The San Carlo Gresini Honda squad continued their solid pre-season progress with both riders setting consistent fast times all day while testing tyres for supplier Bridgestone. MotoGP debutante De Angelis has been a revelation aboard the big 800cc RC212V four-stroke so far this winter. The young Sanmarinese was holding second place on the time sheets at one point eventually ending the day with eighth fastest time. De Angelis’ team-mate, Japanese star Shinya Nakano has found a spiritual home at Gresini Honda and his lap times reflect the progress he has made by switching to the vastly experienced San Carlo sponsored team. Nakano ended his day four-tenths of a second behind De Angelis.
Alex De Angelis, San Carlo, Honda Gresini: 1m 39.932s – on lap 54 of 56.
“I am very happy with my race pace. I did 20 consecutive laps on the same set of tyres ad at the end was still able to run at 1m 41s. I also tested two types of qualifying tyres for Bridgestone, one new set and one in an old specification we had tried before. They were quite similar in performance but I set my best lap on the old qualifying tyre but the new type was quite close in performance. The feel from the new engine is positive and I wish I had the same engine at Sepang so I could test it on a high speed track before we arrived here. We will get that done at Qatar.”
Shinya Nakano, San Carlo, Honda Gresini: 1m 40.333s – on lap 66 of 66. “I’m a little disappointed with today my lap time today it was not much better than on day one of the test. Today we used the same setting as on day one but something felt different which I didn’t understand. Maybe this has something to do with all the changes we tried for the wet session yesterday. We are not so bad on race tyres, on all three-days, but we have to improve a few things on set up with qualifying tyres when we get to Qatar, we have to be more aggressive.”
Ambient temperature: 19 degrees
Track temperature: 16 degrees
Humidity: 57%
Test Times: 1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'38.848
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.252
3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'39.313
4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'39.351
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.568
6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'39.727
7. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'39.845
8. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'39.932
9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'40.333
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'40.442
11. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'40.576
12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'41.026
13. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'41.177
14. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'41.292
15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'41.311
16. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'41.699
17. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'42.160
18. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1'42.970
19. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1'43.496
20. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'45.597
