Pedrosa, first, and Stoner, second, lead this first day of tests from the two scheduled at the Valencian track
Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa were back in action at Valencia circuit today on the new RC213V. Dani Pedrosa set the fastest lap time with 1’32.186 on his final lap of 40 and Casey Stoner who did 42 laps, finished closely behind him with a 1’32.322, recorded on lap 34.
The 1000cc prototype included some new parts after feedback from both factory riders when they tested the bike in Brno in August. HRC test rider Kosuke Akiyoshi also joined the Repsol Honda riders in a perfect day for testing, with temperatures reaching 20 degrees and no wind.
And while in Cheste the track test take place with the 1000cc, the engineers of the Repsol Technology Centre and Honda HRC keep developing an intense job from many months ago to develop the fuel and lubricant of the 2012 Honda RC213V de 2012. This development, both of the 1000cc engine and of the fuel and lubricant, will be done jointly by Honda HRC and Repsol. In that way the maximum performance from both elements will be obtained.
The new Repsol fuel aims to take from the new 1000cc engine the maximum power, top speed and usability with the proper power output for each situation that can be found in a circuit: straights, corners, acceleration… While working on that objective, consumption is also taken into account. It is a very important parameter because the tank has a limited capacity of 21 litres, as per the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) rules.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
1:32.186, 40 laps, 160 km.
“It’s been a good day for testing after so much rain! The track conditions were good which allowed us to work well on the bike and get the first feeling with the new RCV. We made a step forward from August, when I first tried the bike in Brno which is a good thing: we modified the front end a little and I felt the corner entry is better, also under braking. I’m quite satisfied, not because of the lap times but more for the feeling I had.It was a bike test but also a rider test, I feel it’s like a schooling for me also and I enjoyed it. Not only the bike is new, also the tyres are different for these bikes, the engine is new, you have more power and more torque. We’ve been riding 800cc quite a long time and I feel that I need to adapt my riding style a little and it’s interesting. It’s more fun, in general”.
Casey Stoner >> Audio
1:32.322, 42 laps, 168 km.
“Everything has gone pretty well for us we’re struggling a little bit with the new tyres, we’re finding they are giving us a little bit of chatter on the bike. We compared the bike that we tested in Jerez and Brno to the newer version we have here and we found quite a lot of improvements in some small ways with chattering but we still need to work on this some more. In general it was good to be out there on the 1000 and feel the horsepower, it’s a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to feeling it on a lot of different tracks!”.
