Monday, 27 August 2012
It was Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow who topped the timesheets in an eventful day of testing at the Brno circuit ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, as potential MotoGP™ newcomers made their mark.
Crutchlow, who recorded his first-ever MotoGP podium yesterday, was tasked with testing some small parts on his Yamaha, yet also focussed heavily on race consistency. Apart from running out of fuel in the afternoon session, the Brit was happy with his day’s work. His teammate Andrea Dovizioso, fastest in the morning, did not contest the afternoon session, as he was content with his work on front suspension and engine settings to enhance his mid-corner speed.
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo was first out on track in the morning with his current 2012 YZR-M1, before switching to a black-liveried 2013 prototype rolling-chassis, fitted with the current engine, shortly before the lunch break. He did not go under his times from the previous weekend, and stated that he did not feel it had any improvements over his current package. Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg did however state there will be more upgrades to test next week when the team heads to Aragón. Lorenzo’s fastest lap was set on his current machine, while teammate Ben Spies, who was working on set-up issues with his bike, finished the day in seventh.
Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa, testing new parts in his RC213V, was fourth quickest, yet will also have further upgrades to test at a test in Aragón next week. Jonathan Rea, the Ten Kate Honda WSBK rider, who is set to substitute for the injured Casey Stoner at the forthcoming races, was on a steep learning curve all day as he adjusted to the Australian’s bike and the Bridgestone tyres, stating that the latter were the hardest part to adapt to. Having ended the morning session over five seconds off the front, he did extremely well to end the day in eighth, just over three seconds off the front. His time improved by over two seconds across the day, and he set his fastest time on the penultimate lap of the day.
LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, who finished the day in fifth, was seeking better rear grip and was testing a new front suspension and rear shocks. Behind him, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista was working on his Showa suspension, the only prototype Honda to be fitted with them, along with three Showa technicians, to analyse data, and resolve some of the handling issues he has been having.
Moto2™ rider Julián Simón had his first outing on a MotoGP™ bike on the second Avintia Blusens BQR-FTR of Yonny Hernandez, and did well to walk away unscathed from a heavy crash before the lunch break. Fellow intermediate-class rider Mike Di Meglio, riding Iván Silva’s machine, also got his first taste of the premier-class, sighting that the carbon brakes were the most difficult thing to get used to. Hernandez himself put in some work testing a new Öhlins front fork, finishing the day in ninth, while Silva went out briefly in the morning to reduce his bike’s chatter issues, ending the test in 10th.
San Carlo’s Michele Pirro put in numerous laps to improve the team’s FTR-Honda effort, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards was getting familiar with the ART machine of the Speed Master team. Edwards confirmed that he will be talking to his team boss Giovanni Cuzari about potentially switching to the ART for the next race in Misano.
MotoGP™ Safety Officer and ex-MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi, who had announced he would be testing numerous bikes, was initially out on track with Bautista’s RC213V, after which he tried Pirro’s machine, Edwards’ current Suter-BMW machine and the BQR-FTR. He stated that he was extremely happy with his first-ever ride of a Honda four-stroke, and commented that he was impressed with the high level of the CRTs and the developments Bridgestone have made since last year.(By Motogp)
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