FIM MotoGP World Championship Test Sepang, Malaysia February 27, 2013 Day Two Test Times (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Yamaha YZR-M1), 2:00.282, 58 laps 2. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda RC213V), 2:00.651, 55 laps 3. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Yamaha YZR-M1), 2:00.907, 59 laps 4. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda RC213V), 2:00.992, 64 laps 5. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha YZR-M1), 2:01.065, 63 laps 6. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Honda RC213V), 2:01.208, 58 laps 7. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda RC213V), 2:01.485, 54 laps 8. Nicky Hayden, USA (Ducati GP13), 2:01.778, 69 laps 9. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati GP13), 2:01.803, 49 laps 10. Bradley Smith, UK (Yamaha YZR-M1), 2:02.023, 63 laps 11. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Ducati GP13), 2:02.608, 47 laps 12. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (ART-Aprilia), 2:02.905, 45 laps 13. Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati GP13), 2:02.920, 60 laps* 14. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Japan (Yamaha YZR-M1), 2:02.946, 43 laps* 15. Wataru Yoshikawa, Japan (Yamaha YZR-M1), 2:03.354, 40 laps* 16. Hector Barbera, Spain (FTR-Kawasaki), 2:03.428, 55 laps 17. Ben Spies, USA (Ducati GP13), 2:03.460, 36 laps 18. Randy de Puniet, France (ART-Aprilia), 2:03.518, 57 laps 19. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan (FTR-Kawasaki), 2:03.990, 57 laps 20. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Suter-BMW), 2:04.279, 50 laps 21. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (ART-Aprilia), 2:04.350, 68 laps 22. Takumi Takahashi, Japan (Honda RC213V), 2:04.512, 77 laps* 23. Colin Edwards, USA (FTR-Kawasaki), 2:04.656, 44 laps 24. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (ART-Aprilia), 2:04.671, 58 laps 25. Claudio Corti, Italy (FTR-Kawasaki), 2:04.709, 29 laps 26. Bryan Staring, Australia (FTR-Honda), 2:05.439, 44 laps 27. Lukas Pesek, Czech Republic (Suter-BMW), 2:06.206, 45 laps 28. Michael Laverty, UK (PBM-Aprilia), 2:07.721, 19 laps *test rider More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Repsol Honda duo continue productive test in Malaysia After last night’s heavy showers, the Sepang track was a lot better today with the lap times dropping by over a second from yesterday. Both Repsol Honda riders spent time testing the Bridgestone hard front tyre and working with engine mapping, Dani then continued his work on front forks and shocks. He finished the day 2nd fastest completing 55 laps with his fastest of 2’00.651 on lap 24. Marc, who spent the first Sepang test familiarising himself with his Honda RC213V, has been able to take a step forward as he is now able to start working more on specific settings. He ended the day 4th fastest with a total of 64 laps, taking his fastest time of 2′.00.992 on lap 9. The three day test will conclude tomorrow at the Sepang International Circuit. Dani Pedrosa 2nd 2’00.651 “I’m satisfied. Today we were able to put in a lot of laps and we focused on testing things out with the front and rear suspension. It was a hard day, due to the high temperatures, but despite the heat we completed various tasks that we had scheduled in. Now we have to recuperate ahead of the final day tomorrow, in which we will continue to improve the bike” Marc Marquez 4th 2’00.992 “It was a pretty good day for us. Today we did something that is a little harder for riders, which is trying out a lot of things to give information to the technicians. It’s tough, but it is an important job when it comes to deciding which way to go with the setup. We did a good job on the 64 laps that I rode today. Now we have to compile the data and prepare as well as possible for the final day of the test – in which we will continue to put the laps in and look for the best direction to follow this preseason” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team: Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo topped the time sheets today for day two of the second official IRTA test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Lorenzo was fast straight out of the box in the morning and remained unchallenged all day. Track conditions had improved from yesterday’s first run, allowing the champion to get down to a lap time of 2’00.282, nearly 1.5 seconds faster than yesterday’s quickest time set by Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi’s start to the day was delayed slightly whilst the team resolved a small electrical issue with a coil. The Italian was soon out on track, putting in an impressive 63 laps whilst working on improving the YZR-M1’s traction on worn tyres. Rossi completed the day in fifth position, over a second faster than yesterday’s time. