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2007-11-07 Honda ends productive test on high note
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 The second and final day of MotoGP testing at the Valencia in Spain saw the Honda riders in attendance get down to serious work as they began preparations for the 2008 season. The Repsol Honda Team completed the first full day of testing with the new-for-2008 RC212V MotoGP machine. Team riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa worked hard with the 800cc V4 prototype Honda. The two men spent much of the day of tyre testing for Michelin using the 2007 machine with both riders setting times inside the lap record of 1m 32.748s set by Pedrosa on his way to victory in Sunday's Grand Prix of Valencia.
Both Hayden and Pedrosa completed marathon sessions over the day. Hayden spent most of his time on the new bike putting in 92 laps around the 4.005km circuit and finished second fastest with a lap of 1m 32.434s. Team-mate Pedrosa set a best time of 1m 32.718s in his 88 lap stint as he switched from the new machine to the 2007 machine making invaluable comparison test in his search for valuable data.
The Gresini Honda squad field two new riders in 2008 Japanese star Shinya Nakano and Italian Alex De Angelis. Both men ran with the 2007 RC212V Honda and both improved their times of yesterday. Nakano spent last year on the JiR Honda but is now using Bridgestone tyres on the 2008 Gresini Honda and has found the switch beneficial working mainly on the front end suspension with a variety of Bridgestone’s in a bid to find the ideal combination to suit his riding style.
De Angelis is making his MotoGP debut and the former 250cc championship campaigner needs to put in as many laps as possible on the big four-stroke in order to adjust to the increase in horsepower, speed and weight of the RC212V. The young Italian put in 84 laps on his first full day aboard the RC212V spending the morning on improving the rear end suspension settings before an afternoon trying to eradicate font wheel chatter.
LCR Honda have contracted Randy De Puniet for the 2008 season, his first for Honda, and the young Frenchman set third fastest time of the day – 0.3s faster than his best time in Sundays race, again aboard a 2007 machine. De Puniet worked on the front end of the RCV and spent a lot of his time testing for Michelin, his first year on the French suppliers rubber after racing with Bridgestone in 2007.
Andrea Dovizioso is another MotoGP debutante who will race for the new JiR – Scot Honda team in 2008. Vice World Champion in the 250cc class for the last two years Dovizioso makes no secret of the fact he does not like the Valencia circuit and adopted a step by step approach to testing at the track. The team worked on the front end settings of the machine raced by Shinya Nakano this season. Dovizioso is working hard to understand the engine braking and slipper clutch of the RC212V and the Michelin tyres he is using for the first time in his career..
The Honda teams now set off to Sepang, Malaysia for a three-day test beginning on Thursday November 15.
Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 32.434s - 92 laps
Today was pretty productive. We spent most of the day on the new machine and made some decent progress. We were focussed on trying to get the engine to run a little smoother at the top end and we've still got some work to do on that front. But it's early days and we've gathered some useful data that the HRC engineers can use to hopefully improve things before we test at Sepang next week. I really like the chassis which is more balanced than the old machine. Not so much weight pitches to the front under braking and it wheelies less too. Overall I'm pretty happy with how this first test has gone and we've definitely got a better base compared with this time last year. Today I also did a long run on the 2007 bike to get some comparison data and I was still a little faster on the old machine - by about half a second - so we need to try to close that gap when we get down to work this winter.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 32.718s - 88 laps
We've been testing a lot of things today and jumping from the old machine to the new one to gather comparison data. I think we've done a lot of useful work. One and a half days is not a lot of time to fully test a completely new machine but now we need to analyse the data we collected and come to some conclusions about the direction to take the machine. The feel of the new bike is quite different both in terms of the engine characteristics and the riding position. From the outside it looks bigger - and it is a bit bigger but it's still OK for me. I didn't focus on lap times today because the most important thing is getting familiar with the new bike and learning where we're going to develop it. Anyway the lap times are not so bad for the first test. We also tested tyres for Michelin today, mainly with the old bike because we have a lot of reference data for that bike.
Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 32.465s – 84 laps
I'm even happier today than I was yesterday when I tried the Honda RC212V and Michelin tyres for the first time. Using the same type of race tyre as Pedrosa I was 0.3s faster than my best on the Kawasaki in Sunday's race here. Today we worked on suspension, mainly the front forks, and trying front and rear tyres for Michelin. I was more comfortable with the handling today. We also reduced the traction control to give a little more power and we need to work more in this electronic area, there are still more options to try. My decision to move to LCR for 2008 is already paying dividends the team is like a family.
Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 1m 33.465s - 92 laps
I'm very satisfied of these two days of testing. My target was to get used to Bridgestone tyres and to know the team. This morning we focused on suspension set up and we worked with Bridgestone to find a front tyre that suits to my style. I'm very happy because the feeling with Bridgestone tyres is good and also the feeling with the mechanics. The Gresini squad is a top team and this gives me an extra motivation to do well, to work on me to improve my performance and to show that I'm back. Lap after lap the feeling with the bike and the pace improved. I look forward to next test session because I want to arrive ready for the start of the 2008 season.
Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 1m 34.060s - 84 laps
I'm happy of the RC212V, my target was to start studying the bike and make as much kilometres as possible. I completed 84 laps in total. This morning we worked on the rear suspension and the change worked well. My feeling improved and also my pace. In the afternoon we focused on the front chattering because it affects my way of riding a lot. We tested some different front tyres and got some interesting indications that will be useful for next test session. I like this bike, it's fun to drive. In particular I'm impressed by the electronics!.
Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Team Scot MotoGP: 1m 33.991s – 83 laps
Today we made some good progress and it has helped me understand many things. Today I was finding some of the limits of the bike for me, and areas where we need to improve in Malaysia. For me the engine braking and slipper clutch is something we need to look at and also my confidence in the front-end of the RC212V is not 100% so we also need to understand more about that. We tried many different things today, including some different suspension settings and front and rear race tyres from Michelin so we could understand more about riding here at Valencia. This test was only for me to get a ‘feel’ for this bike, and I think it’s been a success. I’m looking forward to Malaysia though, as I don’t like the circuit layout at Valencia so much and I think Malaysia will suit me better!
Unofficial Lap Times - Day 2
1. Stoner 1'32.095 (55 laps)
2. Hayden 1'32.434 (92)
3. De Puniet 1'32.625 (83)
4. Pedrosa 1'32.718 (88)
5. Vermeulen 1'32.979 (88)
6. Hopkins 1'33.058 (59)
7. Capirossi 1'33.163 (64)
8. Elias 1'33.294 (74)
9. Nakano 1'33.465 (92)
10. Guintoli 1'33. 571 (80)
11. Lorenzo 1'33.588 (69)
12. West 1'33.695 (99)
13. Melandri 1'33.835 (87)
14. Dovizioso 1'33.991 (82)
15. De Angelis 1'34.060 (84)
16. Aoki 1'35.043 (61)
17. Guareschi 1'35.840 (59)
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