Sepang pre-season test 2011

Keshav said:

My bad. Trying to answer too many posts before running out the door.

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Aha, no probs. Toni knows his ride isn't the best on the grid but he also knows its good enough to be in the top ten if he is. Apparently he's having the same trouble he's had before getting heat into the tyres. Control tyre is fair isn't it...

If this Honda can put a test rider (Akiyoshi) in the top ten, then it's going to be tough for all others this year.

All four Honda "factory" riders have now been among the top five in two days, including Sic and Dovi.

J4rn0 said:

If this Honda can put a test rider (Akiyoshi) in the top ten, then it's going to be tough for all others this year.

All four Honda "factory" riders have now been among the top five in two days, including Sic and Dovi.

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Agree, i know you can't read too much into testing but if Honda are consistently this fast with this many riders it looks good for them. The only thing is Ducati are likely to make jumps when they do improve

Thanks for the updates everyone..



Not that I haven't been since 2005, but very impressed with Spies.. as they say, Iron sharpens Iron, and He's been through some battles.. I hope this year is all tooth and nail.. I dont want to jinx it, but ..5,6 aliens? haha

Ok, now that the initial disappointment of seeing Nicky so far down the time sheets has wore off...



On to some takes about day two.



Very impressed with Spies. Both teammates reasonably mature, its going to be interesting how that team dynamic pans out.

Speaking of team dynamics, Pedro is asserting himself it seems after all the talk about Stoner. That's gonna be a battle royal.

The Ducati squad have issues, first of all, the dangling shoulder is impeding us from getting the "real" picture with Rossi; while Nicky, well he simply sucks, as I'm being told. Depuniet, impressive. Abraham & Elias are ...... and Crutchlow has a long road ahead. Keeping Edwards doesn't look like such a bad idea, however, this is testing. Despite his vertebrae replacement, in which he is experience zero discomfort, (unlike shoulder injuries) I'm very pleased to see Aoyama up with a fighting chance (he really is one of the good guys and terribly overlooked).



My one take away is the one I've known about GP, that is, its about the mouse trap; while most see the results and positions at face value, and continue to make ridiculous conclusions. Case and point, .022, that's what separates "the greatest rider ever, forever" and test rider, I demand Akiyoshi to be hired for MotoGP immediately, the top "riders" of the world, eh.



We may disagree on many takes, but can we all just agree we don't want to see Pedro snag a title?

Jumkie said:

Ok, now that the initial shock of seeing Nicky so far down the time sheets has wore off...



On to some takes about day two.



Very impressed with Spies. Both teammates reasonably mature, its going to be interesting how that team dynamic pans out.

Speaking of team dynamics, Pedro is asserting himself it seems after all the talk about Stoner. That's gonna be a battle royal.

The Ducati squad have issues, first of all, the dangling shoulder is impeding us from getting the "real" picture with Rossi; while Nicky, well he simply sucks, as I'm being told. Depuniet, impressive. Abraham & Elias are ...... and Crutchlow has a long road ahead. Keeping Edwards doesn't look like such a bad idea, however, this is testing. Despite his vertebrae replacement, in which he is experience zero discomfort, (unlike shoulder injuries) I'm very pleased to see Aoyama up with a fighting chance (he really is one of the good guys and terribly overlooked).



My one take away is the one I've known about GP, that is, its about the mouse trap; while most see the results and positions at face value, and continue to make ridiculous conclusions. Case and point, .022, that's what separates "the greatest rider ever, forever" and test rider, I demand Akiyoshi to be hired for MotoGP immediately, the top "riders" of the world, eh.

We may disagree on many takes, but can we all just agree we don't want to see Pedro snag a title?

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Lol.. let Estoril 2006 go player. haha..



On a side note, is there more of a breakdown of the laps than just fastest of the day?.. obviously the fastest matters, but as last year went.. consistency is always more important than a one off barn burner

truent said:

Lol.. let Estoril 2006 go player. haha..



On a side note, is there more of a breakdown of the laps than just fastest of the day?.. obviously the fastest matters, but as last year went.. consistency is always more important than a one off barn burner

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Yes, sectors. It would be interesting to know what sectors some riders are fast while struggle in other turns.

SprogTheDog said:

Jesus christ, dont ....... encourage him.



Anyone out there who genuinely believes that Rossi and the boys wont turn this around are kidding themselves.

It might not happen at the tests, it might not happen during the first part of the season.

But rest assured, Rossi will get back to full fitness & the bike will get sorted.

How can anyone not see that?

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ah yes.



Honestly Sprog, if you've been keeping up with the off season threads, its the boppers who have been the most discouraged; one even declaring the injury may be "career ending" (talk about dooms day). Anyway, agree, he will make improvements, especially when the shoulder reattachment is complete. If Rossi can midpack it with a wing hanging by its skin, then I full expect him to podium at Qatar. Otherwise, the shoulder thing is ......... Would you agree with this logic?

Tom said:

refused to come back on a piece of .... Ducati

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Tom, this is interesting, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall you mentioning the Ducati was all that bad. (It did manage to score several wins and consistent top fives for both riders all last season only interrupted by front end tucks). See the test positions of Nicky compared to Valencia, do you think they've taken a step forward or backward...that is before they go forward (as none of us doubt they will improve)?

Rossi's itw with MCN after day 2:



[font=arial, sans-serif]"The shoulder improved a lot and I came back to the level of yesterday. I don’t suffer too much and I can ride the MotoGP bike with my shoulder and this is a very important sign because it means the shoulder is strong enough to resist.



