Les essais reprennent a Sepang

[mamax]

Les essais de Sepang ont démarré aujourd'hui sous une forte chaleur, avec une température de piste tournant autour des 50ºC. Dans ces conditions, les pilotes ont commencé à tourner très tôt avant de voir leur après-midi interrompue par une averse.

Dans le camp Honda, tous les pilotes disposaient cette fois de la version 2006 de la RC211V. Victime d'une chute dans la matinée, Marco Melandri fut contraint de travailler uniquement sur sa deuxième moto – ce qui ne l’empêcha pas de signer le meilleur temps de la journée. Chez Repsol Honda, Dani Pedrosa tournait pour la première fois au guidon d'une machine parée de la livrée du team officiel du HRC et pointait à seulement 0.23s de Melandri en fin de journée.

L'australien Casey Stoner, gêné par une blessure à l'épaule, a dû mettre pied à terre à la mi-journée, afin de se soumettre à un examen médical. Le pilote du team Honda LCR s'était blessé la semaine dernière, lors d'une séance d'entraînement.

Les pilotes Ducati Marlboro, Loris Capirossi et Sete Gibernau, ont eu l'occasion de tester les derniers pneus développés par Bridgestone avec les informations recueillies à Sepang lors des essais de janvier.

1. Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda (M) - 2'01.66 - 74 tours
2. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda (M) - 2'01.89 - 63 tours
3. Colin Edwards, Camel Yamaha (M) - 2'02.00 - 54 tours
4. John Hopkins, Suzuki MotoGP (B) - 2'02.15 - 52 tours
5. Valentino Rossi, Camel Yamaha (M) - 2'02.20 - 54 tours
6. Loris Capirossi, Ducati Marlboro (B) - 2'02.64 - 44 tours
7. Randy de Puniet, Kawasaki Racing (B) - 2'02.75 - 80 tours
8. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda (M) - 2'02.86 - 72 tours
9. Carlos Checa, Yamaha Tech 3 (D) - 2'03.40 - 58 tours
10. Casey Stoner, Honda LCR (M) - 2'03.40 - 23 tours
11. Sete Gibernau, Ducati Marlboro (B) - 2'03.51 - 38 tours
12. Kenny Roberts, Team KR (M) - 2'03.58 - 35 tours
13. Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda (M) - 2'03.66 - 52 tours
14. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki Racing (B) - 2'04.20 - 45 tours
15. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP (B) - 2'04.10 - 35 tours
16. Alex Hofmann, d'Antin Pramac (D) - 2'05.40 - 15 tours
17. José Luis Cardoso, d'Antin Pramac (D) - 2'05.81 - 45 tours
18. James Ellison, Yamaha Tech 3 (D) - 2'05.90


motogp.com
(B)>Bridgestone (D)>Dunlop (M)>Michelin

[Carlibus]

Jolie!! randy est toujours dans le coup!! c'est celui qui a fait les plus de tours today :cool:

Pedrosa impressionne comme toujours!! et hopkins se debrouille bien!!

ellison a la traine.. :chaud: et checa qui n'est pas mal non plus.
Ca va je suis content des resultats!! hahahah

[richard]

c'est bon tout ça et dire que c'est bientot les essais officiels bravo a notre randy qui tourne tres bien pourvu qu'il continue comme ça

[FenneK]

Merci pour l'info, pas évident de savoir si ces chronos ont une quelconque signification vu que les conditions météos étaient pas top (chaud puis pluie...).
Melandri et Pedrosa continuent leurs bons essais, Hopkins a du sortir un pneu qualif certainement pour faire son temps.
Mouais bon à part Randy qui fait un bon temps, les autres sont très loin des temps de fin janvier.
Surtout les Ducati qui testaient les nouveaux pneus Bridgestone. Alors soient les pneus sont nuls, soit le problème vient d'ailleurs car les temps sont pas fameux pour les Rouges. Hofmann et Cardoso continuent à perdre une poignée de secondes sur les officiels mais cette fois, ils ne peuvent pas trop se plaindre des Dunlop vu que Checa réalise lui un bon temps sur sa M1 Dunlop.
Hayden aussi me déçoit, 72 tours et seulement un peu en-dessous des 2.03... pas fameux même si bien entendu... tous ces temps ne signifient pas grand chose.

[chrisgaz]

il se debrouille vraiment tres bien... j espere qu il ne force pas pour claquer ces temps la... s il a de la marge, ca ne serait que mieux ....

GO RANDY GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[webamanu]

GO RANDY GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RANDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!! http://smileys.sur-la-toile.com/repository/Messages/hulk-m-eneverve-pas.gif

[theophil]

j'ai elias en plus dans les résultats !!!!??

et les temps des autres essais et courses :

Sepang III test times - day one:

1. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 2min 1.66 secs
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.89 secs
3. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 2min 2 secs
4. John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 2min 2.15 secs
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 2min 2.2 secs
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 2.64 secs
7. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 2min 2.75 secs
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 2min 2.86 secs
9. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 3.4 secs
10. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 2min 3.4 secs
11. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 3.51 secs
12. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 2min 3.52 secs
13. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 2min 3.58 secs
14. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 2min 3.66 secs
15. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 2min 4.02 secs
16. Chris Vermulen AUS Team Suzuki MotoGP 2min 4.1 secs
17. Alex Hofmann GER Team d'Antin Pramac 2min 5.4 secs
18. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Team d'Antin Pramac 2min 5.81 secs
19. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 5.9 secs


Fastest Sepang II test time:
25/01/2006 Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro 2min 1.03secs (qualifying tyres)
25/01/2006 Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 2min 1.64secs (race tyres)

Fastest Sepang I test time:
11/29/2005 Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Yamaha 2min 2.61secs


2005 Malaysian GP - 25/09/2005:

Pole position: Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 2min 1.731secs

Fastest race laps (by manufacturer):
Honda: Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda 2min 2.993secs
Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Yamaha 2min 3.328secs
Ducati: Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 2min 3.435secs
Suzuki: John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 2min 3.681secs
Kawasaki: Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 2min 5.289secs
WCM: James Ellison GBR Blata WCM 2min 7.378secs

[RIP]

Un truc qui n'a rien à voir, mais bon anniversaire à Randy qui a 25 ans aujourd'hui.

[FracK]

Randy à une seconde et demi de Shinya... cooool :)

[webamanu]

Un truc qui n'a rien à voir, mais bon anniversaire à Randy qui a 25 ans aujourd'hui.

C'est son anniversaire ??? Ah bon, j'savait pas... :) Alors bon anniversaire Randy ! :cadeaux: Y'a quelqu'un du forum, qui connaît quelqu'un, qui connaît quelqu'un, qui connaît Randy ?

[biaggi77]

ouais exact, c'est son anniversaire, et dans 2 jours c'est celui de valentino.

[FuryShoei]

Edwards devant Rossi et Randy devant Nakano !!! Assez impressionnant !!! Content de voir que Checa peut aligner des bons temps avec les Dunlop. Par contre Ellison, Hofmann et Cardoso...
Hopkins a l'air pas mal aussi.
Hayden et Tamada me déçoivent, ainsi que Vermeulen.

