Gresini Honda riders Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis, had a relatively quiet final day of testing. Nakano decided to sit out a few hours of the day when the track temperature rose to an incredible 52 degrees making serious tyre development work for Bridgestone extremely difficult. Nakano returned to the track late afternoon but did not better his time and he did not try a race simulation test as hoped. The team will run a full race distance when the MotoGP teams return to Sepang early next month to continue pre-season testing.
De Angelis worked diligently but in short bursts due to pain from a wrist tendon injury he sustained in a ‘Tank slapping’ incident yesterday. De Angelis has impressed with his calm measured approach to his MotoGP debut season. The young Sanmarines worked with the Nissin brake technicians successfully finding a good balance of stopping power and brake management. The Gresini team also worked on tyres in a bid to reduce a front end chatter problem and were partially successful before high temperatures changed the track surface grip.
Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 2m 02.032s - 38 laps
“Today we did some testing with brake and tyre combinations just to confirm we are working in the right direction. We started working with the Nissin brakes at the Jerez test over three-days and now at Sepang. I am happy with the performance finally I have found a good feeling because I can brake as I need to and they perform consistently. I tried a qualifying tyre but my best lap times were set with race tyres. We are working towards the first race at Qatar and we have a lot of work to do but we are getting good support from Honda and Bridgestone so I am very happy.”
Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 2m 02.196s - 37 laps“This morning my wrist was much better after the Doctor had given me a pain killing injection and everything was OK. The afternoon was not so good and I had a lot of pain so I stopped testing. We worked on the engine braking system and I ran with less engine brake, I was sliding just a little too much yesterday. We changed the ride height and this also helped reduce the chatter a lot but not completely. I also worked with the Nissin technicians and was impressed with the performance possibilities. I am very happy with the work we did here but not happy with the condition of my wrist. Now we go to Phillip Island and that’s my favourite track. Much different to Sepang so I will learn more about the bike next week.”
Test Times:
1. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Hrc 2:00.326
2. Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro 2:00.660
3. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:00.766
4. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Tech3 2:01.179
5. John Hopkins - Kawasaki Racing 2:01.198
6. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:01.425
7. Andrea Dovizioso - Jir Team Scot 2:01.447
8. James Toseland - Yamaha Tech3 2:01.745
9. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2:01.748
10. Loris Capirossi - Rizla Suzuki 2:01.778
11. Randy De Puniet - Honda Lcr 2:01.873
12. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini 2:02.032
13. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:02.198
14. Marco Melandri - Ducati Marlboro 2:02.725
15. Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing 2:02.978
16. Toni Elias - Alice Team 2:02.995
17. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.030
18. Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Team 2:03.628
19. Niccolò Canepa - Ducati Test 2:03.703
20. Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing 2:04.354
