2022 Mandalika Test

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#22

#22

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Day 1 was considerably interrupted by poor track conditions. They red flagged testing for 90 minutes for the track to be cleaned of mud, then wanted to riders to go out and clean it, for which Aleix Espargaro was very unhappy and said:

"But today was no matter of a little bit of dust, today the track was unrideable, it was completely unsafe and the decision that they made, the teams with Dorna, to force us to ride altogether to clean the track, I didn't like it at all.

"I was very angry. I think obviously it works, because if you put 25 bikes to clean the track, you lap by lap clean a little bit of track. But it's not the solution, I'm not here to clean any track."
Click to expand...

Pol end he ended up fastest, but I expect the track to be a lot faster tomorrow.

1 Pol Espargaro Honda 1'32”466 69
2 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1'32”937 60
3 Brad Binder KTM 1'32”943 64
4 Alex Rins Suzuki 1'33”058 72
5 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1'33”108 86
6 Jack Miller Ducati 1'33”114 72
7 Maverick Vinales Aprilia 1'33”147 56
8 Joan Mir Suzuki 1'33”244 58
9 Andrea Dovizioso Yamaha 1'33”245 57
10 Jorge Martin Ducati 1'33”358 51
11 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 1'33”394 54
12 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha 1'33”518 75
13 Johann Zarco Ducati 1'33”592 96
14 Fabio Di Giannantonio Ducati 1'33”683 54
15 Alex Marquez Honda 1'33”700 62
16 Miguel Oliveira KTM 1'33”748 77
17 Marc Marquez Honda 1'33”776 64
18 Enea Bastianini Ducati 1'33”954 45
19 Raul Fernandez KTM 1'33”966 57
20 Luca Marini Ducati 1'34”165 53
21 Marco Bezzecchi Ducati 1'34”173 63
22 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 1'34”318 75
23 Darryn Binder Yamaha 1'34”495 58
24 Remy Gardner KTM 1'34”603 64
Click to expand...
 
#22 said:
"But today was no matter of a little bit of dust, today the track was unrideable, it was completely unsafe and the decision that they made, the teams with Dorna, to force us to ride altogether to clean the track, I didn't like it at all.

"I was very angry. I think obviously it works, because if you put 25 bikes to clean the track, you lap by lap clean a little bit of track. But it's not the solution, I'm not here to clean any track."
Click to expand...


So Aleix vs Alex!!!

It was the younger Marquez who came up with the idea for the riders to clean the track.
 
Pol says the Honda is ready for Qatar. They are already second to Fabio, looks like the new RCV is going to be a weapon.

Pol
After topping day one, Espargaro elected to focus predominantly on race pace during day two, and while calculations suggest Fabio Quartararo was a tenth quicker over 15 laps, Espargaro was second best to the current world champion.

Following his impressive start to testing at Sepang and now Mandalika, the seven-time MotoGP podium finisher claims Honda is ‘ready for Qatar’, despite there being a day of testing left to go.

Espargaro said: "Overall I think the day was great. I think the bike is getting better and better and after today it feels like it's ready for Qatar. This is nice to feel that way before the season unlike last year.


Marc
Despite the improved result, Marquez is convinced even more performance is yet to come from his RC213V machine.

Marquez said: "I already said that I'm starting to feel more the bike. Today we did another step. It’s true that we finished second but I don’t care about the position or the time attack right now.

"It’s more about the rhythm and the way that the lap time was coming. Even in the last time attack we tried something different in the bike and it was an improvement.

"I’m happy because we are trying new things and now we are looking for another step that I believe we can do. But yeah, I feel more the bike than yesterday."
Click to expand...

Mandalika Test, Saturday

1. Luca Marini, Ducati, 1:31.289
2. Marc Marquez, Honda, 1:31.481
3. Maverick Viñales, Aprilia, 1:31.516
4. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, 1:31.564
5. Joan Mir, Suzuki, 1: 31.586
6. Johann Zarco, Ducati, 1:31.586
7. Enea Bastianini, Ducati, 1:31.599
8. Pol Espargaró, Honda, 1:31.605
9. Jorge Martin, Ducati, 1:31.665
10. Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati, 1: 31.725
11 Brad Binder, KTM, 1:31.814
12 Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha, 1:31.849
13 Alex Rins, Suzuki, 1:31.884
14 Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 1:31.906
15 Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, 1: 31.918
16. Alex Marquez, Honda, 1:31.980
17. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Ducati, 1:32.047
18. Miguel Oliveira, KTM, 1:32.200
19. Andrea Dovizioso, Yamaha, 1:32.303
20. Jack Miller, Ducati, 1:32.318
21. Raúl Fernández, KTM, 1:32.401
22. Marco Bezzecchi, Ducati, 1:32.471
23. Remy Gardner, KTM, 1:32.598
24. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, 1:33.053
 
Last edited:
Just gonna say it now. Pol Espargaro is a title threat. This Honda will suit him, and will be a very good Honda. Very good Honda's win titles. I'm gonna lay money on it as soon as the betting markets open.
 
