Repsol Honda riders make progress at final MotoGP test of 2005.
30 degrees of intense heat and humidity of over 70% on second day at Sepang.
The second day of the HRC MotoGP test at Sepang Malaysia saw the Repsol Honda riders get down to serious work. Team riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa too to the track in the same energy sapping hot and humid conditions they experienced on the opening day of the three-day test, 30 degrees of intense heat and humidity of over 70%.
American Hayden spent his day evaluating the latest version of the RCV chassis that HRC introduced late in the 2005 season. Pedrosa experimented with the suspension settings and the ride height of his RCV in a bid to find the machine set up most suitable to his style and size. Once he felt more at home on the machine Pedrosa improved his lap time by 0.7 seconds and pronounced himself satisfied with his day’s work.
Team-mate Hayden has yet to be convinced the latest chassis is a major improvement on the one he raced to fourth place at the Malaysian GP, held in September last. The two men will complete the final test session of 2005 tomorrow and the HRC engineers will return to Japan to analyse the data gathered by the two men as they prepare to build the 2006 version of the 5-cylinder 990cc our stroke grand prix racer.
Nicky Hayden,
Repsol Honda: 2m 03.00s – 69 laps.
Honestly I didn’t have the greatest of days and I didn’t improve on my lap time of yesterday. We tested chassis stuff all day. I was using the chassis that Max and Sete used at some races after Donington. It has some good points but I felt the old chassis was a little better because I know it so well. This chassis turns in good but in the fast corners I was not so comfortable. We used the same tyre we had used at the GP back in September but tomorrow we will test for Michelin and look for a tyre to use with this chassis then smooth out and get consistent. Today was good but I’m not satisfied with my own performance, I could have been better.’
Dani Pedrosa,
Repsol Honda: 2m 03.28s – 59 laps.
It was a difficult day, hard work in this heat and humidity. Today we tried several suspension settings and the ride height of the bike to try and make it more comfortable for me to ride. We did not change the tyre of tyre we were using because we don’t want to change too much at one time while we are trying to get the information we need for me to get the best out of the bike. I found the basic direction that I need to be working in but it is still too early for me to say if the front end is really good for me. The engine settings we used were basically the same as we used yesterday. I am happy with the test so far and we have definitely made some progress and that is the most important thing. MotoGP testing is so intense and we quite a programme of tests, it’s much different to what I have been used to.’
