Nicky Hayden made an early start to his final day of testing at Sepang today and the American was quickly up to speed on the Repsol liveried RC212V Honda on a hot and humid day. The ambient temperature soared to 34 degrees with the track surface at 46 by early afternoon, rising to 60 plus degrees at one point consequently reducing the level of grip in the process.
Despite the sweltering conditions the Repsol Honda team technicians managed to improve the chassis specification of the factory RC212V and find suitable Michelin rubber to suit the set up in the extreme conditions. The former MotoGP World Champion was pleased with the results achieved over the two days and will not test on the final day of the planned three-day test. He now leaves Malaysia for his Kentucky home and a well earned break before MotoGP tes ting resumes in completely different weather conditions at the Jerez circuit, Southern Spain on February 16 to 18. Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 00.900s (lap36 of 90) ‘Not too bad all in all a positive two-days testing. The team have worked extremely hard for me from day one of testing this year, the HRC engineers and the mechanics . Today we didn’t focus on just one thing but worked on chassis comparison tests and working on tyres with Michelin. The track surface temperature was as high as it’s ever been here and we got some positive feedback on tyres in the conditions. We found a good rear that gives good grip on the edge of the tyre. The front we tried was OK but we went back to the front tyre we had used at the last test. The chassis is now OK and we will have the new engine ready for the next test. It’s been a pretty busy time and we go at it again i n Jerez before the big show opens.’