Intéressant tout ça !!! :)

[sgran34]

Joyeux aniv Randy et merci pour ces chronos très encourageants.

[larticho]

C'est chouette ce classement, je suis super content pour Randy !
Mais bon, les temps ne sont pas encore terribles, j'attends avec impatience l'issue des deux autres journées !

Cela dit, une constante je trouve est la suprématie de Melandri et de Pedrosa...

[chrisgaz]

Cela dit, une constante je trouve est la suprématie de Melandri et de Pedrosa...

on dirait maitre yoda dans starwars qui parle :p :p :p

[larticho]

Cela dit, une constante je trouve est la suprématie de Melandri et de Pedrosa...

on dirait maitre yoda dans starwars qui parle :p :p :p

lol, je savais bien que c'était pas une bonne idée de poster si tôt dans la journée :D

[chrisgaz]

Cela dit, une constante je trouve est la suprématie de Melandri et de Pedrosa...

on dirait maitre yoda dans starwars qui parle :p :p :p

lol, je savais bien que c'était pas une bonne idée de poster si tôt dans la journée :D

c est dur le matin.... hihihihi.... :) :)

[philaix]

et voila pour aujourd'hui. Nakano empile presque 8 dixièmes au deuxieme chrono :cool:
Et Ellison semble suivre les conseils de Xaus :)

Sepang Test: Day 2
Unofficial Times

1. Shinya Nakano – Kawasaki Racing 2’01.08 – 32 vueltas
2. Loris Capirossi – Ducati Marlboro 2’01.87 – 50
3. Valentino Rossi – Camel Yamaha 2’01.89 – 47
4. John Hopkins – Suzuki MotoGP 2’01.90 – 44
5. Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda 2’01.93 – 50
6. Carlos Checa – Yamaha Tech 3 2’02.06 – 57
7. Colin Edwards – Camel Yamaha 2’02.20 – 57
8. Randy de Puniet – Kawasaki Racing 2’02.37 – 42
9. Makoto Tamada – Konica Minolta Honda 2’02.56 – 51
10. Toni Elías – Fortuna Honda 2’02.62 – 41
11. Marco Melandri – Fortuna Honda 2’02.65 – 38
12. Sete Gibernau – Ducati Marlboro 2’02.87 – 17
13. Nicky Hayden – Repsol Honda 2’02.93 – 53
14. Kenny Roberts jr. - KR211V 2’02.95 – 47
15. Chris Vermeulen – Suzuki MotoGP 2’03.18 – 46
16. Alex Hofmann – d’Antin Ducati 2’04.23 – 25
17- Jose Luis Cardoso – d’Antin Ducati 2’04.65 – 29
18. James Ellison – Yamaha Tech 3 2’04.65 - 29

[FuryShoei]

Alors là je suis impressionné par Kawa !!! Quoique, après tout, c'est normal puisque c'est OJ qui développe la moto !!! :)

[theophil]

Bon gibernau n'etait peut etre pas au mieux !!


MOTOGP News Wednesday, 15th February 2006

Gibernau sidelined by abdominal pains.

After suffering gearbox problems on Tuesday's opening day of the Sepang III test, Ducati Marlboro's Sete Gibernau saw his test programme further interrupted on Wednesday when he was sidelined by illness.

The Spanish rider, who had a sleepless night due to severe abdominal pains, had to return to the hotel after just a few laps today. Then, when he bravely returned to the circuit in the afternoon, he was unable to resume testing activity because of rain.

"I didn't sleep a wink all night but I wanted to test at all costs so I came to the circuit early," sighed Sete, who rode for 17 laps today. "After a few laps I was feeling really sick and decided to go back and rest in the hotel. At 3 o'clock, I still didn't feel well but returned to the track to try and go out again but it started to rain. It just wasn't my day... Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better again because we've got a lot of things to test."

Despite the illness, Gibernau's best lap time today was a 2mins 2.87secs - exactly one-second slower than team-mate Loris Capirossi, who was a happy man after clocking up 50 Wednesday laps.

"Today was a really positive day," declared a smiling Loris, who lapped 0.77secs faster than yesterday. "In the morning we worked on the chassis settings, engine management and engine braking and we found an excellent set-up. We also concentrated on testing several new rear tyres. These are a real step forward over the 'standard' tyres (with which Capirossi won the Malaysian GP) and I am pleased with the work carried out by Bridgestone.

"Tomorrow, thunderstorms permitting, we have scheduled a long-run to verify the duration of the tyres, which already looked good anyway in today's testing."

Sepang MotoGP testing concludes on Thursday.

[theophil]

J'ai chercher Nakano partout ... et hop en premier !!!! lol
pas l'habitude de trouver une kawa 1ere !!
Les honda ont l'air moins bien (?)
Kawa ducati yam suz ... si ça pouvait etre l'arrivée d'un GP !!!

je ne vois pas Stoner !!???

bon De Puniet m'épate vraiment ... bravo !!
Les kawa et suz semblent être au niveau !!!
Cela voudrait il nous annoncer une derniere année en 1000 cm3 avec de la vraie baston ???
rhaaa .. vivement Mars !!!

[nono_le_robot]

STONER est reparti en australie pour faire des examens de l'épaule suite àa sa chute de chez pu quand... :classe:

[saarinen]

Petite erreur pour le temps de Nakano: ce n'est pas 2'01"08, mais 2'01"80. Cela n'enlève rien aux mérites de Nakano et de Kawasaki, mais je trouvais étonnant qu'il y ait 8/10 avec Capirossi et Rossi, et autant de diffèrence avec DePuniet qui s'en tire vraiment très bien. Le français serait il un spécialiste des essais d'intersaison?
Rossi souffre toujours, ou du moins sa M1, du chattering. A mon avis, il va trainer ce problème toute la saison et devra chercher en permanance des réglages qui atténuent ce vice de comportement.
Salut à tous!

[larticho]

En effet les kawa et suz marchent vraiment bien, mais j'espère qu'elles pourront tenir pendant l'intégralité d'une course, ça pourrait faire de chouettes podiums :)

Sinon, Melandri et Hayden ont oublié de tourner la poignée des gaz ou quoi ???

[theophil]

Rapport de Presse de la journée précedente :
Melandri Fastest As MotoGP Team Testing Resumes At Sepang
Feb 14, 2006

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI DESMOSEDICI TAKES TO THE SEPANG TRACK FOR FURTHER TESTING

A full house of MotoGP riders present in the final winter testing session at the Sepang circuit. Positive day for Loris Capirossi, who continues development work on the Desmosedici GP6, while a minor mechanical problem slows down the work of Sete Gibernau.

Sepang (Malaysia), Tuesday 14 February 2006 - The Ducati Marlboro Team returned to Sepang today for a second three-day test session for all the MotoGP teams at the Malaysian circuit before the start of the World Championship.