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 2.00.282 Laps: 54 “A pretty good day, the track was much better than yesterday, I was surprised in the beginning it was so different. I could be strong from the start; a second and a half quicker and I think I beat my record time here in Malaysia. We improved the setting on the bike and I feel stronger than the first Sepang test so I’m quite satisfied. Tomorrow if the weather is good I would like to try a long run of maybe 24 laps to see what happens with the tyres.” Valentino Rossi Position: 5th Time: 2.01.065 Laps: 63 “I’m happy, the feeling is quite good. Today was a very long day; I did more than sixty laps because we had a lot of work to do. We lost some time this morning with a small electrical problem that we fixed. We continued to work to increase the rear grip and traction, especially when the tyre has a lot of laps on it. We found something but we are still not 100% happy as we lose a little balance of the bike. Tomorrow the target is to improve the traction without losing the balance and then the bike will be very good.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “The second day of testing went pretty smoothly I have to say, we didn’t have any issues. We tested many different configurations of the bike again. We went a lot faster than yesterday but the track has improved as well. Having said that, whatever the conditions we have been consistently fast which is important. Overall it’s been very positive so far.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “A good day today, we managed many laps. We found some interesting data and the direction is definitely there. Unfortunately we lost some time this morning with Vale with a little issue with a coil but everything was back on track quickly. We are on target to finalise everything tomorrow and do a long run which will be the last point in our schedule for this test.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow charges into top three at scorching hot Sepang Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow stormed to a brilliant third place on a hot and humid second day of MotoGP testing at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia today. With track conditions a vast improvement on the slippery surface that greeted the field yesterday, lap times tumbled and Crutchlow was able to set a fastest pace of 2.00.907 on a day when air temperatures peaked at well over 30 degrees. Crutchlow shaved a ma ssive 1.3s off his best pace on a rain-hit first day and his big improvement enabled him to rocket up the rankings from sixth to third behind reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. The British rider dedicated much of his time on track today to working on different front fork settings and he experimented with a similar set-up used by Lorenzo in an attempt to make his YZR-M1 machine more agile in the fast changes of direction. The 27-year-old was satisfied with the progress made in his 59-lap stint having finished less than 0.3s behind Pedrosa. Rookie teammate Bradley Smith was also delighted with his performance today after he quickly restored his confidence following a tumble yesterday at Turn 7. The 22-year-old concentra ted mainly on improving his braking technique today on his way to clocking a best time of 2.02.369, which was an impressive 1.6s faster than his best pace on the opening day. Smith was able to get 63 valuable laps under his belt on a day in which he also began to evaluate a range of different settings on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine for the first time. His best time put him 10th and encouragingly for the future he was only marginally over one second away from the top six. Cal Crutchlow 3rd 2.00.907 – 59 laps: ‘There didn’t seem to be a lot of grip out there again today although the lap times have improved a lot. We tried something different with the front fork setting, which was in a similar direction to what Jorge (Lorenzo) uses and there were some good and bad points like with most things you test. I’m happy with my pace because we’ve tried a couple of different settings and we need to work on fine-tuning the best one. The main goal has been trying to stop the front of the bike lifting so much when I change direction on the throttle. The bike feels quite heavy so we need to reduce how much the fork comes up without sacrificing too much in another area like the braking. I’m sure if I had put in some new tyres at the start of the day I could have gone faster. But I waited to use mine around lunch and I still went faster, even though the track temperature was much higher at that point. I’m not really too concerned about the times though. I’m just concentrating on making the package we have got better for the first race in Qatar.” Bradley Smith 10th 2.02.023 – 63 laps: “After the crash yesterday I am feeling much happier today, though I’m a little bit wary of some things that happen with the front and that can play on your mind a little bit. But the track has more grip and my feeling with the bike is much better. Today I worked a lot on my braking technique because I’m being too cautious at the moment and not using the carbon brakes as they need to be used. We played around with some different settings today too just to gain more of an understanding about what direction we can take in the future if we have certain problems. I think Jorge is doing exceptionally well riding around consistently in the 2.00 bracket because all of the other guys seem to be in the 2.01s. He is on another level at the moment but to be honest I feel quite good doing consistent 2.02s. We are working for Qatar and the first race rather than lap times now. It is not e asy that’s for sure but I am confident soon it will start clicking into place and we will start rolling forward.