It’s way to early to say if Casey Stoner will be the one to take Jorge Lorenzo’s crown away in 2011, because testing is only testing, but the Aussie is already making a big, big impression and is probably scaring the crap out of his rival aliens on his second outing with the Honda.
More than four tenths of a gap on Jorge Lorenzo on the first day of testing is nothing to sneeze at, while his team mates have become testing mules, Stoner just got comfortable … and he still has a lot of room for improvement.
Alberto Puig’s worst nightmares certainly look like they may be coming true, while Ducati just might be having second thoughts on their expensive decision, that could land them with yellow egg on their red faces.
Casey Stoner – 1st – 2.
01.
574“Very positive day.
At the beginning it took some time to get used to the bike again, but I soon felt comfortable and we had a good day.
We didn’t change the set-up too much compared to the one we had in Valencia and I am please to see that even if the circuit is different, it still works pretty well here in Sepang.
We did some work later on with the engine braking to decrease some chattering and looks like we found a good solution.
In the next two days we will start testing something new but anyway for me, it was a very good way to come back on track after the winter break.
” Dani Pedrosa – 3rd – 2.
02.
02“I ‘m pretty happy with how things went today.
My priority was to see how I was on the bike after so long without riding and the feeling has been positive.
Obviously I still have less strength under braking and lack of stability in the shoulder with the direction changes, but the cramps have gone and this is very positive for me.
We have time to continue with my physical training and gain the strength that I need for when the season starts.
I honestly didn’t expect to do so many laps today.
I started with the 2010 bike to get the feeling back and because in the second half of the season our bike was competitive and we want to begin improving from there.
Then I tried a new swingarm and a new chassis, in the last two runs, and my best lap time has been with the new parts, so it’s also positive.
The plan for tomorrow is to test the new engine.
”Andrea Dovizioso – 8th – 2.
02.
507“I’m happy because this year we are starting from a very good base.
All Honda riders are very competitive so I’m confident and this is an extra boost for me.
Today we tested the new engine, it has more power in the low revs and this helps me with the line.
We also tested the new chassis and it has some positive and negative points and we need to understand it better.
We did a comparison work with the 2010 and 2011 fork, the stability in the front has improved but we must rectify some vibrations in the middle of the corner, together with work on the suspension.
I’m satisfied with the fact that it was easier to find the rhythm and with hard tyre I could lap consistently on 2.
02.
5.
I lapped at 2 tenths from the first riders when they were using the same tyre choosing not to use the soft tyre in the end because we focused on understanding the new machine.
”