The day was characterized by suffocating heat in the morning (track temperatures above 50°C) and then disturbed by the rain, which shortly after 4 pm in the afternoon forced everyone back to the pit garages. The light showers were enough to keep the track damp but made any more dry testing time impossible before the closure of the track at 6 pm.

Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau took advantage of the dry weather to continue the development of the new Desmosedici GP6. Both riders have an intense testing programme ahead of them, which also includes the new tyres that Bridgestone have developed with the data accumulated at this circuit at the end of January.

Loris CAPIROSSI (44 laps - 2m02.64s)

"I am pretty satisfied with the way things went today" declared Loris. "We continued development work on the bike, concentrating mainly on the set-up to try and obtain the best compromise between agility and stability. We managed to find something good and tomorrow we'll focus on the tyres. The team is working well, and the bike seems to be much improved over last year's machine".


Sete GIBERNAU (38 laps - 2m03.51s)

"Today we had a mechanical problem which ruined almost all the time available" said Sete, whose bike suffered a gearbox glitch. "Just before it began to rain I went out on the second bike which was much better, but then the rain brought the test to a halt. We are here to test, and it's better that the problems emerge here rather than in the race!"

Tomorrow and Thursday, weather permitting, testing for Capirossi and Gibernau will revolve around the chassis, the electronics and the tyres.


Temperature: air 33° / track 55°




More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha:

Ambient temperature: 37 degrees

Track temperature: 54 degrees

Humidity: 79%

CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM RETURNS TO SEPANG FOR FINAL ‘WINTER’ TEST

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their last three-day test in Sepang today, where they rejoined the rest of the MotoGP grid at the popular Malaysian venue. Fresh from their test in Qatar last week, Rossi and Edwards completed more valuable development work with the 2006-spec YZR-M1, both finishing the day in the top five on the unofficial time sheets.

Focusing almost entirely on ironing out the small vibration problems they have been suffering from lately, fast lap times were not the aim of the day for the Yamaha pair. Despite this however, Rossi and Edwards were on the pace and well inside lap record time. Edwards was third behind Marco Melandri (Honda, 2’01.66) and Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2’01.89) with a best lap of 2’02.00 from 54 laps whilst Rossi, who also completed 54 laps, was fifth with a time of 2’02.20.

COLIN EDWARDS (2’02.00, 54 Laps)

“It was seriously hot out there today and pretty exhausting! Today we concentrated on fixing the little bit of chatter we’ve had and played around with some front fork settings, just trying to dial it in. We made some good progress and we have a new front-end setting to try in the morning; we hope that this will be the final key. Honestly we didn’t really concentrate much on lap times but it seems that they came anyway, so I’m pretty happy! The bike already feels even better than it did here in January, the new stuff we have from both Yamaha and Michelin is great and after Qatar I am feeling really confident, especially with the front-end. It’s all going well so hopefully we can make the final steps we need over the next two days.”

VALENTINO ROSSI (2’02.20, 54 Laps)

“Today we worked almost entirely on trying to solve the vibration problems that we have had. We changed many things, tried various different settings and collected a lot of important information throughout the day. Now we are looking forward to using all this information over the next two days and we are confident that we are close to fixing the problem. Once we’ve been able to fix it, we will be able to use this bike to its full potential. Yamaha has done a great job and the potential of this bike is very high, it’s a big improvement to last year’s M1 and I am sure that once we’ve solved this one remaining issue, things will be very good.”


DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR

“Of course fixing this vibration is now our main focus and today we worked a lot with the entire team to try to find the right way forward. We had great cooperation between the two riders and both crews, exchanging information and experience and this is very important for the team’s progress. We’ve been working on data collection today and we will continue tomorrow, trying some new things and gathering more information to help us. We’ve already done many days testing with this new bike and mostly it’s going very well, now we have two more days here to continue with our improvement. ”

Unofficial Lap Times:

1. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2’01.66
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2’01.89
3. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha 2’02.00
4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2’02.15
5. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha 2’02.20
6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2’02.64
7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2’02.75
8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2’02.86
9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha 2’03.40
10. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda 2’03’40
11. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati 2’03.51
12. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2’03.52
13. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda 2’03.58
14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda 2’03.66
15. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki 2’04.02
16. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 1’04.10
17. Alex Hoffman (GER) Ducati 2’05.40
18. Jose Luis Cardosa (SPA) Ducati 2’05.81
19. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha 2’05.90




More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

Day one of three-day MotoGP test. February 14, 2006.

Melandri the Honda hot shot on day one of Sepang test.

The gruelling pre-season MotoGP test schedule resumed at Sepang, Malaysia today where the grand prix teams began their final three-day winter test in the Southern Hemisphere. All MotoGP teams tested at the 5.542 km Sepang circuit in mid-January and were surprised to find a huge difference in track conditions.

Ambient temperatures were close to 30' today with high humidity left the track slick and a rain shower late in the day did little to improve grip. Surface grip was hard to find on the opening day and consequently lap times were often slower than those set on the first day of the test a month ago.

Fastest an of the seven RCV riders present today was again Marco Melandri, runner-up in the 2005 MotoGP World Championship.

Fortuna Honda rider Melandri did not have the day he expected at Sepang. The young Italian was surprised by the lack of grip from the track and struggled to get his RCV off the corners due to excessive rear wheel spin. The most positive aspect on the opening day was the improved feel from the front end of the machine, something Melandri had been chasing at the first Sepang test, held in January.

Melandri's teammate, Spaniard Toni Elias, was not happy with his days work and admits he has a lot to learn about the RCV and needs more time on the machine to give his best.

The Repsol Honda factory team riders, Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa were both faster than on the opening day of the last test here. Pedrosa was the faster of the two men. Starting off the day conservatively the young Spaniard slowly upped the pace while testing tyres for Michelin and set a fastest lap at 2m 01.89s.

Hayden has rear wheel grip problems and admitted the feed-back he gave the team was not up to his usual standard. His best lap time reflected his day as he was almost one second off Pedrosa's fastest lap.

HRC RC211V test rider, former 500cc grand prix winner Tady Okada, is at Sepang with the Repsol Honda factory team. Okada, who has taken over RCV testing from compatriot Tohru Ukawa was pleased with the progress of the latest version of the RCV he tested today. Okada feels there is a definite improvement over the machine 2005 tested at Sepang last month.

Kenny Roberts Jnr continued the steady progress his team has made with the Honda powered KR211V, a Team Roberts rolling chassis equipped with the five-cylinder RCV 990cc engine. On the opening day of the test Roberts, on a difficult track surface set a lap time of 2m 03.48s using the latest version of the newly developed Team Roberts chassis. In the prevailing conditions it was an impressive upbeat performance for the new design in the conditions.

Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda) is playing catch up with his fellow RCV riders. Japanese star Tamada missed the last two MotoGP tests at Sepang and it shows in his lap times but the popular rider remains unfazed and is steadily working up to speed. He concentrated on suspension and chassis settings on the opening day and was quite happy with the progress made today.

