Sepang - Erste Testtage

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MotoGP Test Sepang Day 1

MotoGP Test Sepang, Malaysia
Day one of three-day test.
February 5, 2013

Weather: Hot and sunny
Track temperature: 38 degrees
Ambient temperature: 30 degrees

PEDROSA AND MARQUEZ OFF TO HOT STARTS IN MALAYSIA

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez began the 2013 MotoGP test season with impressive performances on the first of three days of testing at the Sepang Circuit outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Almost as impressive were second year Honda riders Stefan Bradl (Team LCR Honda MotoGP), a close fifth fastest, and Alvaro Bautista, the Spaniard now on the Go & Fun Honda Gresini RC213V.

Pedrosa led all comers by blazing to the fastest time on a day of moderate but still warm and humid weather, though the expected afternoon deluge never materialized. That allowed the 2012 MotoGP World Championship runner-up a full day’s testing and he made the most of it. On the same track where he won the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, Pedrosa clocked the fastest lap of the day, a time 2m, 1.157s, on the 48th of his 49 laps.

MotoGP rookie and Moto2 World Champion Marc Marquez was impressive in his third ride on the Repsol Honda RC213V, not only for his speed but also his durability. The young Spaniard completed
62 laps of the 5.548k circuit; his best time of 2m, 1.201s came on lap 60. Marquez admitted to being nervous having not ridden since a test here last November, but it didn’t show. He spent considerable time at the top of the charts and it took the best of two veterans, Pedrosa and world champion Jorge Lorenzo, to take him down to third, and then not by much; his time was only .044s off the benchmark set by Pedrosa. Such was the strength of his debut that it drew accolades from all of his senior rivals.

Bradl also put in a full day’s work thanks to what he considered optimal conditions. The 2011
Moto2 World Champion altered his training routine over the winter to improve his fitness. Today he was fast both early and late and on the pace to the very end. His fastest lap put him only .632s behind Pedrosa, which he put to both his fitness and the preparation of the team, which now had a year’s experience with the LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V. Bradl spent much of the day getting reacquainted with the speed of the Honda, while working with a variety of rear suspension settings. His goal for the 2013 season is to be better on used tyres near the end of the races and he began that process today.

Bautista was less than .2s behind Bradl in seventh place after his 59-lap day on the Go & Fun Gresini Honda RC213V. He attributed his early speed to the conditions and the work put in by the team on the setup of the suspension. With two more days of good weather, Bautista believes he can improve his racing package and continue to ascend the timing ladder.

Bryan Staring, 25, had a less successful day in his 2013 debut on the Go & Fun Honda Gresini CRT machine. The Australian MotoGP rookie fell at one point, denying himself and his team valuable setup time as he transitions from the FIM Superstock 1000 Championship. Staring has a steep learning curve-the FTR chassis, the Bridgestone tyres, the carbon brakes, the electronics-but he’s been a quick study in the past. Staring won three FIM Superstock 1000 races last year and also has three titles in his native Australia.

The test continues Wednesday and Thursday.

HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): 1st, 2m, 1.157s It's the first day back testing after the winter break. We've spent three months off the bike and the feeling from the first day testing is positive. The track was in good condition and we were able to put in a lot of laps at a good pace, thanks to it not being especially hot. I haven't ridden since the November test in Valencia, so today has been a first step to getting back on the pace. We didn't play about with the setup today, but we will move onto that in the remaining two days of testing.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC212V): 3rd, 2m, 1.201s I'm very happy with how the first day went, because you always have a few nerves after a couple of months out. I thought that I would take a little longer to get back 'on it', but right from the opening laps I felt very comfortable on the bike. We picked up confidence from the start, although obviously we can still improve. I don't think the result today should be used as a reference point, because we are all trying out new things. I focused on simply finding a good setup and getting comfortable on the bike. I tried to put in a good time so that the day's testing had a purpose.

Stefan Bradl (Team LCR Honda RC213V): 5th, 2m, 1.789s I am very satisfied about this first day of test.
The weather and the asphalt temperature were perfect and we could easily complete out test program. Thanks to my new winter training I feel more fit un these conditions and I found the guys very motivated and even more technically prepared. Actually, we started our 2013 campaign on a higher level. Today was mainly a test for myself, to get used to the bike again, recover the feeling, feel the throttle and the brakes after a long time off. We combined a lot if things from Öhlins suspension to swing-arm lengths and rear grip feeling. Doubtless there’s more work to do especially on used tyres: I must improve my riding style on used rubber to match my competitors pace during the races and we will focus on this point in the near future.

Alvaro Bautista (Go & Fun Honda Gresini): 7th, 2m, 1.981s Being back on track after the long winter break is always nice, but it's challenging because you have to take the right rhythm. Fortunately, the weather conditions here were helpful and it was a lot easier. We worked hard during the day on the setup of the suspension and at the end I was satisfied. Of course, there’s still so much work to do and we have planned for the remaining two days of testing. I'm glad to be back with my team and to have started a new season with them.

