Pedrosa tops Honda times on final day of successful Sepang MotoGP test.

The three-day MotoGP test at Sepang, Malaysia ended today with Repsol Honda factory rider Dani Pedrosa the fastest of the Honda RC212V riders at the test. In temperatures exceeding 30 degrees with high humidity the young Spaniard set a lap time almost 1.5 seconds faster than his best over the previous two days of the test. Pedrosa set his best time of 2m 01.884s on Michelin qualifying tyres following solid runs in the mid 2m 02s bracket.

Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda team-mate, reigning MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden concentrated on overall machine performance testing many chassis, suspension and tyre combinations. At the end of the day American tried the new 16-inch Michelin race tyres as he strove to get the best out of his RCV. Hayden did not push himself to the limit during the test as he is still experiencing stiffness from the shoulder operation he underwent in early December.

The Gresini Honda team leave Sepang for then three-day test at Phillip Island, Australia in buoyant mood. Team riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias met the objectives that the team had set for their first RC212V test of the year.

Italian Melandri worked diligently on tyre testing for new supplier Bridgestone and was particularly impressed with the performance of a range of front tyres he was given to test.

Spaniard Elias continued chassis setting work while testing changes to the geometry of his RCV before moving on to tyre testing. At the end of the day both riders had lowered their previous best lap times by over a second.

Konica Minolta Honda rider Shinya Nakano had hoped to end the Sepang test with lap times inside 2m 03s but the popular Japanese struggled with a front-end problem again today and missed his target by less than a tenth of a second. The front wheel chatter was minimal in the cooler temperatures of the morning session but performance deteriorated as the temperatures rose after lunch. On the positive side Nakano was pleased the team completed their Sepang test programme and he is now much closer to understanding the characteristics of the Honda.

Carlos Checa made a big step forward on the final day and announced himself satisfied with the results of the three-day test where he set his best time on race tyres with fifth fastest tie on race rubber. Checa also took part in an unusual bike exchange with Kenny Roberts Jnr today. The 34 year old Spaniard rode the KR212V Honda powered Team Roberts framed machine while Roberts Jnr took to the track aboard Checa’s LCR RC212V Honda. The two teams making the switch in a bid to gather data from and share opinions on the Honda engine used by both riders.

There was a very positive vibe in the Team Roberts camp today after Kenny Jnr swapped machines with Carlos Checa and was really pleased with the feedback from Checa’s LCR, as well as getting pointers to where the KR212V could be improved - particularly on the exit of the super-fast Turn 3 where is was unstable and hard to ride. Following the swap Kenny Jnr was able to improve his time and felt that if they had put in the more high performance race Michelin tyres they could have dipped into the high 2m 02s.

The Honda teams now move on to the superb Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia for the second MotoGP test of the year on January 30, 31 and February 1.

Honda rider quotes and lap times.

"We definitely learnt a lot about the bike at this test and got some valuable information for my crew chief Pete Benson and the boys to work with. And myself, I felt like I rode the 800 better than I did here in November. It would have been nice to have been closer to the front and I know we didn’t set the world on fire, but we’ve definitely got some positive stuff to take away.

We found some Showa forks I liked and some good settings, plus we tried the new 16 inch Michelin front which felt good. On the straight I feel like I’m a little bit out in the wind and that’s where I’m losing time - towards the end of the straight. I don’t know if it’s partly engine performance and partly aerodynamics. It’s definitely good that we’re going to Phillip Island because we can check the things we tested here at a completely different track next week. I would have liked to have done a long run here but I didn’t really have the strength in my shoulder.

The most I did was ten laps in a row because the doc didn’t want me getting carried away here because shoulders sometimes take a while to heal.

I’m looking forward to Phillip Island where there’s not so much hard braking."

"Today we were able to take some steps with the bike and the feeling is a little better – so that’s positive. We also confirmed some of the areas where we have to improve which is also good to know. We’ve also tested some tyres for Michelin including the new 16-inch tyres - yesterday the front tyre and today the rear. It’s still early and difficult to have a definite answer about these tyres, but the feeling was good so maybe it’s the future. I was fastest at the last test in Jerez but this is a different track, the temperature is higher and there are many differences riding here so we will analyse the data and work how to improve further at Phillip Island. This is normal for testing.

