 46 posted an encouraging fifth time at 0.735 sec from leader.

Bridgestone tests its new tires

Following the many complaints expressed last season, Bridgestone has made available to Moto GP riders new tires designed to provide faster warm-up and more versatility..

Characterized by the use of new compounds and a different structure, the Bridge "vintage 2012" also take into account the increase in the displacement of the Moto GP (from 800 in 2011 to 1000 cc in 2012), which generates more power. to be transmitted to the ground.

"We wanted the grip of our new tires to be more manageable, the warm-up to be faster and the tires to also be able to perform well in a wider range of conditions," said Tohru Ubukata, Managing Director. of the "Bridgestone Motorsport Tire Development Department".

Admittedly, this is only the first day of testing, and the times for the leading men will continue to drop today and tomorrow. But this performance will undoubtedly encourage the engineers from Bologna, who this winter developed a brand new GP12 with an aluminum perimeter frame..

Victim of a fractured left scapula and several ribs at the end of December (read), the second official Ducati rider, Nicky Hayden, suffers and seems uncomfortable on his motorcycle: the American finished in tenth position in more than 7 tenths behind Rossi and 1’494 behind Lorenzo.

CRTs still lagging behind

Faster among the Claiming Rule Team (CRT) drivers, Colin Edwards finished fifteenth with more than six seconds off the reference time with his Suter / BMW (prototype frame manufactured by Suter and S1000RR engine prepared) from the Forward Racing team..

The same lack of competitiveness is to be noted among the two other representatives of the Moto GP "subcategory" present in Malaysia: test rider Jordi Torres and Ivan Silva – who replaces Yonny Hernandez at Avintia Racing (ex-BQR) – complete the standings more than two and a half seconds behind Edwards with their Suter / Kawasaki … which puts them more than 9 seconds behind Jorge Lorenzo’s M1 prototype !

To be continued on Site: stay connected !

Results of the first day of 2012 Moto GP testing in Sepang

  1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2: 01.657 (30 laps)
  2. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2: 02.003 +0.346 +0.346 (48 laps)
  3. Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2: 02.221 +0.218 +0.564 (32 laps)
  4. Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2: 02.234 +0.013 +0.577 (28 laps)
  5. Valentino Rossi Ducati Team 2: 02.392 +0.158 +0.735 (43 laps)
  6. Andrea Dovizioso Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2: 02.751 +0.359 +1.094 (20 laps)
  7. Hector Barbera Pramac Racing Team 2: 02.773 +0.022 +1.116 (41 laps)
  8. Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha Factory 2: 02.829 +0.056 +1.172 (32 laps)
  9. Alvaro Bautista San Carlo Honda Gresini 2: 02.869 +0.040 +1.212 (45 laps)
  10. Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2: 03.151 +0.282 +1.494 (33 laps)
  11. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 2: 03.668 +0.517 +2.011 (44 laps)
  12. Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 2: 03.781 +0.113 +2.124 (45 laps)
  13. Franco Bataini Ducati Test Team 2: 04.986 +1.205 +3.329 (35 laps)
  14. Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 2: 07.163 +2.177 +5.506 (4 laps)
  15. Colin Edwards NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2: 08.240 +1.077 +6.583 (21 laps)
  16. Jordi Torres Avintia Racing 2: 10.671 +2.431 +9.014 (42 laps)
  17. Ivan Silva Avintia Racing 2: 11.267 +0.596 +9.610 (12 laps)

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