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo back at the top in MotoGPâ„¢ test MotoGPâ„¢ World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha Factory Racing returned to the top on the second of this week’s three days of testing at the Sepang International Circuit. Cal Crutchlow achieved a top three finish for Monster Yamaha Tech 3, splitting the Repsol Honda Team pairing of Dani Pedrosa and rookie Marc Márquez. Lorenzo’s fastest ever lap time at Sepang came in the first half of the day, managing 2’00.282 which was over three tenths quicker than Tuesday pace-setter Pedrosa. On this occasion the leading Honda rider analysed suspension settings, declaring himself content. Crutchlow led the way for both Great Britain and the satellite runners in third, as Márquez finished barely three tenths off more experienced teammate Pedrosa. After suffering an electrical problem at the start of the session, Valentino Rossi rounded out the top five and his target remains to match Lorenzo’s race pace. Thankfully for all concerned, the weather was kinder to the field as the rain of 24 hours earlier stayed away; only a few drops fell at 5:30pm local time. This allowed for significantly more on-track activity, not least for Rossi and Honda test rider Takumi Takahashi who were the first to notch up more than 60 laps. Ben Spies was a faller in the morning, although the American was able to walk away unhurt from his Ignite Pramac Racing Team bike. He later wrapped up his programme early, suffering pain from his ongoing shoulder injury. GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 newcomer Bradley Smith were all inside the top ten, with the Englishman on lookout for a better braking technique following a fall on Tuesday. At Ducati Team, Nicky Hayden jumped back ahead of Andrea Dovizioso as test rider Michele Pirro sampled a new chassis. Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team’s Andrea Iannone was 11th as the Vasto-born rider makes the climb to MotoGPâ„¢ from the Moto2â„¢ class, in which he achieved eight race wins over the last three seasons. Improving by three tenths in the afternoon to finish ahead of Pirro and Yamaha testers Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Wataru Yoshikawa, Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró continued to provide an example for the CRT class despite admitting severe jetlag. Héctor Barberá led the Avintia Blusens charge from the aforementioned Spies, second Aspar contender of Randy de Puniet and his own teammate Hiroshi Aoyama. Danilo Petrucci moved into the top 20 for Came IodaRacing Project, just 71 thousandths of a second in front of Karel Abraham’s Cardion AB Motoracing machine as the Czech switches from a prototype to CRT chassis for 2013. Colin Edwards celebrated his 39th birthday, but soon placed all focus on NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s programme as work continues with the FTR Kawasaki. Michael Laverty was again forced to spend most of his day in the garage as Paul Bird Motorsport continued to prepare their own, PBM machine; it toured for three laps in the morning, as a shakedown, plus a further 16 in the afternoon. On more familiar ART equipment, teammate Yonny Hernández jumped ahead of Forward Racing’s Claudio Corti as respective Australian and Czech rookies Bryan Staring and Lukáš PeÅ¡ek filled the remaining positions ahead of Laverty. Thursday will mark the third and final day of this week’s test, with the green light again illuminating at 10am local time (3am CET). More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar Team: PRODUCTIVE SECOND DAY AT SEPANG FOR ESPARGARÓ POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider again sets CRT pace, around three tenths off his best lap from first test, as De Puniet makes gradual improvement The second day of the second Sepang test took place today on a track surface that was still lacking grip compared to the first session here last month. Intense heat throughout the day made for difficult conditions as only Jorge Lorenzo, the fastest rider of the day, came anywhere close to the ‘two-minute mark’ (2’00.282). He was closely followed by Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow, who outpaced factory pair Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi. POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider Aleix Espargaró continues to dominate the CRT field despite confessing to barely having slept for the past two nights. The Spaniard, who was twelfth fastest overall today, clocked his best time on his penultimate lap of 45, a 2’02.905 representing an improvement on yesterday’s best but still falling short of his pace from the first test here at Sepang. Randy De Puniet made progress today after encountering various problems yesterday that he was able to solve thanks largely to some electronic updates. The Frenchman was able to set his best lap time of preseason at Sepang, finishing 18th fastest overall. 