With the roar caused by the spectacular finale that traditionally ends the last Grand Prix of the season still echoing at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, this lunchtime Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have kicked off 2010 pre-season testing with their first contact with the prototype that they will use next year. Conditioned by the low temperatures and strong and persistent wind, the Repsol riders chose to start the first tests of the year with the new bike with caution.
At around one o’clock, Dovizioso was the first to go out on the track at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, followed thirty minutes later by his team mate, Dani Pedrosa. For the first time, both rode a Honda RC212V on which almost every component has been developed. After the first lap, Pedrosa and Dovizioso went back to the garage to fine tune the basic adjustments of their bikes, such as the position of the handlebars, footrests, brake and gear levers, etc.
After making these small adjustments, the two Repsol Honda Team riders started to clock up their first kilometres in longer stints to get a first impression of their new Honda RC212V 2010, saying that their first impression of the bike they rode for the first time today was positive. In the case of Pedrosa, he also had to get used to the new Öhlins shock absorbers that his 2010 bike included today.
As today’s test was scheduled until five o’clock, the Repsol riders finished their testing at around half past four, when the temperature dropped significantly, reducing the grip of the asphalt. Up until then, Pedrosa had completed 31 laps of the Valencian circuit, clocking up a best time of 1 minute, 33 seconds and 88 milliseconds in lap 23. During Sunday’s race, Pedrosa clocked up the fastest lap of the same circuit with a best time of 1 minute, 32 seconds, 778 milliseconds.
Andrea Dovizioso completed 51 laps of the Valencian circuit, with a best time of 1 minute, 33 seconds and 675 milliseconds in lap 38. Dovizioso’s best time in Sunday’s race was 1 minute, 34 seconds and 50 milliseconds.
Dani Pedrosa, 1’33.088 sec., 31 laps, 124 km. >> Audio
“We tested with the new 2010 bike today and also used Ohlins suspension. The key thing was to begin getting used to the new suspension because the feelings are quite different and we need some time to find the set-up for the new chassis. We didn’t do so many laps this afternoon because, with this kind of testing, you spend quite a lot of time in the box. The feeling from the chassis was quite similar today – it’s the suspension that really feels different, and I think this is normal when you make a change like this. The initial feeling is positive and we’ll come back tomorrow and get back down to work.”
Andrea Dovizioso, 1’33.675 sec, 51 laps, 204 km. >> Audio
“Today we tried the 2010 machine with the new chassis and swing arm. It’s very early days of course, but the first impression is positive and the feeling is that we are working in a good direction. The weight distribution is different in order to improve the stability of the machine under braking and to better suit the Bridgestone tyres. We have two more days of testing here, and tomorrow we have the whole day to continue evaluating the new machine.”
