Sepang Test – January 2008 – Day 3 – Dorna Report
Three days of testing at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang, the opening test of 2008, concluded today with Nicky Hayden experiencing a positive finish to his riding return. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion clocked the fastest time of the week, a 2’00.326 lap over three tenths of a second quicker than any other rider, to lower his previous best by nearly two seconds. As is customary for the final day of testing, the American undertook both a race simulation and small run-outs on Michelin qualifiers, putting a fearsome 77 laps on the board.
Hayden’s successor as MotoGP World Champion, Casey Stoner also showed some speedy form onboard the Desmosedici GP8. The Australian was already packed and ready to leave as the riders took a break for lunch, having established a working schedule that included just 27 laps (the fewest of any rider). Stoner’s comparative lack of track time on day three means that he is still to perform a race simulation in 2008, owing to a combination of minor technical issues with his new bike and his not being at peak fitness after a winter break spent recovering from a shoulder injury.
Jorge Lorenzo was once again impressive in Malaysia, a track at which he won his second 250cc World Championship last season. The 20 year-old yesterday had the opportunity to try the Fiat Yamaha team’s new pneumatic valve engine, and today had both his longest run at Sepang in addition to breaching the 2’01 barrier for the first time. He also had the honour of being the highest placing rider for the Japanese factory, with Tech 3 satellite team member Colin Edwards fourth fastest. Lorenzo suffered a crash during his race simulation, to put a dampener on an otherwise perfect day for the Spaniard.
Kawasaki’s John Hopkins cut nearly a second off his previous best with the ZX-RR, at what has been a progressive test for ‘Team Green’. The Anglo-American and team-mate Anthony West, who suffered a minor crash early on in the day, have been joined by test riders Olivier Jacque and Tamaki Serizawa in south east Asia as Kawasaki look to develop a series of upgrades to what will not be a completely new 2008 bike.
Serizawa played the principal role in the biggest swerve of the year so far, with a high-pitched engine noise on his opening laps revealing that Kawasaki have been secretly developing a ‘screamer’ motor with an even firing order. There are no immediate plans to pass said engine on to the full-time riders.
Valentino Rossi was sixth fastest behind Hopkins, undertaking more work with Bridgestone following his switch to the tyre manufacturer at the end of last season, whilst MotoGP rookies Andrea Dovizioso and James Toseland both showed steady progression in the their adaptation to 800cc riding.
Suzuki lined up both Nobuatsu Aoki and Kousuke Akiyoshi in their first testing appearance of 2008, working at times with the GSV-R machines of regular riders Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi. The fastest rider of the opening two days, Randy de Puniet, finished just outside the top ten on the timesheets and experienced another small crash before the final day in Sepang drew to a close.
Whilst his Repsol Honda team-mate Hayden could be happy with the conclusion of the test, 2007 World Championship runner-up Dani Pedrosa has experienced a less positive turn in fortunes. The Spaniard crashed in the final hour of the first day of 2008 testing, and was immediately flown to Barcelona for assessment and operation on a fractured second metacarpal in his right hand. The procedure was deemed a success but, as he explained in a hastily-assembled press conference today, Pedrosa will be playing a waiting game to see if he can return to testing before the start of the season.
Nicky Hayden
“The long run was decent, probably the best thing I’ve done all week. I was using the old engine with the new chassis. I did the best lap I’ve ever done round here on race tyres on lap 18. At the end of three long days that wasn’t too bad. I used a 16.5 on that run but I’ve also been trying some 16 rears here. The first time I tried the 16 last year I liked it. I’m the one who really pushed Michelin to keep going and stay with it and I’m pretty happy they did. Now we go to Phillip Island which is quite a different track with some long corners, some high-speed stuff and a lot of changes of direction. The big thing there is tyres so it’ll be really important to do some more work with Michelin there.”
Casey Stoner
“We couldn’t have started the year better! My shoulder feels better every day and now I know I can get back to full training. This morning we tried some qualifying tyres on only our second run out. We set a good lap time although I think if we’d have tried them a little later, when the track was warmer, we could have broken the two-minute mark. In fact, at the end of the morning we set a 2’00.964 on race tyres, which is over a second inside the lap record we set in September. It shows that we are working well and that both the bike and tyres are improving. I’m leaving Sepang feeling really happy – partly because my shoulder hasn’t given me too many problems and partly because I feel even more competitive than last season. Now we have to focus on this season and on getting the best possible start, so I can’t wait to continue testing at Phillip Island.”
Dani Pedrosa
“I am very eager to recover and I have the hope of being physically fit very soon. The state of the injury will decide when I return to riding, and we will assess from day to day whether I will be able to take part in any tests.
“Compared with my previous ankle injuries, this is not so serious, although in that instance I had more time to recover.”
MotoGP Sepang Test
Times Day Three
1. HAYDEN, REPSOL HRC – 02’00.326 / 77 laps
2. STONER, DUCATI MARLBORO – 02’00.660 / 27
3. LORENZO, FIAT YAMAHA – 02’00.766 / 63
4. EDWARDS, YAMAHA TECH3 – 02’01.179 / 34
5. HOPKINS, KAWASAKI RACING – 02’01.198 / 42
6. ROSSI, FIAT YAMAHA – 02’01.425 / 48
7. DOVIZIOSO, JiR TEAM SCOT – 02’01.447 / 51
8. TOSELAND, YAMAHA TECH3 – 02’01.745 / 45
9. VERMEULEN, RIZLA SUZUKI* – 02’01.748 / 70
10. CAPIROSSI, RIZLA SUZUKI* – 02’01.778 / 62
11. DE PUNIET, LCR HONDA – 02’01.873 / 56
12. NAKANO, HONDA GRESINI – 02’02.032 / 38
13. DE ANGELIS, HONDA GRESINI – 02’02.198 / 37
14. MELANDRI, DUCATI MARLBORO – 02’02.725 / 58
15. WEST, KAWASAKI RACING – 02’02.978 / 39
16. ELIAS, ALICE TEAM – 02’02.995 / 67
17. JACQUE, KAWASAKI RACING – 02’03.030 / 40
18. GUINTOLI, ALICE TEAM – 02’03.628 / 39
19. CANEPA, DUCATI TEST – 02’03.703 / 49
20. SERIZAWA, KAWASAKI RACING – 02’04.354 / 27
