MotoGP – Marquez: ” Stoner’s testing is very important ” –

Mark: ” Stoner testing is very important ”

MotoGP - Marquez: '' Stoner's testing is very important '' -

According to the current leader of the MotoGP World Championship, Marc Marquez, the tests carried out by the retired Casey Stoner on the 2013 and 2014 RCVs are of great interest. For the Spaniard, the speed of his predecessor at the HRC is indeed a very valuable asset in the (good) development of the Honda …

According to the current leader of the MotoGP world championship, Marc Marquez, they are of great interest. For the Spaniard, the speed of his predecessor at the HRC is indeed a very valuable asset in the (good) development of the Honda …

Stoner, the ideal test pilot ?

MotoGP is in constant technological development: solutions and avenues for improvement are constantly tested, proven, validated or rejected by test riders. Throughout the year, these testers survey the laps until they are thirsty in order to "clear the ground" for the official pilots: their role is as much to select interesting parts as to reject those which bring no benefit..

But this system has its limits: these "test riders" – often former pilots linked to the brand – have neither the velocity of a Pedrosa, nor the capacity to string together ultra-fast laps of a Lorenzo, nor the pure attack of a Marquez. However, a chassis configuration which seems excellent at a "test" rate can for example turn out to be mediocre in the hands of a crack: it will run between two and three seconds faster, and therefore exert infinitely higher stresses. !

Consequently, their opinions must be refined and supplemented by tests carried out by the representatives entered in the premier category. This is why official test sessions are regularly organized, before and during the season: so that each manufacturer can calibrate and validate (or not) the work of his test pilots..

To get around this competitive gap, some have entrusted the task to young and promising riders: Ducati has thus relied on the swift Michele Pirro to develop his Desmosedici by promising him wild cards – even possibly a handlebars the following season. And the least that we can is that the Italian does not demerit since he finished the less than two seconds behind the GP13 of Nicky Hayden on the Ducati satellite of Spies !

At Honda, the HRC has set the bar even higher: recently, Casey Stoner has been testing Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez’s RC213Vs! The young retiree of the Grands Prix has indeed taken back the handlebars in the context of private tests at Motegi where he completed about fifty laps on the 2013 RVC and its 2014 evolution (read in particular).

If these tests fuel the rumor of a possible return to business for the Australian in MotoGP, Marc Marquez, he sees above all a precious help in the development of his motorcycle …

"For us it is very important," assured the championship leader. “I didn’t know what they were going to do at Motegi because I hadn’t spoken with the Japanese team but it was an important test. Casey is very fast, he always pushes the bike to its limits and tests he performs are therefore important for Honda ".

A rather sane analysis from the young MotoGP prodigy (eight podiums including three wins in nine races!), Especially since he and Casey Stoner have a fairly similar driving style in common. Like the Australian, Marquez is very mobile and uses his upper body extensively to help his motorcycle go – and stay! – at the point of rope: just take a look at our assembly below to notice it (top: Stoner at the GP of Catalonia 2012. Bottom: Marquez at the GP of the Americas 2013) !

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