Motogp Test Qatar, Day One

[Andy]

MotoGP test Losail, Qatar. Day one of two day test session. March 18, 2010.

Weather:

Temperature: Air 29 degrees at 18.00. 22 at 00.00, ground 30 degrees.

Humidity: Maximum 83%.

Randy de Puniet fastest RC212V Honda on first day of Qatar MotoGP test

The final MotoGP pre-season test began tonight at the Losail circuit on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar, venue for the opening event of the

18 round 2010 world championship series, on April 11. The Qatar event is unique as it is run under a state of the art floodlighting system and the two day test will be run in accordance with the grand prix time schedule set for practice, qualifying and race.

Losail has more to test the talents of the riders than the effect of the lighting system on the track surface. The 5.380km lay out features more turns than any other track on the calendar, six lefts and ten right-handers in all, and not one a chicane of any description. The top speed recorded on the 1068m front straight, 20m longer even than that of Catalunya, in 2009 under flood lights was 338.6km/h by the Repsol Honda RC212V of Dani Pedrosa.

The riders and technicians have just six hours available on each of the two days to perfect each and every aspect of 2010 race machine performance before the action begins in earnest next month. Six Honda RC212V riders with upgraded parts to test. Weather conditions were close to perfect when the session opened at 18.00. but began to deteriorate as the, already high humidity, rose still further after 22.00.

LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet was not on the same pace of his fellow RCV riders at the last test session, in Sepang, Malaysia, in late February but the Frenchman was fast out of the traps at Losail tonight. Running with the same base set up the team established on the final day of the Sepang test De Puniet was able to concentrate on engine performance with new mapping options. He steadily improved while track conditions remained optimal his fastest lap at 1m 56.588s was more than a full second inside his best lap time in the 2009 GP.

Repsol Honda factory team rider Andrea Dovizioso has been fast and consistent in testing this winter, the fastest RCV rider at the two test sessions before Qatar. The Italian tested a new type swinging arm before moving on to working on engine performance. Dovizioso was pleased with the results on the opening day and is confident of improvement tomorrow.

Dani Pedrosa has, to date, not displayed the pace he expected aboard the latest version of the RC212V. The Spaniard has taken time to adjust to the new machine, particularly the newly adopted Ohlins suspension system. Testing a new chassis swinging arm combination Pedrosa made progress but admits there is still work to be done on stability before he can extract the full potential from the RCV.

Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini , was not unhappy at the end of the first day at Losail despite a lowly 12th fastest time. The former 250cc world champion has yet to establish a satisfactory base line chassis set up for his RCV but with De Puniet and Dovizioso setting consistently fast times he retains his positive mood.

Melandris team mate, Marco Simoncelli, the second MotoGP debutant in the Honda ranks, endured a chastening experience on his last outing aboard the San Carlo liveried RCV. He was high-sided at Sepang, a crash that robbed the Italian youngster of a full day of testing leaving him with a huge work load and playing catch-up at Losail.

Simoncelli concentrated on base line set up but, like Melandri, did not make the desired improvement. He did, however, improve his lap times as the evening wore on to end the opening day closer to his team mate than at previous tests.

Reigning 250cc World Champion Hiro Ayoama, Interwetten Honda RC212V, a 2010 MotoGP debutant, has improved each time he tests the RCV and today the popular Japanese star ran for 75 laps setting a best time of 1m 57.88s. But at Losail Aoyama struggled to come to terms with his RCV despite putting in a marathon 75 lap stint.

Honda rider quotes and lap times.

Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 5th. 1m 56.588s - 54 laps "We started from a similar set up to the one we finished with at Sepang and tonight we worked mainly on engine mapping, engine breaking and traction control. The feeling with the bike was good from the beginning and I'm happy with this improvement. We also compared two different set up solutions and started to think about the tyre allocation for the first round."

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 6th. 1m 56.811s - 62 laps "I'm quite satisfied because I could lap consistently tonight - which gives us a good base for tomorrow, when the target for us will be to lap in the low 1m 56s. Today we changed my riding position a little bit and the feeling was very good. We also tested a different swing arm which allows us to use some different set-up options. Compared to the Sepang test I'm more satisfied with where we are and we could lap well in the first part of the session, although after 10pm the grip changed each time we went out on track. We didn't reach our full potential today, so I think that tomorrow we can improve further."

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 11th. 1m 57.402s - 57 laps "We made some progress today and moved forward from where we were at the last test in Malaysia - this is positive. I'm confident that tomorrow we can take some further steps and get closer to the front, and well be working hard to make sure that happens. Our issues are still with making the rear suspension work well for us and also with the bike feeling quite nervous under acceleration and going into the corners. So these are the areas well be thinking about overnight and focusing on tomorrow. We've got one testing session to go so well be looking to make the most of it."

Marco Melandri, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th. 1m 57.605s - 60 laps "We changed many things but without the results we wanted, we still have to work a lot to be ready for the first race. We worked mainly on chassis set up to improve my feeling and find more stability. Tomorrow we will analyse the data gathered today and we will try different set up solutions."

Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 14th. 1m 57.888s - 75 laps "Today we did many laps (75), so I can understand the track better.

We tried to find a good set up for Qatar. I have to get used to this track. All is new for me and it is difficult here. If you lose the line of the track it can be very dangerous as it is so slippery because of the sand."

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 15th. 1m 57.891s - 63 laps "We worked mainly on the chassis, trying different set up solutions but without seeing any improvements. I'm happy because I could improve my lap time and reduce the gap to Melandri to 6 tenths. We still have a lot of work to do as I don't have the feeling that Id like. Its important for me to test and do many kilometres as I couldn't do it in Sepang."

Practice times.

Pos / Rider / Team / Fastest lap / Prev. Gap / Lead. Gap / Laps

1 / Valentino Rossi / Fiat Yamaha Team / 1:55.402 / - / - / 64

2 / Casey Stoner / Ducati Marlboro Team / 1:55.717 / +0.315 / +0.315 / 48

3 / Ben Spies / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / 1:55.954 / +0.237 / +0.552 / 44

4 / Colin Edwards / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / 1:56.540 / +0.586 / 1.138 / 59

5 / Randy De Puniet / LCR Honda MotoGP / 1:56.588 / +0.048 / 1.186 / 54

6 / Andrea Dovizioso / Repsol Honda Team / 1:56.811 / +0.223 / 1.409 / 65

7 / Jorge Lorenzo / Fiat Yamaha Team / 1:56.838 / +0.027 / 1.436 / 45

8 / Nicky Hayden / Ducati Marlboro Team / 1:56.855 / +0.017 / 1.453 / 77

9 / Mika Kallio / Pramac Racing Team / 1:56.923 / +0.068 / 1.521 / 72 10 / Dani Pedrosa / Repsol Honda Team / 1:57.047 / +0.124 / 1.645 / 60

11 / Loris Capirossi / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / 1:57.099 / +0.052 / 1.697 / 40

12 / Marco Melandri / San Carlo Honda Gresini / 1:57.605 / +0.506 / 2.203 / 63

13 / Hector Barbera / Aspar Team / 1:57.822 / +0.217 / 2.420 / 62

14 / Hiroshi Aoyama / Interwetten-Honda MotoGP / 1:57.888 / +0.066 / 2.486 / 75

15 / Marco Simoncelli / San Carlo Honda Gresini / 1:57.891 / +0.003 / 2.489 /