The final official MotoGP test session of the 2010 season at the Brno circuit on Monday was cut short during the afternoon after rain showers hit the Czech circuit, but it was still points leader Jorge Lorenzo who hit the top of the timesheets.
The Spaniard who won his seventh race on Sunday, tested a slightly more powerful engine on his current M1 and the new Ohlin forks and in the afternoon did several laps on the new 2011 prototype as did the future factory rider Ben Spies, who worked with the new bike almost all day.
While Valentino Rossi, after the announcement of his move to Ducati, naturally did not get to test the new bike nor did he get to test the Ohlin forks, but worked on set-up issues that slowed him down on race day and he too tested the upgraded engine.
Honda’s Dani Pedrosa tested a new chassis and the new 2011 bike, but the Spaniard also crashed bruising his hand and chest.
Team mate Andrea Dovizioso also tested the new Öhlins along with new electronics adjustments and a new thumb activated rear brake.
Ducati’s Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden tried out new front forks and worked on set-ups.
Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli of Team Gresini worked on general set-up and suspensions and weight distribution.
Simoncelli had another harmless crash.
Rizla Suzuki had Loris Capirossi working on a modified chassis and a completely new one for 2011 different forks and aerodynamics and was helped by Alstare Suzuki rider Sylvain Guintoli.
Alvaro Bautista feeling a little better, was able to put in 24 laps on his GSV-R.
Randy de Puniet preferred to sit out the test, while Hiroshi Aoyama used the day as a fitness test after breaking his vertebra at Silverstone.
Rider Quotes:Jorge Lorenzo:“This was an important and interesting test for us, both for the rest of the season and looking towards next year.
We had a lot to do but unfortunately the rain forced us to stop early.
As well as the ‘new’ prototype machine for next year we also tried an engine upgrade and a new Ohlins suspension, but it’s too early to know if they will be better for our M1, which is already very competitive.
We got quite a lot of information though so hopefully it will help the engineers to improve things even more.
”Valentino Rossi:“I’m happier today because we worked hard to understand what happened during yesterday’s race and at the end we have a clearer picture.
We worked a lot on the setting and we found out some things, which we hope will be useful over the rest of the season and help us to have some more good races.
I tried a new engine for the 2010 bike and it’s not so different but there are some small things about it which I think can help; I hope we can use it soon.
” Casey Stoner:“We tried a new fork today and as far as we could tell the feeling is positive.
Unfortunately we were only able to get a couple of hours in this morning because immediately after lunch it started to rain and we couldn’t complete the test.
I hung about in the garage in case we got chance to go back out but the track stayed wet and there was no point.
Our impressions of the fork are good but really the day was a bit of a waste.
”Nicky Hayden:“We got out there this morning and got a few hours of testing in because we really needed it.
We had a few new settings we wanted to try as well as the new fork.
The feedback was positive but at the moment but we need more tests.
My hand was a little painful but honestly it wasn’t a major drama and I hope that with a week’s rest I can be fit for my home race.
” Dani Pedrosa:“This morning we started with our race set-up from yesterday and made some improvements to the rear grip which could help us in the upcoming races.
I had a crash with the race bike late in the morning and took an impact on my chest which might be painful tomorrow, but luckily I was able to get back on the bike this afternoon without any problems.
I tested an updated chassis and the initial results were positive, but I had only five laps on it before the rain ended the day for us.
We weren’t able to test the new Ohlins suspension which is a pity because these were new parts for next year, but overall it was a worthwhile test”.
Andrea Dovizioso:“Today we tested the new Ohlins front forks and shock for next year and we will take a look at the data collected from those runs to verify the results.
We also tested this year’s Ohlins components with modified settings, and the feeling was good so we’ll take those to the next race at Indianapolis.
We made some adjustments to the front set-up which has improved the stability.
Our plan was also to test some modifications to the electronic controls and we started this, but the rain interrupted us so we didn’t get through the full programme.
Still, we did some valuable work today which should help us at the upcoming races”.
Colin Edwards:“We made a change with the set-up for the race yesterday and I didn’t really have a good feeling with the bike, so we reverted back to the setting I was happy with on Saturday just to try and understand why I wasn’t able to run the same pace.
I’ve learned not to race the bike with a setting that we hadn’t tested but we thought it would be fine.
I tested some different front-end geometry to try and make more progress with the better turning performance we found earlier in the weekend and we’ve got some more ideas for the future.
I tried a new Bridgestone front and I was really happy with that so it was a good test.
Although I wasn’t happy with the result yesterday, I felt we made a breakthrough with the bike here and I’m really looking forward to challenging for my first top six finish of the season at the next race in Indianapolis.
”Ben Spies :“It was a good day.
I can’t say too much about the new bike and honestly I’m not sure exactly what I rode.
I just got on and rode what was given to me and I didn’t set any blistering lap times today but that was not the objective.
Today was all about giving feedback and getting some data on the new bike.
The good thing is that I was pretty much on the pace of the bike I’ve been riding since February and that is a big positive because we’ve got plenty of time to work on that bike.
We got lots of information so it was a productive day.
It was a good weekend with my first front row start and a strong fourth place in the race and after today I’m heading to Indianapolis for another home race full of confidence.
I love racing in front of my home fans and hopefully I’ll be able to get my best result of the season at Indy.
”Hector Barbera: “We tested the carbon swingarm as planned and the results were positive.
We’re going to give it the benefit of any doubt at the next race and run it from the start.
We did some back to back tests with the aluminium version in the afternoon and I was a second slower although it is hard to compare properly because we hardly did any laps before it rained.
My opinion is that the carbon version feels more stiff and gives you more stability in the faster corners, as well as in corner entry.
The aluminium version, on the other hand, is more consistent and performs virtually the same in any kind of corner.
I got a good feeling from the carbon one so if we can get the bike set up around it I think it could be good for us.
” Final Brno Test Times:1.
Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1′56.
2692.
Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1′56.
8443.
Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1′56.
9444.
Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1′57.
1295.
Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′57.
5126.
Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′57.
5757.
Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1′57.
6918.
Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′57.
7009.
Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1′57.
99110.
Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 1′58.
01711.
Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′58.
07012.
Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′58.
09113.
Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Green Team 1′58.
61214.
Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP 1′58.
83015.
Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Green Team 1′58.
92616.
Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′59.
454