LCR Honda rider Casey Stoner put in a brief 13-lap appearance before ending his day early suffering from a shoulder strain he picked up during his physical training programme last week. Stoner attended the track medical centre for treatment and will return for more treatment in the morning before deciding if he will test the LCR Honda tomorrow.


Honda rider lap times and quotes.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2m 02.92s - 90 laps. "I'm not completely satisfied with the day to be honest with you. At the start I just didn't have a good feeling with the traction. As the day went on we kept working hard and chipped away and found some stuff and I was able to get into the 2s [2m 02s laps] when it was still really hot, so that was positive, but we weren't where we needed to be today. I'm not pointing the finger. We're all in it together and to be honest the rider wasn't getting around as good as he should have, and my information wasn't that great. Still, we definitely
got some stuff we can build on - we changed some offset settings which helped me with front feeling in the slow corners."

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 01.89s - 87 laps. "Today was not too bad. At the beginning the track was a little bit slippery but it got better. We were working on chassis and suspension settings in the morning and then after lunch we tested some tyres for Michelin until the rain stopped us. At the beginning my times weren't so good, but we improved little by little. We have tested here three times and I'm gaining good experience. I still have to work on my strength and fitness, but I think with the time we have we can achieve it. And I've now got a riding position I'm happy with."

Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager "This test is very important for Honda and today the track was very hot which didn't help the lap times. Again, Nicky had many things to test. His time wasn't the fastest, but I'm not worried about this, it's a three day test and we have more new things to try tomorrow. Dani was working on bike settings and he made good progress."


Tadayuki Okada, HRC test rider: 2m 05.89s - 72 laps. "Basically I am here to help the team with the transition from the 2005 RC211V to the eventual 2006 machine the team will race. We are working hard, not just on the settings but also on machine balance and I have to say that so far the machine I tested today is much better than the '05 bike I tried. Usually when you find several positive points with a newly developed bike you also find negative points but today everything has been positive. Nicky (Hayden) will test the bike tomorrow then we will sit down and discuss which is the best direction to take with in future testing."

Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 2m 01 "Today was very strange for us. We lack traction off the corners and the bike is sliding. The feeling I had with the bike is totally different from the last test here at Sepang. Part of the reason is that track conditions are lot different but not entirely. At the moment I don't really understand this. We tried new tyres from Michelin but they did not work here as well as the tyres we used last time we were here. The positive point about today was the front end, it's better than before in the fast corners and my lap time was also fast for the track
conditions. We have two more days here and we have some work to do."

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: "I'm not so happy today. I don't really have problems to speak of it's just that I need more time on the bike, run a lot more kilometres. Here at Sepang I have to put in as many laps as I can, I have to feel more comfortable on the bike than I am at the moment before I can be fast."

Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: "Today I tried various suspension and chassis settings and gained some precise data. Phillip Island is a fast track while Sepang has many tight corners. So today I could see what I couldn't at Phillip Island. All the other teams testing here have had two more than me to test here since the end of last season so I knew they would go quick from the start of the session and I focussed on my own job today, not thinking about other peoples lap times."

Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 2m03.41s - 13 laps. Stoner unavailable for comment.

Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: "Things are starting to go good, we are making inroads and we ended the day well running in the mid 2m 03s bracket. We had a small issue with the rear shock towards the end and that gave me a chance to a new shock and swinging arm. The bike now turns into the corners better with this frame than the original one we tested here so we can see the progress we're making. The lap times are good and I set my best times towards the end of the day. Which is pretty interesting because most of the other guys were faster earlier in the day."



More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda:

MOTOGP TEST AT SEPANG DAY 1: MARCO SIGNS THE FASTEST TIME

Sepang (Malaysia), Tuesday 14th of February 2006 - The Fortuna Honda riders are back at work for the third round of test in preparation on the 2006 season. There is no doubt that this three-day test session will be very important to confirm the work done so far. The teams have in fact all the reference data on this track as they tested here with the new bike at the end of January.

The first day of testing was characterized by hot temperatures in the morning and a light rain in the afternoon that forced the riders to stop in the garage. They could go back on track for only a short time before 06.00 p.m..

A crash without consequences in the morning didn't stop Fortuna Honda rider Marco Melandri to continue working in the afternoon, signing today's fastest time (2'01"65). In total, the Italian rider completed 74 laps.

His team mate Toni Elias continued to do experience with the RC211V. The young Spanish rider still needs to do as many kilometres as possible in order to feel more comfortable on the bike.

MARCO MELANDRI (74 laps , 2'01"65): "We still have a lot of work to do on the new bike. The positive point is that I'm quite fast on the single lap whereas we don't have enough traction to have the rhythm I'd like to have for the race."

TONI ELIAS (65 laps, 2'03"51): "I'm not happy. At the moment the feeling with the bike is not the one I'd like to have. I need more time on the bike, I need to run a lot of kilometres and to feel more comfortable. Tomorrow I will start working with Michelin technicians for some tyre testing. I'm confident that this will help me a lot to find a better feeling and to improve my rhythm."

Temperature: 29°-34° the air temperature, 33°-45° the asphalt temperature

UNOFFICIAL LAP TIMES
1.M.Melandri (Honda) 2 01 65
2. D.Pedrosa (Honda) 2 01 89
3. C. Edwards (Yamaha) 2 02 00
4. J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2 02 15
5. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2 02 20
6. L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2 02 64
7. R.De Puniet (Kawasaki) 2 02 75
8. N. Hayden (Honda) 2 02 86
9. C. Checa (Yamaha) 2 03 40
10. C. Stoner (Honda) 2 03 40
11. T. Elias (Honda) 2.03.51
12. S. Gibernau (Ducati) 2 03 51
13. K. Roberts (KR Honda) 2 03 58
14. M.Tamada (Honda) 2 03 66
15. S. Nakano (Kawasaki) 2 04 02
16. C. Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2 04 10
17. Hofmann Ducati 2 05 40

[theophil]

oui je sais, c'est un long !! :)

[larticho]

ha bon tu trouves ? :hihi:

[chrisgaz]

oui je sais, c'est un long !! :)

non, pas du tout, c est juste une illusion d optique..... :p :p

[kawaracing11]

Nakano devant pourvu que cela dure, il commence bien l'année la nouvelle kawa a l'air d'etre bien et si je ne m'abuse il ont pu etrainé le nouveau moteur!!!! :ange:

[ghostjoy]

oui je sais, c'est un long !! :)

non, pas du tout, c est juste une illusion d optique..... :p :p

plus c'est long, plus c'est bon... :D :D :D

[Thraxas]

Attention le temps est assez pourri et changeant en ce moment a sepang. DOnc tout le monde n'a pas tourné dans les meme conditions.

Mais on remarque depuis le debut des essais de presaison, la régularité de Randy De Puniet.

Giberneau et Stoner sont HS pous ces essais, donc il faut prendre en compte cette infos.

