That Marco Simoncelli is fast is now a foregone fact, the Gresini rider set the best lap time during yesterday’s testing at Estoril and he was also a little more than 0.
7 seconds faster that Dani Pedrosa’s best race lap and he also neared the Jorge Lorenzo’s 2008 lap record at this circuit (done on Michelin’s super qualifying tires) but this could be due to the fact that Bridgestone brought in new tire specs to test, the track was finally well rubbered and the bushy haired Italian was testing new clutch settings.
“I’m obviously satisfied after this test but also angry because we showed one time more that yesterday we could have ridden with the first group,” said Simoncelli “We tried something new that could definitely help us in the future and the new Bridgestone tyre for 2012, and I’m quite happy with that too.
”Jorge Lorenzo took the second fastest time and was the rider who put in more laps than anyone else, a massive 91 testing on new electronic components and working on suspensions, while team mate Ben Spies who had a horrid race finished 7th in the test.
“I’m very happy with the test we have done today.
Before I was not feeling as safe and as comfortable going into corners as I did last year and in 2009.
Now we have found something with the chassis set up that works much better so I feel comfortable again.
I think we can be faster with the corners now so I am looking forward to going to France to keep fighting for more podiums,” said Lorenzo.
“It’s been a decent day of testing for us after what happened yesterday.
We started over today and I’ve been happy with the sessions,” said Spies.
“We learned something later on this afternoon which I think is really going to benefit us in Le Mans that we haven’t been able to try before now.
There was a good lap time improvement today, I did the best I could with what I had so I’m looking forward to Le Mans to start fresh.
”Casey Stoner who had some back problems on Sunday was relieved to find that he had fewer issues with it as testing continued and concentrated on a new front fork, clutch and tires.
“We haven’t had a lot to test, there aren’t really any new parts, we tried a different system on the clutch which was fine but not actually improving on what we have.
We tried a few Bridgestone tyres with a new construction and compound, they were definitely an improvement especially on the left side, so that went well.
We tested the new 2011 fork and everything worked well with them, last time we tried them we had some issues with chattering but we seem to have fixed that now.
This is a big improvement as these forks work better on the bumps and on the brakes so hopefully we can continue to use them in the future.
The beginning of the day my back was really sore and difficult to ride with but then it eased a little as the day progressed, so I hope it continues to get better”.
Sunday’s hero of the race Dani Pedrosa was only 10th, as he cutting testing short after his muscles seized up.
“The shoulder is a bit better than last night thanks to some muscle relaxing tablets I took, but I’ve still got a lot of pain.
I did a few laps with the bike I used yesterday for the race, but I saw immediately that I wouldn’t be able to do the full program today.
I tried one modified clutch looking to reduce the hopping, the bumping on the rear we have when we release the clutch.
It’s a shame not be able to profit from this test because we wanted to also try the new 2011 front fork and rear shock to get more traction, but I was unable to do it.
Now, the plan before Le Mans race is to rest as much as I can for three or four days, trying to recover.
Then I must check what is the best technique to relax the muscles, because it would be good to arrive in Le Mans in good shape and not so tense”.
Valentino Rossi (5th) and Nicky Hayden (9th), the positions they also finished the race in, finally had the chance to test what the test team brought in from the out at Mugello last week, while things seemed to look better, the two Ducati rider were still far away from the front runners and still playing catch up.
“It was a positive test because the new updates were immediately better,” said Rossi.
“The bike was more sensitive to changes made to the front, which makes it easier to work on a setup that works better for me.
I realized that as soon as I got on the bike and then, over the course of the following hours, we constantly progressed.
We also had an engine with a slightly smoother power delivery that I liked a lot.
We’ll start using it when the rotation plan allows it.
I liked the tyres that Bridgestone had us try, they seemed very good.
Of course the other riders also made great progress, and the less positive about today is the gap to the front on my best lap.
Anyway, everything that the Ducati technicians brought worked, and that means that we’re on the right path.
We have to continue working, but today’s test gives us confidence.
” “We were lucky to get a really good day with the weather,” declared Hayden.
“We improved, because I consistently went a lot faster than in qualifying, but it looked like everybody else improved too.
I did my best time on the 2012 tyres, so Bridgestone made a nice step there.
I got on the updated chassis after lunch, and it had a better feel over some of the bumps, and still good stability under braking.
The updated engine made the bike a little smoother, and I liked it overall.
”MotoGP Estoril Test times at 01- Marco Simoncelli – San Carlo Honda Gresini – Honda RC212V – 1’36.
21102- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing Team – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.
10503- Casey Stoner – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V – + 0.
39104- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.
63905- Valentino Rossi – Ducati Marlboro Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP11 – + 1.
17106- Colin Edwards – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.
19907- Ben Spies – Yamaha Factory Racing Team – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.
21008- Andrea Dovizioso – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V – + 1.
24909- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Marlboro Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP11 – + 1.
25210- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V – + 1.
46811- Hiroshi Aoyama – San Carlo Honda Gresini – Honda RC212V – + 1.
82112- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – Ducati Desmosedici GP11 – + 1.
87613- Toni Elias – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC212V – + 2.
20114- Loris Capirossi – Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP11 – + 2.
42215- Nobuatsu Aoki – Rizla Suzuki MotoGP – Suzuki GSV-R – + 2.
639