12th Aleix Espargaró 2.02.905 (45 laps): “I have been waking up in the middle of the night for the past two nights, which is unusual but for some reason I have struggled with jetlag on this trip. I was really tired this morning so I had something to eat at lunchtime and had a little rest. We did some aerodynamic tests this afternoon, working with different fairings, and tried some electronic updates. We have done 45 laps and tested a lot of little things, the majority of which were positive. We are still not on the pace from our last visit here to Sepang because the track conditions are not as good but we are still the leading CRT and it’s important to stay on top. The only other CRT rider with a similar pace to me is my team-mate Randy – the rest are one-off laps – so I am happy with that.” 18th Randy De Puniet 2.03.518 (57 laps): “Even though the track is still quite slippery I had a better feeling with the bike today. We worked a lot with the electronics and the rear suspension and I was able to improve on my lap times from the first test. My best lap actually came on used rubber because when we put a fresh tyre in to push for a time it was faulty, but that’s okay because it shows that we still have room to improve. The objective tomorrow is to keep working in the same way and to keep moving forward. We are still struggling with the rear but we are on the right lines to solving our problems so hopefully that will be the case tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BUSY SECOND DAY OF TEST FOR BRADL AT SEPANG CIRCUIT Sepang, 27 Feb: the pre-season testing continued today at Sepang circuit with LCR rider Stefan Bradl finishing the session covering 54 laps with a best time of 2’01.485 (7th overall). Track conditions were generally better than yesterday as there was no rain, therefore the young German spent the day working on the race set up and evaluating the tyres performance. GIVI Asia (branch of GIVI Italy), international leading motorcycle accessories brand, revealed today its renewed cooperation with LCR Honda MotoGP Team for 2013 Malaysian GP (11/12/13 October) and announced the sponsorship of the GIVI Honda Yuzy Pachie Team at the 2013 Petronas AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship. GIVI Asia’s CEO, Mr. On, was pleased to explain to the local Media the enhanced company’s goal of supporting the LCR team in the Malaysian MotoGP round without forgetting to encourage the local motorsport scene. Stefan: “It was a long day for us but we were fortunate as the weather was really good today and we could complete our daily program. We mainly focused on the race set up making a lot of changes on the bike. This morning, early in the session, I made some small mistakes on soft tyres but soon I went back to my standard shape producing acceptable lap times. We are a bit off the pace but our main target was the bike set-up and we have a lot of data to evaluate ahead at tomorrow’s final day”. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Positive day for Ducati Team at Sepang The second day of the IRTA test at Sepang enjoyed good weather conditions, enabling the riders to maximize their eight hours of available track time, and both Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso made good progress. Like yesterday, the American turned an impressive number of laps with the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 (69 in total), besting his time from yesterday by approximately one and a half seconds and finishing the day in eighth place with a time of 2:01.778, 1.496 seconds from the day’s top rider, Jorge Lorenzo. Dovizioso, who was overtaken by his teammate in the final minutes, finished the day in ninth place with a time of 2:01.803, having completed 49 laps and improved on yesterday’s time by nearly a second. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 8th, 2:01.778 (69 laps) “The good weather helped us to do a full day, and although it wasn’t easy, we did a good step. We tried some things with the fork that really helped smooth out the bumps, and I had improved feeling and much better consistency. Our gap to the front is still big, but we’ll keep pushing and working and trying to reduce that as much as possible. Tomorrow we’ll keep going in the same direction we went today. Hopefully the track will be really good and fast in the morning so that we can get some good work done.” Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) 9th, 2:01.803 (49 laps) “It was a good day because we did our best work so far, in terms of both the quantity of work and the information we obtained. We really tried a lot of things with the setup, making big changes in order to understand the situation. Some of the adjustments improved the feeling, so they enabled me to brake a bit harder. Although the times were nothing special, in my opinion they’re not so bad, even with used tyres. We must continue working as we try to identify what we can do to improve some aspects, but we’re making progress.” Michele Pirro had the thirteenth-best time, as he continued the setup work with his ‘laboratory’ Desmosedici GP13. His best time was 2:02.920. Tomorrow will be the Malaysian test’s final day.