[theophil]

Ceci explique le temps relativmeent moyen de Melandri

Nevertheless, Nakano's very impressive time of 2mins 1.8secs (as reported by his MotoGP rivals at the test... although motogp.com has it as a 2min 1.08secs - Kawasaki has yet to release an 'official' Nakano time) was over one second better than the fastest race lap from last September's Malaysia Grand Prix and effectively equalled Loris Capirossi's pole time at the same event.

The Ducati rider was nearest to Nakano today, lapping just 0.07secs from the Japanese, but the 2min 1.66secs set by Fortuna Honda's Marco Melandri yesterday remained unbeaten. Melandri himself would suffer a mysterious high speed fall and ended the day with just the 11th fastest time.

[theophil]

Rapport de presse de la journée d'hier :

Nakano Quickest On Day Two Of MotoGP Testing At Sepang
Feb 15, 2006

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LORIS CAPIROSSI (DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP6) MAKES GOOD PROGRESS WITH BRIDGESTONE TYRES IN SEPANG

The Italian rider, satisfied with the progress achieved by Bridgestone, continues the development work on bike set-up, engine and tyres. Sete Gibernau sidelined with a stomach complaint.

Sepang (Malaysia), Wednesday 15 February - After another morning of sunshine, the typical afternoon storms brought an early end to the Ducati Marlboro Team's testing session at the Sepang circuit at about 3.30 pm.

This did not prevent Loris Capirossi from making use of the dry track time to continue the set-up work on his Ducati Desmosedici. On the only track that allows comparative data to be accumulated following the previous test of the GP6 at this circuit, the Italian focussed on power delivery and engine braking set-up. Loris was particularly satisfied with the tyres that Bridgestone has produced on the basis of the indications that emerged during the first Malaysian test in January.

It was a disappointing day on the other hand for his team-mate Sete Gibernau. The Spanish rider, who had a sleepless night due to severe abdominal pains, had to return to the hotel after just a few laps. When he came back to the circuit in the afternoon, he was unable to resume testing activity because of the rain. Just tomorrow's third and final day remains for the new Ducati Marlboro Team rider to complete his testing programme.

Loris CAPIROSSI (50 laps - 2m01.87s)
"Today was a really positive day" declared a smiling Loris. "In the morning we worked on the chassis settings, engine management and engine braking and we found an excellent set-up. We also concentrated on testing several new rear tyres. These are a real step forward over the 'standard' tyres (with which Loris won the Malaysian GP - Ed.) and I am pleased with the work carried out by Bridgestone. Tomorrow, thunderstorms permitting, we have scheduled a long-run to verify the duration of the tyres, which already looked good anyway in today's testing".

Sete GIBERNAU (17 laps - 2m02.87s)
"I didn't sleep a wink all night but I wanted to test at all costs so I came to the circuit early" commented Sete. "After a few laps I was feeling really sick and decided to go back and rest in the hotel. At 3 o'clock, I still didn't feel well but returned to the track to try and go out again but it started to rain. It just wasn't my day .. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better again because we've got a lot of things to test".

The Ducati Marlboro Team engineers and riders are hoping that the weather will remain good tomorrow for the final day of scheduled testing at the Sepang circuit.

Temperatures: air 30°- 34° C/ track 36°- 53° C

More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda:

THE FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS CONTINUE WORKING AT SEPANG

Sepang (Malaysia), Wednesday, 15th of February 2006 - Rain continues to spoil the third round of pre-season test session. The second day of testing was characterized in fact by very high temperatures in the morning (with the asphalt temperature reaching 53°C ) and heavy rain in the afternoon. A heavy shower that started to fall around 03.00 p.m. local time interrupted the work of the Fortuna Honda riders.

A bad crash at the fast right hand corner before the straight complicated the day to Marco Melandri, that fortunately had no physical consequences. Positive day, on the contrary for the Spaniard Toni Elias who improved his rhythm and started working with Michelin technicians for some tyre testing.

TONI ELIAS (41 laps, 2'02"62): "I'm satisfied of today's session and it was really a pity that at 03.00 p.m. started to rain and the afternoon test session was completed spoiled. This morning we worked at the balance of the bike as I have some problem at weight distribution. we tested some different solutions and the feeling with the bike improved a lot. Then we started working with Michelin technicians, we tested some tyres and the bike was working well. Thanks to the work done on the weight distribution and tyre testing I could improve my rhythm and I was quite satisfied. It was scheduled to test some new Michelin tyres in the afternoon but I couldn't because of the heavy rain. Tomorrow we will continue tyre testing, For me it's very important to work alongside the Michelin technicians, I'm confident that I can improve my pace."

MARCO MELANDRI (37 laps, 2'02"65): "It was a bad day for me. This morning I crashed at the fast right hand corner before the straight. I'm ok, I really don't know why the crash happened. It was strange because I was on the throttle when I went down. We checked the data and according to the telemetry everything is fine. Anyway, it was a really hot day. The bike was working better than yesterday in these extreme hot conditions. Unfortunately, the heavy rain spoiled the afternoon session. Tomorrow we will focus on tyre testing. Michelin has several tyres they want us to test and it will be very important for us to understand how the bike feel with these new tyres."

Temperature: air: 30°/34° C - asphalt: 36°/53° C

UNOFFICIAL LAPTIMES
S. Nakano (Kawasaki) 2 01 80
L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2 01 87
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2 01 89
J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2 01 90
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2 01 93
C. Checa (Yamaha) 2 02 06
C. Edwards (Yamaha) 2 02 16
R. De Puniet (Kawasaki) 2 02 37
M. Tamada (Honda) 2 02 56
T. Elias (Honda) 2 02 62
M. Melandri (Honda) 2 02 65
S. Gibernau (Ducati) 2 02 90
N. Hayden (Honda) 2 02 93
K. Roberts KR (Honda) 2 02 95
C. Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2 03 18
A. Hofmann (Ducati) 2 04 23
J.L. Cardoso (Ducati) 2 04 65
J. Ellison (Yamaha) 2 05 08

More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha:

CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM TEST
Sepang, Malaysia
February 15th 2006
Ambient temperature: 31 degrees C
Track temperature: 45 degrees C
Humidity: 74%

RAIN SHOWER CALLS EARLY HALT TO SECOND DAY OF SEPANG TEST

Work ended early for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards today when day two of the Camel Yamaha Team’s Sepang Test was cut short by a mid-afternoon rainstorm. The Team spent the morning working on different settings and testing tyres with Michelin, looking to eliminate the vibration that the riders have been experiencing lately, before the rain came down after lunch. Both riders ventured out in the wet on the 2006-spec M1, the first time they have been able to see the performance of the new bike in these conditions, but the track soon started to dry out in patches and they decided to call it a day after just a few laps.

Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 2’01.80, followed by Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 2’01.87). Rossi, who celebrates his 27th birthday tomorrow, was close behind him with a time of 2’01.89 after 47 laps, whilst team-mate Edwards completed 57 laps and set the seventh fastest time with a lap of 2’02.20. The Camel Yamaha Team has one final day of testing remaining tomorrow.

