Repsol Honda's Hayden Makes Further Improvements Ahead Of Estoril

The Repsol Honda Team wrapped up a valuable testing programme today at the Motegi circuit with Nicky Hayden trying further clutch and chassis improvements in preparation for the final two MotoGP races of the season. The 25-year-old American completed 54 laps on his evolution RC211V, trimming his best lap-time on race tyres at Motegi down to 1m 47.18s.

Hayden was due to get his first taste of Honda’s impressive new 800cc MotoGP prototype today but rain this afternoon put paid to that plan. The world championship leader will get his chance to fully test the new bike after the final race at Valencia. Hayden’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa did not ride today having returned home to fully recover from the damage he sustained in a crash in Malaysia three weeks ago.

HRC test rider Tady Okada was also testing for Honda today, completing 14 laps on the 800. The six-time grand prix winner gathered useful data before escaping unhurt from a crash exiting Motegi’s Turn Four in the wet. The exciting new 800cc machine will be officially unveiled in Repsol Honda colours at the Grand Prix of Valencia on the weekend of October 27-29.

After a stretch of intense MotoGP activity, including races on three successive weekends in Malaysia, Australia and Japan, the Repsol Honda Team will now take a break for two weekends before the penultimate race of this captivating season. The Estoril circuit hosts the Grand Prix of Portugal on October 15.

Nicky Hayden Lap time: 1m 47.18s Laps completed: 54

“We spent the morning evaluating some machine settings and testing a few more clutch ideas so that we’re ready for these last two races. It was good to get in some more laps and I improved my pace with a 1m 47.1s lap which was a bit quicker than yesterday and over the weekend. I was getting ready to do a few laps on the 800 when it started to rain, but I’ll get my crack at that bike soon – plus I’ve got enough other stuff to focus on right now. The new bike looks really cool and the future seems bright for the new 800. I want to thank all the team and engineers for staying here and testing for a couple of days after nearly a month away from home – it’s good to have them in my corner helping me. Now we’ll just wait these two weeks out and get ready for Portugal – it’s going to be a huge race.”

Unofficial lap times:

1 Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1m 47.18s 54 laps
2 K. Akiyoshi Suzuki Test Rider 1m 48.7s 20
3 N. Fujiwara Yamaha Test Rider 1m 50.2s 44
4 Tady Okada HRC Test Rider 1m 50.3s 14
5 N. Aoki Suzuki Test Rider 1m 50.6s 42
6 Yoshiwara Yamaha Test Rider 1m 50.7s 53
7 N. Matsudo Kawasaki 1m 50.8s 36

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