Casey Stoner seals Phillip Island test with lap record time

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2008-02-01 Casey Stoner seals Phillip Island test with lap record time
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Casey Stoner demonstrated hot pace on both qualifying and race tyres on last day of the Phillip Island test, setting new lap record and proving once again that he will be main title contender in 2008. Nicky Hayden, despite setting second fastest time on Michelin qualifiers, still has lot of work to do in order to match that achievement on race tyres. James Toseland utilized knowledge of Phillip Island test and set 3rd fastest time, in front of Honda rookie Andrea Dovizioso. Colin Edwards was 5th fastest.

Casey Stoner - 1st - 1:28.777, 51 laps:
We did the race simulation with one of Bridgestone's new tyres and it went really well, even though we had to come in three laps early. The track temperature today was actually higher than it was for the race here and you could tell. Even so we managed to lap consistently in low 1.30 and that shows how well they're working in Japan. I'm also really happy with the qualifying tyre, which is the same as last year. It is a good thing that bike is not completely different to 2007 because it has allowed is to find an excellent base to start the season from already. The new version of the engine has a better delivery, especially at the bottom end, and that has allowed me to set fast times more consistently, as well as increasing tyre life. It has been a good test session but now I'm happy to have a couple of weeks to rest and train in the gym. The shoulder feels okay, it is just a little bit weak and sore because I haven't been able to work on it as much as I would have wanted but now we can do that.

Nicky Hayden - 2nd - 1:29.734, 102 laps:
We ended up not too bad but it'd be nicer to be faster on race tyres. To be honest, it's been a frustrating couple of days here. We got into the 31s about the fourth exit from the pits on the first day and really we haven't been able to go any faster since then, except with the qualifiers, which were good. We've chased our tail a bit and I haven't really found a batch of race tyres I like. I struggled a lot when I was here for last year's race, but I did find something I liked. I didn't have that option this week, so I can't say I'm completely happy with the combination of bike, rider and tyres. We tried the pneumatic-valve engine and the conventional spec engine in the new chassis at this test. We did a lot of tyre testing with Michelin using the conventional engine. The chassis did some good stuff but not enough through this fast stuff here. We left Sepang last week in a positive way and it's still early days, there's a lot of work still to be done. Now we go back to Sepang for two days, we’ve got a few days off and then keep trying to chip away at it.

James Toseland 3rd 1.29.754 – 89 laps:
I’m really happy. I was always looking forward to coming here with my track knowledge and its nice to see the difference where I stand in the order with that experience. To be at the sharp end of the times and see my name up there has put a bigger smile on my face. Knowing the track I can be on the same line each lap and that’s helped me relay my feedback on the bike a lot more precisely to my team. On other tracks I’ve been finding my way round as well as trying to make a lap time. I was happy with my pace in the race simulation but those extra five or six laps over what I’ve been used to in superbike were a bit strange. My body just isn’t used to that distance but I felt good and wasn’t too tired at the end. It is all good experience and its all coming together nicely. I will sleep well tonight on the plane after this performance. Even one of my mechanics said that it is so good to see an English rider at that end of the timesheets rather than at the other end. And the best thing is I can only get faster and stronger. I’m still waiting for some new parts from Yamaha, so there is still plenty of room for improvement, also from Michelin. Everybody is working hard and I’m riding on a wave at the moment.

Andrea Dovizioso - 4th - 1:29.780, 90 laps:
This day has been very useful to give proper evaluation of all the materials we have for our technical package. Today we did a lot of work with Michelin, testing many, many different tyre and compound options. I’m very satisfied with my relationship with them. They have reacted so fast to my feedback, so I feel our relationship will grow together. With racing tyres my pace is pretty good, but in qualifying set-up with the softer tyres I’m still suffering a little vibration, which occurs when entering a corner under engine braking. This is complicating my efforts to get a fast time on qualifying tyres. In general the feeling with the bike is fantastic, but at the next test at Jerez we will work a lot to reduce the rear-wheel hop we are getting under braking. This will be our main target. Overall, we want to be more competitive as the level of competition is very high and I want to be out front with the leaders.

Colin Edwards - 5th - 1:29.795, 56 laps:
I did a long run to give Michelin some information to see what the tyres could handle. The 20 laps I did I was 20 seconds faster than in the race last year which is positive. This track is a little bit strange because you spend so much time on the side of the tyre trying to build up speed. And that’s where Michelin needs to concentrate their efforts so we can generate a little bit of speed. But I’m more motivated than ever because I can see my team and Yamaha working, but to see Michelin put in the same effort and work just as hard adds a lot of motivation. Everybody is working equally hard with me and for me. These guys are putting in the hard days at the moment and I’m really happy with my team. After these six days of testing in Sepang and Phillip Island I’m excited and I’m really looking forward to the first race in Qatar.

Chris Vermeulen - 6th - 1:30.216, 73 laps:
We have found some promising things with the bike today, but we still have some issues to sort out at Phillip Island – it certainly seems to be our bogey track! We tested so many options over the three days and tried different things from almost every angle - we’ve definitely found some direction to help us. Our lap-times were quicker than when we came here in November so that certainly means we’re moving forward. Everything that Suzuki is doing is definitely helping so that is also a very positive step. We tried some qualifiers and that went quite well, which for me personally is a very encouraging thing as that is certainly an area I need to improve in. We now head to Spain for the next test with the season getting closer, we are still scratching our heads on a few things, but I am sure will make further steps in the next few tests in time for the start of the season. It was tough here at Phillip Island but the improvements we have made here will help us at the tracks we are already strong at.

