MotoGP test Jerez, Spain November 29, 2006. Day two of three-day test.

Honda riders shine on sunny day at Jerez test

Honda RC212V riders made hay in the sunshine of Jerez, Southern Spain, on day two of the final MotoGP test session of 2006. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, was the fastest of the Honda men testing and one of only two riders to crack the 1m 42s barrier for the 4.423km circuit. Gresini Honda rider Marco Melandri and Shinya Nakano on the Konica Minolta Honda are both testing the new 800cc V-four Honda for the first time and both set very respectable lap time at 1m 42.4s and 1m 44.5s respectively.

Pedrosa a three time world champion in the smaller grand prix categories, two 250cc titles and one at 125cc level, was in sparkling form as he ran through an intensive test programme that saw him evaluate engine, chassis, suspension and tyre performance. The Spanish youngster set a lap time faster than his best at the 2006 grand prix held at the circuit in April of this year a time just two tenths of a second outside the MotoGP lap record.

Gresini Honda rider Melandri put in his first full day of testing on the RC212V. The 24-year old Italian works hard in testing and today was no exception he covered 52 hard laps setting the 800cc Honda to his riding position and style before working on the geometry and suspension in a bid to understand the characteristics of his new mount and to try and get the machine to turn as he wished it to. He ended the day reasonably satisfied with some aspects but he and the team have a lot of work to do to further improve the RCV before the enforced December long break in winter testing.

For Konica Minolta team rider Shinya Nakano everything is new. He is riding Honda for the Italian team for the first time and with an all-new machine at that. If that were not enough Nakano also has the task of riding a MotoGP machine equipped with Michelin tyres after several years campaigning with Bridgestone rubber.

The Japanese rider worked methodically during what was in fact his first day on the machine as he sat out the wet session yesterday, the opening day of the three day test. Working on the riding position before moving onto suspension work Nakano established a reasonable base line setting to work from as he and the team mechanics endeavoured to improve their understanding of the RC212V. Nakano ended the day in positive mood having set times comparable with riders with more 800cc experience.

Honda’s two top 250cc grand prix teams are also testing their RS250RW twin-cylinder two-stroke machines at Jerez. Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda, runner up in the 250cc series in 2006, and Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda, tested the latest versions of the RS250RW they will race in 2007.

Aoyama’s team mate for next season, Spaniard Julian Simon, tested a 2006 version of the bike, his first ever outing on a quarter litre machine.

This is the first full day of testing with the new machine and neither Dovizioso nor Aoyama were chasing lap times as they worked their way through a range of new parts and machine settings working to give the HRC engineers the valuable feed back they need to develop the RS250RW into a title winning machine.

While the two senior riders concentrated on development work new boy Simon just rode the RS250RW to gain confidence in the machine and his new team. The quiet unassuming Simon surprised all with an outstanding lap time of 1m 43.986s just under the 250cc lap record for the circuit.

Honda rider lap times and quotes:

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.799s – 67 laps.

"We had a good day’s testing and I’m pleased with how things went today. We tried many chassis and suspension adjustments on the bike, finding the combinations that worked best with the Michelin tyres we tested. My lap-times were quite good and I went faster than in the race at the beginning of the season, but you can’t read too much into this because November is good time for going fast at Jerez. We’re hoping it stays dry for tomorrow so we can continue this progress."

Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 42.4s – 52 laps.

"It has been a better day it’s really the first day with the new bike after the rain of yesterday. We started working on the geometry of the machine to try and understand the possibilities we have for chassis settings. I’m not so happy yet I have not found a good connection between throttle, engine and rear wheel. Funny because even with less power from the 800cc I still have wheel spin. We tried some things on suspension and of course tested with Bridgestone tyres. In the end I had a good feeling getting the bike to turn better, it was good in the fast corners but we have to work on the bike to get it to turn better in the slow to mid-range speed corners. Tomorrow we will work on improving the suspension set up."

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.463s –53 laps.

"Not so bad for my first real day of testing on the RC212V. First I had to find a comfortable riding position before we started to work on the bike. Once I had found that we worked on suspension settings and changed the front forks before working on the rear end. After we found the best machine balance for me I started working on front tyre testing and we found a very positive direction to work in. The engine is powerful but easy to control a much different feeling to any other bike I have raced. I’m happy because I could ride normally without worrying and that’s good. Tomorrow we will work on the gearbox to help me understand more about the potential of this bike."

Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 1m 43.986s – 55 laps.

"I am very happy to be in this team with Alberto Puig and the mechanics. The team has much experience in 250cc racing and helped Dani Pedrosa to three world titles. I’m happy with the bike its not so difficult to ride but the lines you have to use are different to the 125cc class I have been racing in. This test is really for me to get used to the 250 the power and handling characteristics, and braking into the corners. I have a good feeling with this bike but I have a lot to learn about machine set up."

Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 1m 44.977s – 68 laps.

"It is very difficult to say much about today. We have been trying to find good base line settings for the machine and while the old bike is better in some ways the new machine has definite improvements and we know it will be much better, this is just the first test."

Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 1m 45.500s – 55 laps.

"I’m happy with a lot of the changes to the chassis it is definitely better, of course some things did not improve but that is normal with a new machine. The engine has improved and will get better so I can say the test today has been positive."

Unofficial lap times:

1. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha: 1m 40.688s
2. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 44.030s
3. Colin Edwards, Yamaha: 1m 41.186s.
4. John Hopkins, Suzuka: 1m 41.205s.
6. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki: 1m 41.619s.
7. Loris Capirossi, Ducati: 1m 42.244s.
8. Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 42.469s.
9. Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.528s.
10. Alex Barros, Ducati: 1m 43.182s.
11. Tady Okada, Repsol Honda: 1m 43.316s.
12. Julian Simon, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 43.977s.
13. Vittorio Guareschi, Ducati: 1m 44.449s.
14. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 444.977s.
15. Jeremy McWilliams, Ilmor: 1m 45.265s.
16. Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 1m 45.500s.

From HRC