When Ducati left the first Sepang test three weeks ago you could almost see the despair on Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden’s faces, despite the chin-up attitude they had and saying that they expected those type of results as they were testing discarded parts and the bike was basically the same old GP12, however this latest three-day test gave both riders a little more hope, as they had new frame components, new electronics and were able to test the ‘evo’ laboratory bike with a different weight distribution and centre of gravity that received the approval from both riders.
(However both riders were slower than Ducati’s 2012 Sepang test times with Rossi and Hayden) Dovizioso finished 8th and managed a lap time of 2’01’650 (he was only able to break the 2.
02 mark twice) but apparently it was enough to think that Ducati is heading in the right direction, even if turning continues to be an issue-“I’m quite happy with the work we’ve done here.
Yesterday we tried some rather radical changes to the setup and were able to understand something about the way for the future, while also improving my feeling,” said Dovizioso.
“I’m now able to brake harder and enter corners faster, although we’re still not quick enough in the middle of the corner.
My lap time is isn’t bad for the conditions we had today.
Pirro’s ‘laboratory’ bike had some positive points, but I couldn’t improve my lap time with it because the positioning and the power delivery were different than on my bike.
Anyway, we needed to understand better whether that bike is good or not, and it was positive, as it helps me with the final part of braking and the first part of corner entry.
I’m very happy with how we worked at this test, with how much we were able to improve from the last test, and with how much feedback we were able to give the engineers.
It will be interesting to go to Jerez for the last test and to Qatar for the first race because they’re all three completely different tracks, so we’ll be able understand more.
” Nicky Hayden ended up in 9th and one tenth slower than his yesterday’s best lap, but still 1.
5 seconds off pace from Dani Pedrosa even if in the the fully wet session this morning he was third and +0.
667s from Lorenzo who was the top rider in the first hour.
“I was faster yesterday, but that was partly because my feeling today wasn’t quite as good due to some things we were trying on the bike.
Overall though, I leave here more positive than after the first test.
We’ve seen some progress in terms of both the time and the consistency, and I had a better feeling with the bike and was able to improve a little more as the days went on.
We closed the gap a bit, and I had a much better feeling in the rain.
The turning is still the main area where we need to improve, but although we knew the beginning of the season was going to be tough, we have to stay focused and keep the course.
” said Hayden.