"I'm satisfied, we worked with method following an intense programme and I can say that we have met our target. Today I tested different kind of tyres and I'm satisfied. In particular I like a lot the front tyre but also the rear tyre is working quite well. It was important to work along side the Bridgestone technicians to understand the line to follow so that we can go on improving. I wanted to do a race simulation but unfortunately I had to stop after 12 laps because I was suffering too much on my right foot because of the heat. Now I need to work on the boot in order to solve this problem. I go to Phillip Island very confident. There is a lot of work to do but I'm happy for the situation at this stage of development".

"I leave Sepang very confident. This morning we worked a lot on chassis and suspensions and studied the geometry of the bike. In the afternoon we could continue some tyre testing. It was important to understand the line of work also with Bridgestone technicians and I think these first three days of testing have been very helpful. I'm not happy with my lap time but I'm not worried, at this moment it's more important to work for the race pace".

Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 2m 02.583.

"Today was much better! I feel very satisfied about the set up work we developed over the last three days. I spent most of the day riding on race tyres and my best lap time was the 5th fastest overall. Then, in the last part of the session, I came out on qualifying tyres but I need more time to adapt. I also swapped my bike with Kenny Roberts Jnr to gather data and to share our opinions on the engine. This bike has a strong potential but we must continue our development during the next test sessions. As the RC212V is the smallest bike of this class I have to adapt also my body to improve the aerodynamics. Thus last winter I had a steady training loosing 3 kilogrammes and I will probably receive a new seat and a new faring much higher for next Australian tests."

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 2m 03.077s - 60 laps.

"Again I am a little disappointed because I wanted to mark better lap times today. This morning went well like yesterday but in the afternoon I found the same problem as yesterday, front end hopping during the braking. Although maybe I was not really ready to do it, but I did a race simulation run of 21 laps. Also I did some start tests so basically I have covered all the menu I wanted to do here. Phillip Island, where I move to from here for the next test, has fast corners and corner entry performance is important. I want to solve this front-end problem there. Last year at Phillip Island, I was leading the race before it started to rain and I still have a good image of the track. So I want to get as close as possible to this good image. I now have more understanding about the RC212V so I want to improve a step further. Today it was very hot but as I did training at a Malaysian island, so I did not get tired and could keep focused throughout the test."

Kenny Roberts, KR212V: 2m 03.330s.

"For sure today we learned a tremendous amount today. I've got to thank Honda because they promised me at the last race at Valencia last year that they'd let me ride one of their bikes here - because it was gonna be our first test. We did it at about one o’clock today and so thanks to Carlos Checa and his guys. The problem was that in some of the fast stuff I'd been really fighting our bike and blistering my hands, but I'd just kinda thought it was either me or the line. But Carlos's bike was much more stable coming out of turn three and that kinda kicked stuff off for us to work in that direction. I was fighting it non-stop and my corner speed through there wasn't very good. So for the last hour we made some big improvements and for here darn-near fixed it completely. At first, we didn't really know how to fix it, we thought it was coming from the link and the shock. But to cut a long story short, it seems like we've made a big improvement. Laptime-wise, we weren't able to do much tyre testing for Michelin, but we did a low 2m 03 on race tyres but I'm sure I could have been somewhere in the 2m 02s if we'd worked at it. So we're at a good stage right now."

Sepang Test MotoGP: Day Three. Unofficial Times

1. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha Racing 2m 00.936s.
2. John Hopkins - Rizla Suzuki 2m 01.026s.
3. Loris Capirossi - Ducati MotoGP 2m 01.274s.
4. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2m 01.664s.
5. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2m 01.691s.
6. Randy De Puniet - Kawasaki Racing 2m 01.878s.
7. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda 2m 01.884s.
8. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Racing 2m 02.266s.
9. Casey Stoner - Ducati MotoGP 2m 02.407s.
10. Marco Melandri - Honda Gresini 2m 02.489s.
11. Carlos Checa - Honda LCR 2m 02.583s.
12. Alex Barros - Pramac d'Antin 2m 02.630s.
13. Toni Elias - Honda Gresini 2m 02.927s.
14. Alex Hofmann - Pramac d'Antin 2m 03.040s.
15. Shinya Nakano - Konica Minolta Honda 2m 03.077s.
16. Makoto Tamada - Yamaha Tech 3 2m 03.308s.
17. Kenny Roberts JR - Team Roberts 2m 03.330s.
18. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2m 03.592s.
19. Shinichi Ito - Bridgestone MotoGP 2m 03.973s.

From HRC