With warmer temperatures than on Monday and the wind significantly less strong, the MotoGP riders have enjoyed a productive day’s testing at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. Just two days after the 2009 season ended at this circuit with a resounding victory for Dani Pedrosa, the MotoGP engines started up again at the Valencian circuit at around 11:30 am, when the asphalt had warmed up enough.
In the case of the Repsol Honda Team riders, Andrea Dovizioso went out on the track at 11:07 am and his team mate Dani Pedrosa at 11:25 am. This second day’s testing has once again been essential for working with the new Öhlins shock absorbers before taking the next step, which will be to focus on the new chassis that Honda HRC has brought to Valencia for Dani and Andrea.
The downside of the day was for Andrea Dovizioso, who around 1:15 pm had a spectacular accident on turn 13, on the run up to the finish line. Andrea, who was completing his first lap after being stopped in the garage for 45 minutes, flew over his bike, as the rear tyre of his Honda RC212V 2010 had not warmed up. The Italian Repsol Honda Team rider had a hard fall and a hairline fracture was later detected on his left hip. In spite of the incident, Dovizioso went back on the track at 3:47 pm, after the mechanics had repaired the only 2010 version of the bike available for the Italian, as for Pedrosa.
Andrea Dovizioso completed 44 laps of the Valencian circuit, clocking up his best time in lap eight, whereas his team mate Dani Pedrosa clocked up his best time in lap 38 of the 46 he completed today. Both Repsol Honda Team riders spent a lot of time in the garage while the Honda HRC mechanics worked on their bikes.
Tomorrow’s morning test session –only until 1:00 pm-, will end testing for 2009. Then, the riders will then take a well-deserved holiday and will not get back on their bikes until next year.
Dani Pedrosa, 1:33.025 secs, 46 laps, 184 km. >> Audio
“We completed a useful day’s testing today, and although I didn’t do a huge number of laps, we covered quite a lot of ground. Some of the adjustments we were making with the machine and suspension were quite big to allow us to fully understand the new chassis, and with these kind of changes you inevitably spend quite a lot of time in the pits. Also, we weren’t going after ultimate lap times – just continuing to get familiar with the new parts and understand how settings changes affect the performance. That’s normal, and now is the time to do this work, step-by-step. Tomorrow we’ll come back here for the final session of the season.”
Andrea Dovizioso, 1:33.546 secs, 44 laps, 176 km. >> Audio
“This morning we started well. I went out with a soft tyre that I used from the day before and I did my best lap really early on – on lap eight – and I had a good feeling out there. The track condition s and temperature were better than yesterday and allowed us to get through some useful work. When we changed from soft to hard tyres, I was trying to bring them up to temperature by sliding a little bit when I highsided without warning. I’ve injured my hip a little and it’s painful – but I carried on riding and fortunately the pain is not so bad when I’m on the bike. Overall though, I was much more satisfied today – especially with the braking stability – and we’ll continue testing a few more things tomorrow, focusing on the chassis.”