Alex De Angelis - 7th - 1:30.438, 91 laps:
Today I made many laps on my bike and even simulated a race: it was a tough session and one of the longest in my entire career, but in the end I managed to slightly improve my lap time from yesterday, which is positive. This shows we are competitive and I believe that, with Bridgestone helping us, we will soon be able to do better. I am aware there is a still lot of work to do, but I have proved to be a top rider already and this is a great satisfaction for me!

Shinya Nakano - 8th - 1:30.728, 89 laps:
Also today we have worked hard on different bike set-ups. The RC212V Honda bike is a very competitive machine and I believe we will be able to achieve good results during this year's championship. We concentrated on race simulation but tested qualifying tyres as well; we now expect to receive new material from Bridgestone and are confident in their total support.

Toni Elias – 9th - 1:30.966, 97 laps:
We have improved overall. We are not totally ready yet, but after three days of work we’ll go back to Europe happy of the results achieved. We have found the right way to follow and we must keep to work hard. In the first part of the day we worked on the chassis of the bike making some adjustments and at the end we found a good compromise. In the afternoon I also tried some qualifying tyres and I have to admit that I was pleased with how I felt on it.

Randy De Puniet - 10th - 1:30.978, 115 laps:
It was a hard day for me as I made 115 laps and tested many things. We continued our suspension set-up development on race tyres in combination with Michelin. Honestly my pace on those tyres is pretty fast and compared with yesterday my lap times have been more consistent today. However I still struggle on qualifiers as I miss rear grip. I know I can be faster on qualifiers so we will focus on it at Jerez de la Frontera in a few weeks. In Spain we will receive also the 2008 engine and I am looking forward to riding there.

Sylvain Guintoli – 11th - 1:30.983, 58 laps:
The day has begun in the right direction for us. After just a few laps I sensibly improved my best lap time obtained yesterday. We were really fast. We tried many tyres solutions and I found a front tyre which I really liked. Today we have taken a further step forward and we have to continue this way. In my best lap time with qualifying tyres I have done well, maybe I could push a bit more, but I preferred to don’t risk to make any sort of mistakes.

Marco Melandri - 12th - 1:31.377, 108 laps:
This final day has been particularly intense for me and my crew. We've continued to work on the balance of the bike and then did some tyre tests The front is okay but I'm having some grip issues on the rear. At the moment there isn't much difference between using a new tyre and an old one so we've got plenty of room for improvement in this area. In the afternoon I did a long run and even though the lap times weren't special we learnt a lot. We know what we need to go forward and what can give us better grip to improve our speed through the corners. We're on the right tracks and I'm sure that in the next test at Jerez we'll take another step forward. For now a bit of relaxing will do me good because the last two weeks have been really hard work.

Loris Capirossi - 13th - 1:31.508, 75 laps:
I had a tough day today and did struggle a bit. I nearly completed a long run but unfortunately that was red flagged and I didn’t quite finish what I wanted to do. We still have quite a bit of work to do at Phillip Island and I would have liked to have been further up the time sheets as I don’t think it is a good reflection of all the hard work the team did this week. We tested many new parts from Japan and some worked, but also some were not quite as good. We now go to Europe and I am sure we will be very competitive after what we have learned here in Australia.

Anthony West - 14th - 1:31.957, 107 laps
These last two weeks have been a tough introduction to pre-season testing for me. After the wrist operation in December, I knew I wasn't going to have the training time that I probably needed, but I was surprised at just how physically demanding I've found these two tests. And when you start to tire on the bike, it makes concentrating on the evaluation process with whatever component, setting or tyre you're testing all the more difficult. So yes, it's been hard, but it's also been really productive. We've spent a lot of time working on identifying a good base set-up on the bike, and we've definitely made some progress there, but there's still more work to do before the start of the season. Obviously, I'm disappointed that my lap times weren't what I was aiming for here in Phillip Island, but I'm sure they would have been better if I'd come here closer to full fitness. I just need to make sure I'm better prepared for the Jerez test, where I'll be aiming to get a lot closer to the top of the timesheet. If achieving this means moving into the local gym for the next two weeks then that's exactly what I'll do!

Phillip Island info

Circuit Record: Marco Melandri (Honda - 2005) 1'30.332
Best pole: Nicky Hayden (Honda - 2006) 1'29.020

Fastest lap GP 2007: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1'30.801
Pole 2007: Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'29.201

Unofficial lap times 01/02/2008
1. Casey STONER (Ducati) 1:28.777 (51)
2. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1:29.734 (102)
3. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 1:29.754 (89)
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 1:29.780 (90)
5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 1:29.795 (56)
6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 1:30.216 (73)
7. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 1:30.438 (91)
8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 1:30.728 (89)
9. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 1:30.966 (97)
10. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 1:30.978 (115)
11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 1:30.983 (58)
12. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 1:31.377 (108)
13. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 1:31.508 (75)
14. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 1:31.957 (107)

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