The second MotoGP test of 2008 at Sepang, Malaysia opened today with just five regular championship challengers present. The Gresini Honda team of Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis are in attendance together with the Yamaha squad of Rossi and Lorenzo and several test riders from other factory teams.
Rain on Monday had left the track surface in a greasy condition and the first rider to venture out was Gresini Honda rider Alex De Angelis. The young Sanmarinese and his technicians planned a full day of tyre testing for Bridgestone but De Angelis crashed after just nine laps but returned to the track to complete 41 laps on the day.
Shinya Nakano on the second Gresini RC212V worked on refining chassis settings with changes to geometry based on the feedback from the test held at the track last month and his three-day stint at Phillip Island.
Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 2m 02.317s – 55 laps.
“We tested some geometry changes on the RCV today and found a good specification for the chassis at this track. The set up gave me more stability entering the corners. For the test tomorrow we will use the same specification as our base set up while we test tyres for Bridgestone.”
Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 2m 03.231s – 41 laps.
“I did not have a good feeling with the front end of the RCV when I went out this morning and we were working on trying to improve that when I crashed. After the crash I waited until the track conditions improved before going out again. Tomorrow I will need to get in as many laps as possible to improve the front end and learn more about the way the RCV behaves at this track.”
