Repsol riders set the pace at the first official tests of the season.
Alex Barros fastest and Nicky Hayden fifth.
The first direct confrontation between the main teams of the 2004 World Championship has been very favourable for the riders of the Repsol Honda Team. Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden have been two of the main protagonists today in the first official session of the IRTA tests held on the Catalunya Circuit. Both riders took the lead along the day, although Barros finally managed to set the fastest time of the MotoGP riders, whilst his team-mate Nicky Hayden was fifth, four tenths behind the Brazilian rider.
Barros made only 18 laps after a crash on one of the show corners delayed his test programme for today. Fortunately he didnt suffer any physical injury and he is progressively recovering from his shoulder injury. The sun was shining in the morning but the clouds began to gather at the Catalan circuit. At four oclock the rain showed up, putting an end to todays session. A special highlight today were the top speeds reached at the Catalan circuit, such as the 335.4 km/h of Nicky Haydens Honda and the 338.1 km/h of Loris Capirossis Ducati, absolute record of the circuit.
Alex Barros,
1’45.913 sec, 43 laps
‘Feels good to be at the top of the list – it has been a while! We started the machine this morning and we really didn’t make any real changes – just rode. It was too slippery to really tell anything but I’m happy with the results. I was a little disappointed to make a small crash in the afternoon but it was no big deal – by the time the machine went down we were going very slowly and there was very little damage. We are not at 100% fitness yet but I am happy that I feel no pain from my shoulder – I need to build the strength and develop more muscle but I’m sure this will come quick as the doctor is happy for me to train properly. We hope for some good weather tomorrow.’
Nicky Hayden,
1’45.913 sec, 43 laps
‘I was enjoying things this morning – the bike felt strong and it was good to get out with all the riders again. I was real relaxed and things felt good. Then I started to get cold and saw drops on my visor and that was it for the day really! Can’t believe how fast we’re going! 210mph; crazy! We spent some time in the wind tunnel in Japan after the last test in Sepang and I guess we learnt something. I was working a lot on my tuck. I’m sure hoping that the weather improves, as we don’t learn too much when it’s like this. Still, not a bad day; I’ve never been round this circuit as fast as today and we’ve still got two days!’
Classifications
- Alex Barros (Repsol Honda) 1.45.464.
- Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1.45.542.
- Sete Gibernau (Honda) 1.45.803.
- Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) 1.45.855.
- Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) 1.45.913.
