After a good day`s work yesterday at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the venue for last Sunday`s final GP race of the 2008 season, today rain appeared just as the weather forecasts had predicted, and only a few riders decided to go out on the track. Andrea Dovizioso, who made his debut on the official Honda RC212 V yesterday, took advantage of these conditions to get his first contact with the Bridgestone tyres.
In the end his teammate Dani Pedrosa, who spent his time yesterday testing new solutions on the engine that uses pneumatic valves – the bike he has been riding in the last few races – decided not to ride today, bringing a conclusion to his activity this morning.
Both riders took advantage of yesterday’s practice to test the new Bridgestone tyres, the only supplier in next season`s MotoGP. The first impression, of both Dani Pedrosa as well as Andrea Dovizioso, was positive regarding the performance of the Honda RC212V with the new tyres.
The light rain that fell in the morning did not let the riders work in the best conditions on wet tyres, so the Italian Repsol Honda Team member had to wait until the afternoon to start riding. Dovizioso did a total of 18 laps of the track in Valencia, and took advantage of his first contact to get his first impressions concerning the behaviour of the Bridgestone tyres in the wet.
Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will return to action in one month`s time – 26th and 27th November – at the Circuito de Jerez, where they will continue with their winter testing that the team has scheduled. Those two days will be the final act in this year`s winter test sessions, after which the riders and team members will get some well-deserved winter vacations, before returning to the action again early next year.
Andrea Dovizioso, 1:48.296 secs, 18 laps >> Audio
“I’m very happy with my second day of testing. Track conditions were not good today, the track was slippery, neither dry nor fully wet, so we had to wait for heavier rain before testing with rain tyres. We had only one set of tyres available. At the beginning grip wasn’t good, then the team made some changes to the set-up, making consistent improvements. We did four or five runs, improving each time and in the end I did my fastest time on my last lap. We gathered a lot of important data that will be very useful, even in the dry. The new Bridgestone tyres require a completely different setting compared to what’s required with Michelin tyres. I am also very happy with the team’s method of working. I am learning the new bike and new tyres and I’m very excited about this new challenge.”
