 Sete Gibernau was the fastest rider on day two on Sepang MotoGP test aboard 2006 version of the Ducati Desmosedici. Ducati success was completed by Loris Capirossi, who was second fastest today. Most of the day riders had great weather conditions with ambient temperature around 30C, and track temperature of 43C, but at about 4pm test was interrupted by tropical rainstorm which hold riders of the track for the rest of the day.
Colin Edwards continued his progress on 2006 Yamaha YZR-M1 by setting 3rd fastest time, far in front of his team-mate Rossi, who finished day as 8th fastest. Repsol Honda riders, Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa were 4th and 5th fastest today, with Randy De Puniet being suprisingly fast and setting 6th fastest time. Teams will have one more day of test tomorrow.
Sete Gibernau (49 laps, best time of 2m01.66s)
Today we began to make the most of the work that we`re doing on suspension and engine set-up. The times that I set, but above all the pace that I did during the day, are good but I mustn`t get too excited! There are still lots of things that we can improve and we`re doing everything to get them done as quickly as possible. The team is doing a great job: Juan`s experience and mine are fitting in nicely with Ducati`s and we are getting a good base set-up with which we can work. It`s a pity that the rain interrupted the work we began with the tyres.
Loris Capirossi (45 laps, best time of 2m01.83s)
Despite the rain, today was positive. I started to lap with the GP6 and after a while we did another back-to-back test with the GP5 to check on a few things we had seen at Jerez. We had the confirmation that the GP6 is already at the level of last year`s bike but it has greater potential, so tomorrow we`ll concentrate only on the new bike. Hopefully tomorrow it won`t rain because we`ve got some new tyres to test.
Colin Edwards (2'02.00, 58 Laps)
Today went really well and I'm excited about the progress we're making already. Usually with a new bike you have to compromise in some areas to improve others, but it seems that with this bike they've improved it all over. Yamaha has done a really great job on it over the winter. The traction especially is much better. The crash yesterday has actually helped us to make progress and now we've found a setting that I really like. We've still got a tiny bit of chatter, but only in about three corners so we're not so worried and I am confident we can find a way to fix it.
Nicky Hayden 2m 02.02s. Laps completed: 65
Its been a pretty positive day. My outright speed wasnt really much better than yesterday but I was a lot more consistent today and my feeling on the bike was better. Weve been trying some different options on the chassis geometry to try and make the bike more stable under braking. And then we got into testing some Michelin tyre compounds, but rain cut us short. Its been awesome working with my new data-logging guy Ramon [Aurin] and hes been a big help for me. Weve got a lot of guys in here working hard and everyones behind me - well just keep chipping away.
Dani Pedrosa (Dry) 2m 02.26s. Laps completed: 47 / (Wet) 2m19.07s. Laps completed: 11
We are not making big changes to the bike. Today we re-tested all the things that we improved yesterday so that I get a good idea about how the Honda works and have a clear idea of what will happen when I push the bike. I feel tired, but less tired than yesterday so I am happy with this. Tomorrow if we have time we may try a race distance. In the wet the RC211V feels very different to the 250cc bike. The tyres are bigger and have more edge grip, but on the exit of corners it slides more. I need some more experience and I hope to have another rainy day before the season starts.
Unofficial lap times
1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati 2'01.50
2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2'01.80
3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'02.00
4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2'02.02
5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2'02.26
6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.40
6. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2'02.40
8. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda 2'02.57
9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'02.62
10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2'02.70
11. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2'03.26
12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki 2'03.43
13. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 2'03.80
14. Kenny Roberts (USA) Honda 2'04.10
15. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha 2'04.15
16. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati 2'04.49
17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati 2'06.06
Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 2'02.993
Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 2'01.731
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