VALENTINO ROSSI (2’01.89, 47 Laps)
“This morning we did quite a lot of laps and we were quite fast and consistent, so I was happy. We worked very well with Michelin and with one or two new tyres that they brought we made some good improvements to the vibration. Unfortunately in the afternoon it rained and we couldn’t go on as we wished. We made a few laps in the rain just to see how the new bike was in the wet; we had some new things to try with the electronic mapping in these conditions, but we needed more time. After a few laps the track started to dry and then with the conditions half wet and half dry, we had to stop. Tomorrow we might do a long run and we will also continue with the work we started today.”

COLIN EDWARDS (2’02.20, 57 Laps)
“The weather was a real disappointment today because we had a lot of work to do and we weren’t able to complete as many laps as we had hoped. Anyway in the morning we concentrated on a new front fork setting and generally played around, looking for some improvements to the chatter issue. We didn’t have enough time to do everything but we definitely made some steps in the right direction. We tested a couple of tyres for Michelin but then the rain came down. We did a few laps in the rain, just to check some settings and try out a couple of new things for Yamaha, and everything seemed okay in that area. Tomorrow we’re going to get started nice and early as we’ve got a lot still to do; I really hope the weather is better!”

DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“Unfortunately the rain stopped us from completing all the work we wanted to do, but anyway we tried to use these conditions as best we could to check some things with the new bike. Tomorrow is our final day of testing in warm conditions before we return to Europe and we have to try to use all the time we have available to us.”

Unofficial Lap Times:

1. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 2’01.80
2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 2’01.87
3. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 2’01.89
4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2’01.90
5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 2’01.93
6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 2’02.06
7. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, 2’02.20
8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki, 2’02.37
9. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2’02.62
10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 2’02.65
11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 2’03.66
12. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 2’02.87
13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2’02.93
14. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda, 2’02.95
15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2’03.18
16. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati, 2’04.23
17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati, 2’04.65
18. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 2’05.08

Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 – 2’02.993
Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 – 2’01.731

More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Second Sepang three-day MotoGP test of 2006.

Day two of three-day MotoGP test. February 15, 2006.

Rain stops play on second day of MotoGP test at Sepang.

Heavy tropical rain brought the second of the MotoGP test at Sepang, Malaysia to an early close today and the majority of riders of riders elected to stop testing for the day. The weather proved an inconvenience for several Honda riders who had hoped to run race simulations on their new 2006 five-cylinder 990cc RC211V GP machines.

For Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden the conditions brought to an end a promising day on the latest prototype factory RCV, just when he was beginning to get the best out of his new charge. Hayden, 24 from Kentucky set faster lap times than at the last Sepang test, in January, and was in positive mood, pleased with the progress he has made with the prototype machine.

Hayden's teammate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa worked hard on the engine braking system of his RCV. Pedrosa was another who fell victim to the weather and he had to cancel a planned tyre test session for Michelin.

Fortuna Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias ended their day with contrasting feelings. Elias was rewarded for his recent hard work with the RCV. The young Spaniard has struggled to find a comfortable fast rhythm with the Honda but today everything came together for him and he put in his best performance yet aboard the RCV.

By contrast Melandri was unfortunate to crash at high speed, particularly unfortunate because he could not find a reasonable explanation for the fall. However, he was pleased with the improved performance of the RCV on an extremely hot mid-morning track surface.

Konica Minolta Honda teamster Makoto Tamada began to make up for his late start to pre- season testing making great progress with the suspension of his RCV posting lap times one second faster than on the opening day. The popular Japanese rider goes into tomorrow's final day of the test in buoyant mood.

Kenny Roberts Junior put in the best one-day session yet aboard the Honda powered KR211V. Roberts broke the 2m 02s bracket for the first time at Sepang, and but for the heavy rain the Californian would have been faster. The former 500cc World Champion and the team have gathered sufficient data to move onto the next stage of chassis development for the KR211V.

Australian Casey Stoner (LCR Honda) is suffering the effects of an old injury that reared its head during a physical training session last week. Stoner has a problem with a tendon in his shoulder and will take no part in testing at Sepang, wisely deciding to return to Australia for specialist treatment.

Honda rider lap times and quotes.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2m 02.93s - 53 laps. "Today I rode the new bike all day and we made some good progress. It was the first time we've had chance to spend a lot of time on the chassis and engine and I went quite a lot faster on it than I did last time here so that's positive. It's still a prototype machine and there are a lot of things we still need to try because it's quite a bit different to my other bike. It would have been nice to test the two bikes back to back but I'm sure we'll get a chance tomorrow."

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 01.93s - 50 laps. "Today we did a short job, but it was good quality. The track was good this morning and the lap time was also good. We tried some different settings with the engine braking which was important for me to gain more experience and understand how the bike reacts. This afternoon we were going to do some tyre testing and a longer run, but the rain interrupted us."

Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager "I hoped for good weather today but instead we got a storm at 3pm! With Nicky is leading the development of the new bike and again had many items to test. Because of the rain we couldn't get though everything but I am not worried because we have tomorrow. Dani put in a good time before lunch and will continues to learn step-by-step."

Tady Okada, HRC test rider: Not chasing lap time. "We are at the first stage with the bike and today we concentrated on the handling. The bike has very good points and is now very good on deceleration. Acceleration is not yet perfect but we are going in he right direction. The machine also holds its line very well."

Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 2m 02.74s - 38 laps. "Bad day for me. I had a big crash at the first fast right hand corner, I'm OK but the bike is a mess. I really don't know why the crash happened it was very strange because I was on the throttle when I went down. Checking the telemetry after the crash we got the bike back the data showed exactly the same settings as the previous laps had at that corner. Anyway, on the positive side when it was really hot today I felt the bike has improved from yesterday. I have to say we are not so far off where we need to be. Tomorrow we start a day of tyre testing. Michelin have several tyres they want us to test and it will be very important for us to understand how the bike behaves with the new tyres."

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 2m 02.686s - 38 laps. "I'm satisfied of today's test session and it was really a pity that at lunchtime started to rain and the afternoon session was completely spoiled. This morning we worked at the balance of the bike as I have some problem with weight distribution. We tested some different solutions and the feeling with the bike improved a lot. Then we started working with Michelin technicians, we started testing some tyres and the bike was working well. Thanks to the work done on the weight distribution and tyre testing I could improve my rhythm and I was quite satisfied. It was scheduled to test some new Michelin tyres in the
afternoon but I couldn't because of the heavy rain. Tomorrow we will continue tyre testing, For me it's very important to work alongside the Michelin technicians, I'm confident that I can improve my pace."

Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 2m 02.645s - 50 laps. "I am very satisfied with today's progress. I was trying various suspension set up options. I found a good one for the front-end setting and I am close with the rear. I now have more feed back from the machine. I also tried three different rear tyres we were going to do a long run but the rain interrupted our plans. From now on we move to more delicate settings but I have a good feeling for tomorrow, and the coming IRTA tests. Tomorrow I will do a long run and, maybe, a time attack. I feel comfortable and I am enjoying riding very much."

Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 2m 02.94s - 41 laps. "We spent the day testing front tyres for Michelin and found one we really like. Basically we confirmed Michelin's theory about the tyres individually and Michelin are happy with the feedback we gave them. The bike worked really well today and we are making real progress. When the rain came we decided to stop, as we were close on mileage with the engine so we fitted a new engine ready for tomorrow. We will start testing rear tyres. tomorrow. We are really happy with what we achieved today."

Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: "I suffered this injury nearly six years ago during a dirt track training. In that period the doctor decided to avoid any operation because he thought it was not necessary and for the following 5 years I really never had problems. Last November I started a new intensive training to increase my muscles preparing my body to the new effort required by this type of bike and I have probably inflamed the old tendonitis. Tomorrow morning I will fly back home to see a sports
specialist involved in the National Football League and we will value the solution together. Honestly I will do my best to be at 100% soon because I think that a simple tendonitis is not a insuperable problem".


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda:

THE FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS CONTINUE WORKING AT SEPANG

Sepang (Malaysia), Wednesday, 15th of February 2006 - Rain continues to spoil the third round of pre-season test session. The second day of testing was characterized in fact by very high temperatures in the morning (with the asphalt temperature reaching 53°C ) and heavy rain in the afternoon. A heavy shower that started to fall around 03.00 p.m. local time interrupted the work of the Fortuna Honda riders.

A bad crash at the fast right hand corner before the straight complicated the day to Marco Melandri, that fortunately had no physical consequences. Positive day, on the contrary for the Spaniard Toni Elias who improved his rhythm and started working with Michelin technicians for some tyre testing.

TONI ELIAS (41 laps, 2'02"62): "I'm satisfied of today's session and it was really a pity that at 03.00 p.m. started to rain and the afternoon test session was completed spoiled. This morning we worked at the balance of the bike as I have some problem at weight distribution. we tested some different solutions and the feeling with the bike improved a lot. Then we started working with Michelin technicians, we tested some tyres and the bike was working well. Thanks to the work done on the weight distribution and tyre testing I could improve my rhythm and I was quite satisfied. It was scheduled to test some new Michelin tyres in the afternoon but I couldn't because of the heavy rain. Tomorrow we will continue tyre testing, For me it's very important to work alongside the Michelin technicians, I'm confident that I can improve my pace."

MARCO MELANDRI (37 laps, 2'02"65): "It was a bad day for me. This morning I crashed at the fast right hand corner before the straight. I'm ok, I really don't know why the crash happened. It was strange because I was on the throttle when I went down. We checked the data and according to the telemetry everything is fine. Anyway, it was a really hot day. The bike was working better than yesterday in these extreme hot conditions. Unfortunately, the heavy rain spoiled the afternoon session. Tomorrow we will focus on tyre testing. Michelin has several tyres they want us to test and it will be very important for us to understand how the bike feel with these new tyres."

Temperature: air: 30°/34° - asphalt: 36°/53°

UNOFFICIAL LAPTIMES
S. Nakano (Kawasaki) 2 01 80
L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2 01 87
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2 01 89
J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2 01 90
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2 01 93
C. Checa (Yamaha) 2 02 06
C. Edwards (Yamaha) 2 02 16
R. De Puniet (Kawasaki) 2 02 37
M. Tamada (Honda) 2 02 56
T. Elias (Honda) 2 02 62
M. Melandri (Honda) 2 02 65
S. Gibernau (Ducati) 2 02 90
N. Hayden (Honda) 2 02 93
K. Roberts KR (Honda) 2 02 95
C. Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2 03 18
A. Hofmann (Ducati) 2 04 23
J.L. Cardoso (Ducati) 2 04 65
J. Ellison (Yamaha) 2 05 08

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Team SUZUKI MotoGP was unable to complete a full day of testing at Sepang in Malaysia today as a thunderstorm ended the day’s proceedings early.

John Hopkins had managed to clock a fastest time of 2’01.94 during his 44 laps before the conditions deteriorated. His time was yet another improvement on his best ever at Sepang and saw him well placed amongst the quickest riders of the day.

Chris Vermeulen shaved a second off his best time from the first day to record a time of 2’03.10 in the course of his 46 laps. The rookie Australian again completed a lot of good work onboard his new Suzuki GSV-R and is settling in well to the role of a MotoGP racer.

Today’s test was held in front of Suzuki’s Racing Department General Manager Masahito Imada, who is attending the test to assist in the ongoing development of the new bike.

[theophil]

oui je sais ..... :)

[Fabulous_fab]

d'après motogp.com

La pluie perturbe à nouveau les essais de Sepang
Actualité, 16/02/06

Les pilotes MotoGP effectuent aujourd'hui leur troisième et dernière journée d'essais sur le circuit de Sepang, mais à la mi-journée la pluie est venue, comme hier, bouleverser le programme du jour. Le début des essais avait déjà été retardé à 11h vu que la piste était partiellement humide en début de matinée, et l'averse survenue à 13h devrait pousser bon nombre de pilotes à faire leurs bagages prématurément.

Tandis que les pilotes Camel Yamaha et Suzuki, mais aussi Nicky Hayden et Toni Elias, semblent déjà prêts à quitter la Malaisie, les rookies Randy de Puniet et Dani Pedrosa profitent de cette occasion pour tourner sur le mouillé, tout comme Marco Melandri, qui avait signé le meilleur temps mardi.

[philaix]

Et voila pour aujourd'hui. Randy reste régulier : ca fait plaisir.

Sepang Test day 3 - Unofficial Times

1. Loris Capirossi - Ducati Marlboro 2'01.92
2. Valentino Rossi - Camel Yamaha 2'02.06
3. Shinya Nakano - Kawasaki Racing 2'02.20
4. Colin Edwards - Camel Yamaha 2'02.24
5. John Hopkins - Suzuki MotoGP 2'02.34
6. Randy de Puniet - Kawasaki Racing 2'02.47
7. Sete Gibernau - Ducati Marlboro 2'02.65
8. Carlos Checa - Yamaha Tech 3 2'02.66
9. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2'02.68
10. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda 2'02.86
11. Makoto Tamada - Konica Minolta Honda 2'02.87
12. Marco Melandri - Fortuna Honda 2'03.00
13. Toni Elías - Fortuna Honda 2'03.64
14. Kenny Roberts jr. - KR211V 2'04.30
15. James Ellison - Yamaha Tech 3 2'05.70

[chrisgaz]

cool pour randy

[theophil]

1ere Honda ... 9ème ... on n'a plus l'habitude. (avec un rooky en plus !!)

