Max Biaggi, fastest on the first MotoGP test day.
The Italian Repsol Honda Team rider, fastest on the catalan track.
Max started setting the pace of the first official tests of the 2005 season, clocking the fastest time of the 25 riders at the circuit. Today teams and riders have enjoyed excellent weather conditions, with mild temperatures and radiant sunshine throughout the day. The test session started at ten o’clock in the morning and lasted until six o’clock in the afternoon. Mixed results for the Repsol Honda Team on the first day. Nicky Hayden, who covered a total of 84 laps on the Catalan layout, didn’t have one of his best days and the lack of confidence in the rear end of his bike didn’t allow him to do better than eleventh fastest. His best clock was a bit over a second slower than that of his teammate Biaggi.
For the Roman rider of the Repsol Honda Team, this initial session has been a positive first contact with the recently reasphalted Catalan track. All tests of parts, suspensions and tyres have been delayed to tomorrow in order to dedicate this first day to adapt both bikes to the new asphalt, where most of the existing bumps have been eliminated. Covering a total of 85 laps, Max has set his fastest time on the penultimate lap, although he has been among the top five riders of the time sheets throughout the day.
Classification
- M. Biaggi (Honda) 1:43.158
- S. Gibernau (Honda) + 0.096
- M. Tamada (Honda) + 0.189
- M. Melandri (Honda) + 0.275
- V. Rossi (Yamaha) + 0.360
11. N. Hayden (Honda) + 1.1.26
Repsol rider´s comments:
MotoGP Max Biaggi
1st, 1’43.158, 85 laps:
‘We’ve spent the day making ourselves familiar with the new track because the asphalt was completely new. Now there are hardly any bumps and the asphalt has better grip hour after hour. We’ve been working with the bike almost as it was at the beginning of the tests. There are no big news, although we’ll be testing some parts tomorrow. Today was about relaunching the bike, an initial contact and also about finding the exact set-up that adapts best to this track. And that’s what we’ve done. We’re all giving our best and I’m very happy because we’re all working on the same direction. Tomorrow we’ll try to improve even more.’
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden
11th, 1’44.284 seg, 84 laps:
‘It’s been fantastic to be back on the track with everybody; it’s fun and interesting. To be honest I haven’t felt at a 100% today; I’m physically OK but I haven’t found confidence enough to let me ride on my level. We’ll make some changes tomorrow and we’ll test some new things to get a bit more confidence. Fortunately we still have a couple of days ahead and I’m sure that we’re going to do better. The new track surface seems to be really good, the asphalt is good and the bike is also working well; now I only need to get some confidence, especially entering some corners, where the rear end doesn’t make me feel secure enough to ride at the limit. If we manage to improve this aspect I’m sure that we’ll be in the front. Today we’ve also been testing the head sets to communicate with the garage for the flag to flag thing, but the noise on the bike is just too loud and it’s almost impossible to hear anything. This system still has to be improved a lot.’