"If you see my shoulder it is very small and I don’t have any muscle, so lap by lap I lose power and I have more pain. But we can work on the power in the next weeks and I am confident to have much more power at the next test.



"This is the most positive thing. We have to work on the bike also and my shoulder is quite a big problem in this moment because we have to develop and improve the bike.



"To do this we have to concentrate on pushing in the point of the track where I can ride normally.



"We try to forget the lap time because in two or three parts we lose a lot of time but we make a good job and we improve the setting and we worked a lot on the different tyres.



"When you change between the soft and the hard tyre the bike has a different reaction compared to the M1 so it is important for us to understand. We tried a new fairing and made some different aerodynamics.”



“I like the bike with the small cowling because we have more agility and in my condition this is a big help,“ said the nine-times world champion, who is still well short of maximum strength and movement in the right shoulder he badly damaged in a moto cross training accident nearly 10 months ago.”



T“Now the biggest problem for us is the front vibration and we have a bit too much chatter but tomorrow we have some cards to play.



"We haven’t modified big things yet but we have to improve the turning of the bike. These are the two aspects where we have to improve the Desmosedici.



"But it feels like the bike like mine with a better feeling. It is easier now and I try to understand how the bike works and we try to use our experience.”



[/font]

Jumkie said:

Tom, this is interesting, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall you mentioning the Ducati was all that bad. (It did manage to score several wins and consistent top fives for both riders all last season only interrupted by front end tucks). See the test positions of Nicky compared to Valencia, do you think they've taken a step forward or backward...that is before they go forward (as none of us doubt they will improve)?

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i know all riders and manfucaturers are testing different parts etc but ducati seem to be testing alot of different things so i dont think its time to make a judgement just yet.



have faith brother the riders will come good soon.

Rossi disagree's with Stoner's assesment of the Ducati on GPOne.



Finally, regarding Stoner's comments about the rigidity of the Ducati (and its inability to vary its lines during the races), Rossi has some ideas of his own.

"I don't agree with what Stoner said; that once it's committed to a line during a race, that line can't be changed. I think the Ducati is a bike like the others, and it just needs to be ridden."

J4rn0 said:

Rossi's itw with MCN after day 2:



[font=arial, sans-serif]"The shoulder...



T“Now the biggest problem for us is the front vibration and we have a bit too much chatter but tomorrow we have some cards to play.





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Rossi doesn't sound as crazy as his followers, I'll give him that. Though the message was clear..."the shoulder".



About the front vibration, that's getting to be one long "80 seconds". (sorry, couldn't resist)

L8Braker said:

Rossi disagree's with Stoner's assesment of the Ducati on GPOne.



Finally, regarding Stoner's comments about the rigidity of the Ducati (and its inability to vary its lines during the races), Rossi has some ideas of his own.

"I don't agree with what Stoner said; that once it's committed to a line during a race, that line can't be changed. I think the Ducati is a bike like the others, and it just needs to be ridden."

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It appears Rossi is right, though the consequence seems to be a slower lap time. Not sure if that's a Pyrrhic victory, but it sounds like one.

Again a few Honda's at top, but this time with Pedrosa, Stoner not far behind, and then the rest. Lorenzo is there, he is just trying different things.

Hayden finished ahead of Rossi, (like some predicted) but still Ducaties are out of the top ten. With all the talks of updates for the ducati, they should be in the top eight, at least.

It should be of some worth that all of the Ducatis are around the same lap time. This would be an indication of all 4 bikes being ridden to their current "potential" (less injuries/parts testing/getting back into the swing of things). Both Nicky and Vale have indicated that they are testing a rather large amount of items for the Desmo. Compared to Honda and Yammy (with bikes that were well sorted prior to the end of the 2010 season) who seem to simply be refining their package, Duc seems to be performing some rather drastic changes to their overall bike.



Maybe it's me, but they're going with entire new fairings (3 to be exact), new electronics, front end forks, etc. I don't seem to see this much development going into the test with either Honda or Yammy... But alas, it is only the first test of the season, race day is where it all counts...

I sense too much hurry in rushing to conclusions regarding Ducati and Rossi... fans are anxious for any sign of decline,and haters can't wait for the same. Patience...

The Donald Duc team seem to be lost there trying anything that might show a improvement on the time sheets

and will then say yep we'll go with that



new winglets



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Only two surprises for me:



1. Elias is really slow. I would've thought that he'd be in a good form considering that his last Moto GP season in 2009 was actually the best of his career (or since 2006 if you respect a GP win more than a better finishing position in standings) and how good he was in Moto2. I guess not then...



2. ALL the other Honda riders are really fast. I know it's too early to tell, but they could have the best bike this season.





Ducati is not doing very well and that's no surprise. Looks more or less like it was last year with Stoner taken away. Maybe they'll improve over time with Rossi, I sure hope so.

OahuGrown said:

It should be of some worth that all of the Ducatis are around the same lap time. This would be an indication of all 4 bikes being ridden to their current "potential" (less injuries/parts testing/getting back into the swing of things). Both Nicky and Vale have indicated that they are testing a rather large amount of items for the Desmo. Compared to Honda and Yammy (with bikes that were well sorted prior to the end of the 2010 season) who seem to simply be refining their package, Duc seems to be performing some rather drastic changes to their overall bike.



Maybe it's me, but they're going with entire new fairings (3 to be exact), new electronics, front end forks, etc. I don't seem to see this much development going into the test with either Honda or Yammy... But alas, it is only the first test of the season, race day is where it all counts...

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From what I gather, Honda is trying out quite a lot of new parts too. I think Ducati just lacks a clear sense of direction at the moment.