[1100kawa]

le kawa sont de plus en plus dans le haut du tableau il y a du podium vert qui s annonce pour cette nouvelle saison


cool

drules

[toons]

oui pour le deuxieme jour nakano a fait de bon temps, mais il est vrai que la pluie a interrompu les essais ,
en tous cas les kawas promettent,
randy a l'air d'etre bien (burgess l'avait predi.....)
dommage cette blessure pour stoner, c'est tjrs genant........
en tous cas j'attends les gp avec impatience...
meme si les essais veulent rien dire, sur le deroulement de la saison (avec tous les ingredients associés et la chance et malchance.....), preuve en est avec giberneau l'an dernier.....
ben ses essais nous devoilent quand meme une bonne baston en prespective........


toons

[theophil]

MOTOGP News Thursday, 16th February 2006

New Kawasaki 'very competitive' - Nakano second.

Rain may have disrupted the final overseas test at Malaysia's Sepang circuit, but that didn't stop Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano topping the day two timesheets on his way to an excellent second overall.

Nakano spent day one working on the set-up of the all-new Ninja ZX-RR, before starting the evaluation process on a number of different engine settings and components, developed by Kawasaki engineers in Japan to improve both top end power and driveability of the 990cc, inline four-cylinder motor.

The set-up work paid off on day two, when Nakano set the fastest time of the day - a 2mins 1.8secs - using settings that allowed more over rev from his engine. That lap time would also place the Japanese second on the overall test timesheets - just 0.14secs from Fortuna Honda's Marco Melandri - after the third and final day.

That final day was severely disrupted by rain, limiting Nakano to only 31 dry laps, but he was still able to complete his planned Bridgestone tyre tests, with more positive results: Shinya was third fastest, 0.28secs from day three pace setter Loris Capirossi and just 0.14secs from world champion Valentino Rossi, with a 2mins 2.2secs lap.

"The first day was all about setting the bike up with the new engine components, so we didn't really get a chance to put in any fast laps," confirmed Nakano. "On the second day we switched to an engine setting that allowed more over rev and this made the bike a lot easier to ride, allowing me to set the fastest time of the day.

"The rain during the last two days of the test limited the number of laps we've been able to complete, but despite this we still managed to complete our engine and tyre test programme. The three overseas tests have been very positive for Kawasaki, and now I'm looking forward to travelling to Europe for the IRTA tests at Catalunya and Jerez," he added.

Team manager Harald Eckl was also impressed - hailing the new ZX-RR as "very competitive" and a major boost to the morale of team green.

"I'm happy with what Shinya and Randy (de Puniet) have achieved during this test, especially Shinya posting the fastest time of the day yesterday," said the German. "What this year's overseas tests have proved is that the new Ninja ZX-RR is a very competitive package. We have closed the gap on the front-runners compared to previous years, and this is a big motivation factor for the Kawasaki development engineers, the riders and our team."


Nakano's rookie team-mate de Puniet had also spent the first day refining the set-up of his machine, as well as testing a number of new rear tyres. The French rider, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday, also managed to improve significantly on his lap time from the previous Sepang test - ending the outing with the ninth fastest time - and now heads for the IRTA tests at Catalunya and Jerez confident of further improvements.

"Again, this was a very good test for both me and the team," declared de Puniet, whose best lap was a 2mins 2.37secs. "We have worked through a number of different set-ups, as well as testing a lot of new tyres from Bridgestone, and I feel a lot more comfortable on the bike now. But the real measure is lap times, and I'm happy to say that I managed to improve my lap time compared to the last test here in January. So, this test has been very positive for us, and we head to Europe and the IRTA tests with a good feeling about the bike and the tyres."

The annual IRTA tests will take place at Catalunya from 3 to 5 March, and at Jerez from 10 to 12 March, with the first race of the 2006 season scheduled for 26 March, again at Jerez.

[FuryShoei]

Ce sont des chronos qui me plaisent beaucoup !!!
Ducat', Yam', Kawa et Suzuk' devant les Honda !!! On croit rêver !!!! :)
Par contre Ellison ne décolle pas !!! :bad:

[ddjedje]

cool, il est sur la bonne voix

[toons]

Je suis la première etonné du chrono de checa,
Mais c’est sans compter que quand même dunlop s’est pas Kleber,
Jeremy ferguson (manager compétition ) a tenu des propos intéressant dans mj en soulevant que quand même on n’as pas le recul pour savoir comment irait les dunlop avec un top pilote, la question a laquelle il n’ont pas de réponse s’est comment se comporterait les dunlop aux mains de rossi ou de melandri, ils ont jamais en motogp travaillé avec des pilotes de pointe (ils sont donc heureux déjà de bosser avec checa et hoffman deux pilotes rapides et expérimentés.
Il a rappelé aussi qu’ils était champion sbk angleterre devant les honda hrc en michelin,
Je pense que leurs interrogations sont surtout sur la distance à tenir un gp, comme bridg a un moment donné,
Ils a sont d’accord aussi avec michelin que les courses sur une marque unique rapporte rien, a part acheter un titre mondial.

Voilà a part nous il ne sont peut être pas surpris d’être a ce rythme au mains de carlos.

toons

[chrisgaz]

c est vrai que dunlop font de bons pneu en SBK (angleterre), et pour les machines de routes, perso, je les prefere a tous les autres... mais en motoGP, ils n ont pas eu de top pilote coome tu le dis toons... et de voir checa qui se mele au top 10, ils doivent etre content de voir que leur pneus leurs permet ca, c est vraiment cool pour checa, et c est super pour le team tech3, s ils peuvent etre dans le top 10 regulierement, ils pourront envisager l année 2007 beucoup plus serenement....

[theophil]

Résumé des meilleurs temps mixés des 3 jours :

Unofficial compilation of best MotoGP testing times from Sepang Feb. 14-16, 2006:

1. Marco Melandri (Honda) 2:01.65 (Day One) Michelin
2. Shinya Nakano (Kawsaki) 2:01.80 (Day Two) Bridgestone
3. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2:01.87 (Day Two) Bridgestone
4. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 2:01.89 (Day One) Michelin
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2:01.89 (Day Two) Michelin
6. John Hopkins (Suzuki) 2:01.90 (Day Two) Bridgestone
7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2:02.00 (Day One) Michelin
8. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 2:02.06 (Day Two) Dunlop
9. Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) 2:02.37 (Day Two) Bridgestone
10. Makoto Tamada (Honda) 2:02.56 (Day Two) Michelin
11. Toni Elias (Honda) 2:02.62 (Day Two) Michelin
12. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 2:02.65 (Day Three) Bridgestone
13. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2:02.86 (Day One and Day Three) Michelin
14. Kenny Lee Roberts (KR-Honda) 2:02.95 (Day Two) Michelin
15. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2:03.10 (Day Three) Bridgestone
16. Casey Stoner (Honda) 2:03.40 (Day One) Michelin
17. Alex Hofmann (Ducati) 2:04.18 (Day Three) Dunlop
18. Jose Luis Cardoso (Ducati) 2:04.65 (Day Two) Dunlop
19. James Ellison (Yamaha) 2:05.08 (Day Two) Dunlop

[FuryShoei]

Merci theophil.