He wouldn't have stood a chance against the old Marquez.
We are yet to see if the Marc Marquez that remains has the same speed.
 
Barbedwirebikerr said:
Just gonna say it now. Pol Espargaro is a title threat. This Honda will suit him, and will be a very good Honda. Very good Honda's win titles. I'm gonna lay money on it as soon as the betting markets open.
Click to expand...


Define "title threat" and I may take you up on a wager if you're interested.
 
Mandalika test combined times

1. Pol Espargaró, Honda, 1:31.060
2. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, 1:31.074
3. Luca Marini, Ducati, 1:31.289
4. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 1:31.385
5. Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha, 1: 31.416
6. Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati, 1:31.436
7. Alex Rins, Suzuki, 1:31.477
8. Maverick Viñales, Aprilia, 1:31.478
9. Marc Marquez, Honda, 1:31.481
10. Johann Zarco, Ducati, 1: 31.488
11 Brad Binder, KTM, 1:31.574
12 Joan Mir, Suzuki, 1:31.586
13 Enea Bastianini, Ducati, 1:31.599
14 Alex Marquez, Honda, 1:31.603
15 Miguel Oliveira, KTM, 1: 31.620
16. Jorge Martin, Ducati, 1:31.665
17. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, 1:31.687
18 Jack Miller, Ducati, 1:31.870
19 Andrea Dovizioso, Yamaha, 1:31.890
20 Marco Bezzecchi, Ducati, 1:31.901
21 Fabio Di Giannantonio, Ducati, 1:31.915
22 Raúl Fernández, KTM, 1: 32.401
23. Remy Gardner, KTM, 1:32.598
24. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, 1:33.049


21 riders separated by 0.855 seconds!






:D
 
Last edited:
The actions of the old MM has resulted in the new MM. I seriously doubt the new MM will be able to resist overcooking it should be come under pressure.
 
Bern1 said:
The actions of the old MM has resulted in the new MM. I seriously doubt the new MM will be able to resist overcooking it should be come under pressure.
Click to expand...
I will be happy to see the old Marquez in action again.
Nobody has been able to push and save the front like that.

He has plenty of wins and I'm happy to see more.
I like watching him ride.
 
I do too. The way he has ridden in the past.
It remains to be seen if that’s the MM we’ll get this year.
 
evo9 said:
I was thinking that Pol could be a title contender after the Sepang test. But now after this test, I think he will be a title contender. But I'm sure Marc will be a force to recon with https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-no-special-feeling-2022-honda-bike/8133584/
Click to expand...
He did manage to ride within himself for at least one of his titles when he had a bad shoulder and a non dominant bike, and didn't start throwing it down the road till he had clinched that title. He also managed to win 3 races last year on a bike which was on all evidence including Pol's performances on it absolutely terrible against a field of fast young riders, some of whom were on Ducatis which gave every appearance of being a superior bike; not so sure about the Yamaha, that seemed a mediocre bike under anyone other than FQ.

He really, really wants to match or surpass Valentino for titles won, so I could see him riding relatively conservatively for 1 or 2 years to do so. Imo he should do this then retire before he damages himself further, and from comments he has made I think he has some insight after his travails in recent years; he said during his recent period of double vision every time he stood up he was wondering how he was going to live the rest of his life, let alone return to GP bike riding.

If he rides like he did in 2013 or in 2015 prior to PI I fear his remaining career will be short.
 
Last edited:
Barbedwirebikerr said:
Just gonna say it now. Pol Espargaro is a title threat. This Honda will suit him, and will be a very good Honda. Very good Honda's win titles. I'm gonna lay money on it as soon as the betting markets open.
Click to expand...

Based on the data yes. But this is Pol. He threw away more than a few wins in 2020 on the KTM. Austria for example, he made a number of mistakes.

evo9 said:
Pol says the Honda is ready for Qatar. They are already second to Fabio, looks like the new RCV is going to be a weapon.
Click to expand...

I hope so! Marc seems quietly confident about it too.

