MotoGP – Number 46 winner again! –

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Number 46 a winner again !

MotoGP - Number 46 winner again! -

The 46, the 48, the 69, the 56 and the additional number … the 15! These are the numbers that had to be played for these last private tests at Sepang, in which Rossi, Lorenzo, Hayden, Nakano and De Angelis took part. Chronos and comments…

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were held new private trials in Sepang. Tests even more "private" than usual since only five drivers of the 2008 championship drove the first two days, and four the last. !

Among them, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo had their work cut out for them, as the two Yamaha officials did not take part in testing at Phillip Island last week. Dani Pedrosa still recovering, Nicky Hayden was the only representative of HRC.

Also present were Shinya Nakano and Alex de Angelis of the Honda Gresini satellite team, and the development teams of Kawasaki and Yamaha – who were riding Bridgestone – whose work remained confidential…

If Jorge Lorenzo, his M1 and his Michelin achieved the best time of the last day, it is indeed Valentino Rossi, his M1 and his Bridgestones who proved to be the fastest over the three days, establishing on Tuesday a new record – unofficial – on the Malaysian track…

By completing the 5548 meters of track in 2’00.300, the Italian managed to beat the previous record – also unofficial – set during the January tests by Nicky Hayden and his RCV Chaussee de Michelin (read).

"Today was a good day because I really enjoyed myself"Rossi approved Tuesday night. Forced to change his driving style"to get the most out of Bridgestone", the seven-time world champion seems to have understood the potential of his qualifying tires !

While selecting on Wednesday, the "race" rubber that would suit him best to carry out his simulation the next day, the famous n ° 46 regularly turned in 2 ’01, the same pace as Stoner two weeks ago … Mama mia !

"Everything went very well and I improved in racing simulation compared to last time", finally assured the Doctor at the end of his tests, without revealing to us of course the times aligned during said simulation..

Of course, news about the M1’s new engine – and its pneumatic valve recall system – has not been more concrete, but…

"We worked more on the settings of the bike in order to make it work best with the new tires and we also continued our work on the new engine – which will be the one we will be using this season – and on the electronics.", pointed out all the same Vale, who had time to digest the breakage of this same engine during" his "GP at Misano last year (read).

Behind this delighted Rossi hides a slightly upset Lorenzo: "these tests were difficult for us but not completely negative", concluded the two-time 250cc world champion last night !

Two weeks ago, the Spaniard was already complaining about the front end of his M1 which prevented him from entering the bends properly. "We are not that fast, slower than during the last tests although we kept the same settings", insisted Jorge Wednesday evening…

At the end of each of the three days, the n ° 48 kept repeating that his bike was not stable under braking: "we tried a lot of different set-ups but didn’t manage to progress as planned so that means i still have to change my riding in some sections", finally agreed Lorenzo, more disappointed than really worried.

Third fastest, Hayden completed 170 laps in two days, 14 less than Lorenzo and 12 less than Rossi … who stayed an extra day !

As the latest version of the pneumatic valve return V4 is not yet available – it will be for Jerez next weekend – Nicky focused during these tests on improving the cycle part of his new RC212V.

Mission accomplished according to the American, who found that the small modifications made by his technicians to the 2008 chassis gave the bike a better balance. And for their part, the men from Michelin had brought new tires to their 2006 world champion..

"Michelin gave me a few rear tires which I really liked: in 16 inch and 16.5 inch they both have good grip on the sidewalls and the bike felt much better.", detailed the Kentucky Kid on the first day.

Without revealing which of the two had its favor, the n ° 69 affirmed the second evening to have found "a" tire giving it more grip in turns … As for the front tire, its choice fell on the model tested in the month January.

In the end, Hayden says he is satisfied with his chassis and his tires. Could Pedrosa’s absence have allowed him to model a RCV more to his liking? Will it then be able to return to its 2006 level? Response very soon…

Pedrosa for his part will return to the track of the Intercontinental Circus in Jerez. And his HRC team has already announced that his Spanish Asimo will abandon his favorite No.26 for No.2 this year, just to remind everyone that after Stoner, 2007 was the best of the year. queen category…

Better, the press release explains that "this is further proof of his intentions for the season which will begin on March 9 in Qatar, a way for him to prevent that in 2008, only one result will be acceptable: the one that will allow him to wear the n ° 1 plate."… Ole !

Fourth in the tests, Shinya Nakano regretted not being able to panic the clock as much as his little comrades: "we have to work on qualifying tires", the Japanese pilot reported on Wednesday evening,"because there is no big difference with racing tires".

Unfortunately the next day, the n ° 56 did not manage to find the miracle solution, his best time of the day being even higher than that of the day before….

On the other side of the box, Alex de Angelis made the same observation Wednesday, after a day marred by a headache. And the next day, the San Marinese finally managed to get their best time down by almost half a second..

The n ° 15 was thus housed a few hundredths from Nakano, proof if it were necessary that we can count on the rookies to animate the fight in the peloton … even at the forefront. !

But before taking advantage of the battles in the race, it is an event not to be missed under any circumstances … Indeed, next week will be held the IRTA trials in Jerez….

These official tests traditionally include the first "qualifying session" of the year. The stopwatch is also taken into account for the "BMW Award", competition rewarding the fastest driver during qualifying sessions..

Above all, it will be an opportunity to observe the entire field on the same circuit and under the same conditions! So stay connected…

MotoGP Sepang III test results :

Pilot Motorcycle tires Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Tours
1 V. Rossi Yamaha B. 2 ‘00.300 2 ‘00.472 2 ‘01.190 182
2 J. Lorenzo Yamaha M. 2 ‘02.654 2 ‘02.396 2 ‘00.705 184
3 N. Hayden Honda M. 2 ‘01.949 2 ‘00.900 – 170
4 S. Nakano Honda B. 2 ‘02.317 2 ‘02.049 2 ‘02.135 137
5 A. De Angelis Honda B. 2 ‘03.231 2 ‘02.646 2 ‘02.194 108
6 O. Jacque Kawasaki B. 2 ‘03.655 2 ‘03.513 2 ‘03.021 101
7 T. Serizawa Kawasaki B. 2 ‘06.874 2 ‘06.027 2 ‘03.623 80
7 M1 "T" Yamaha B. 2 ‘06.356 2 ‘05.647 2 ‘06.040 –
7 M1 "P" Yamaha B. 2 ‘07.319 2 ‘06.244 2 ‘06,000 –

Best lap: Valentino Rossi – Yamaha M. – 2 ‘00.605 (pole 2006)
Pole position 2007: Dani Pedrosa – Honda M. – 2 ‘01.877
Best lap in the race 2007: Casey Stoner – Ducati B. – 2 ‘02.108
Best lap (tests January 2008) : Nicky Hayden -Honda M. – 2 ‘00.326

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