Bern1 said:
The actions of the old MM has resulted in the new MM. I seriously doubt the new MM will be able to resist overcooking it should be come under pressure.
Click to expand...

The point of the new bike is he shouldn't have to ride it on the edge so much.
 
I'm genuinely curious about the RC213V and whether this could be a worldbeater bike in the right hands. It's the first major overhaul Honda has done in years which is exciting. I think we're going to have a cracking season all the way around.
 
Mrpurple said:
Whats new about the bike?
Click to expand...

Everything.

Extracted from Kropo's site.

just how different the 2022 Honda RC213V is from previous iterations. HRC Director Tetsuhiro Kuwata described the concept as "breaking out of our shell". And looking at the differences, you can get a sense of what he means. The focus of the bike changed in pursuit of more grip, and that meant a more rearward weight balance, a different engine character, and therefore electronics, different engine packaging, which in turn meant a different chassis, and therefore a different fairing and aerodynamics package.

That is a massive change. "I think it is the biggest change we have seen during the current regulation period," Kuwata-san said. The redesign came as an accidental benefit of the enforced layoff due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With engine development frozen for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, HRC found themselves with enough time to take a much wider view of the bike. Instead of being restricted to incremental changes, they could take a step back and attempt a much larger redesign.

In an interview recorded for the Repsol Honda team launch, HRC Technical Director Takeo Yokoyama explained the background to the redesign. "Let me start from the engine concept or philosophy because there were actually two years of development," he said. "This included the first phase which was more for studying because of the Covid situation, the practical job of the workshop has been restricted. Anyway, we were able to start some studies which normally we do not have a lot of time to do but this time because of the circumstances we had a longer time for a deeper study. We decided to change more than usual, but I’m not talking about the power, it’s more the characteristic of the engine, the power delivery."



The decision to change the engine character had major knock-on effects through the rest of the bike, Yokoyama-san explained. "In the end we have come to the conclusion that we actually have to change a lot more than what we usually do. This also affects the way the engine is mounted to the chassis and of course this is also related to the whole bike and ultimately its appearance when we are talking about how the bike looks. Due to the circumstances of Covid we had a longer development period so this is why the bike has changed a bit more than the usual one-step phase."
 
Last edited:
Barbedwirebikerr said:
Everything.

Extracted from Kropo's site.

just how different the 2022 Honda RC213V is from previous iterations. HRC Director Tetsuhiro Kuwata described the concept as "breaking out of our shell". And looking at the differences, you can get a sense of what he means. The focus of the bike changed in pursuit of more grip, and that meant a more rearward weight balance, a different engine character, and therefore electronics, different engine packaging, which in turn meant a different chassis, and therefore a different fairing and aerodynamics package.

That is a massive change. "I think it is the biggest change we have seen during the current regulation period," Kuwata-san said. The redesign came as an accidental benefit of the enforced layoff due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With engine development frozen for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, HRC found themselves with enough time to take a much wider view of the bike. Instead of being restricted to incremental changes, they could take a step back and attempt a much larger redesign.

In an interview recorded for the Repsol Honda team launch, HRC Technical Director Takeo Yokoyama explained the background to the redesign. "Let me start from the engine concept or philosophy because there were actually two years of development," he said. "This included the first phase which was more for studying because of the Covid situation, the practical job of the workshop has been restricted. Anyway, we were able to start some studies which normally we do not have a lot of time to do but this time because of the circumstances we had a longer time for a deeper study. We decided to change more than usual, but I’m not talking about the power, it’s more the characteristic of the engine, the power delivery."



The decision to change the engine character had major knock-on effects through the rest of the bike, Yokoyama-san explained. "In the end we have come to the conclusion that we actually have to change a lot more than what we usually do. This also affects the way the engine is mounted to the chassis and of course this is also related to the whole bike and ultimately its appearance when we are talking about how the bike looks. Due to the circumstances of Covid we had a longer development period so this is why the bike has changed a bit more than the usual one-step phase."
Click to expand...

If I am not mistaken the engine for a number of years previously was the one designed to be tamed by the bespoke Honda electronics run by a team of IT engineers, and all this went with the advent of the control ECU. I think MM then just told them to make the bike as fast as possible and he would use the software between his ears and his reflexes to tame the thing, which worked pretty well till he had the hardware failure with the arm etc.

It seems likely they have designed the new bike, and the new engine in particular, around the control ECU. Be afraid, be very afraid is what I would say to the field if MM is somewhat healthy, as I have said previously.
 
51897116521_d3e6f8896e.jpg
 

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