Bryan Staring (Go & Fun Honda Gresini): 27th, 2m, 07.044s I'm happy to have made my debut in MotoGP, but at the same time I feel sorry for the trivial fall that I had. Unfortunately, I touched the kerb in a corner, lost control and crashed to the ground.
Of course, the difference with the bike that I rode previously is significant, but mostly I'll try to adapt my driving style to the power of the Go & Fun Team Honda Gresini CRT. Today we did a good job during the 41 laps and I got on very well with members of the team. I realized that that might be very helpful for my growth in this challenging category.

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MotoGP Test Sepang Day 2

MotoGP Test Sepang, Malaysia
Day two of three-day test.
February 6, 2013

Weather: Hot, sunny, afternoon rain
Track temperature: 38 degrees
Ambient temperature: 30 degrees

PEDROSA AND MARQUEZ CONTINUE HOT STREAK IN MALAYSIA

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez finished the second day of testing in the same first and third positions where they'd ended day one, confirming the positive work the team had done over the winter and also confirming the status of Marquez as one of the elite riders in the MotoGP World Championship. Also having strong second days were Honda riders Stefan Bradl (Team LCR Honda MotoGP
RC213V) and Alvaro Bautista (Go & Fun Honda Gresini RC213V). Bradl started his day after noon and was quickly up to pace. His fifth lap was his fastest en route to the sixth fastest time. Bautista was fastest on lap 18 of 30, after which the expected afternoon rain and thunder arrived, putting an early end to the second of three days of testing.

Winner of the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, Pedrosa, 27, improved throughout the session to finish with a best lap of 2m, 0.549s on the 29th of 31 laps. The MotoGP World Championship runner-up spent his time continuing to work on the weight balance before the skies opened up. Still, he was able to lower his lap time from Tuesday by over half a second.

That set him up for Thursday's final day, when he plans to try the harder compound Bridgestone tyres while fine tuning his set-up.

MotoGP rookie and Moto2 World Champion Marc Marquez had another productive day on the Repsol Honda RC213V. Marquez, the youngest rider in MotoGP-he turns 20 on Feb. 17- lowered his time by .4s with his fast lap on the 20th of 27.

The team has slowly been acclimating Marquez to the electronics, which have proven him to be a quick study. Today he was able to dial in a little more traction control, which allowed him to further understand the behaviour of the Repsol Honda RC213V. What the team has discovered is that Marquez, like the rider he replaced, Casey Stoner, tends to use less electronics than most riders, instead relying on his innate feel for the motorcycle.

Bradl also cut his time by about .4s, while working on race settings.
The 23-year-old German arrived late to the track after a restless night, but quickly got down to business. His fifth lap was his fastest and he'd complete another 24 while working through rear suspension settings for most of the day. Bradl then completed a 15-lap endurance run before the rain interrupted his test program.

Bautista, 28 from Spain, was behind Bradl in seventh place with his best lap coming on the 18th of 30. Bautista put in a full day's work, mostly working on the geometry of the 2013 chassis, which is different than the 2012 Honda RC213V. The morning was spent on chassis setting and in the afternoon it was time to test the brakes.
The testing program included suspension work, but the afternoon rains washed out the latter part of the day, and, with it, forced the Go & Fun Honda Gresini team to alter their test schedule. The team saw the rain as an opportunity and Bautista was able to gather some data about wet weather performance, but the track wasn't universally wet, which compromised the data gathering.

The end result is that Bautista and his team have an ambitious final day of testing planned before they head back to Italy to prepare for the late-February second test here in Malaysia.

Australian Bryan Staring continued his learning curve aboard the Go & Fun Honda Gresini CRT machine, while slightly hobbled from his Tuesday crash The 25-year-old MotoGP rookie had a smoother day than he'd had a day earlier and put in 28 productive laps. Having a day's more familiarity with the FTR chassis, powered by a Honda CBR1000RR motor, Staring, like his fellow Honda riders, was able to lower his lap time while maintaining his position. His improvement was achieved from working on the geometry of the frame and comparing data from last year's Malaysian Grand Prix.

HRC test team riders Kosuke Akiyoshi and Takumi Takahashi also had productive days. Akiyoshi was 11th fastest among the 27 riders and the fastest of the test riders. Takahashi put in 38 laps and finished with the 20th fastest time while testing parts that may one day find their way onto the factory machines.

The first test of the 2013 concludes on Thursday afternoon

HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): 1st, 2m, 0.549s Today I was able to try some more things on the bike and we made a few positive steps forward from yesterday. The feeling is good, I'm happy and that's what's important. We had planned to try a few more things in the afternoon, like the hard compound tyres, but it started to rain early and we were unable to go out. We hope that it is good weather tomorrow so that we can try them out, as in the coming season it will be important to ride fast on that compound. We also hope to continue moving forward with our quest for the best bike setup.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC212V): 3rd, 2m, 0,803s I am happy because we improved our pace a lot and that is what our focus was for today. The final stints on track were more consistent, which helped us to obtain better data. Today I started to work a little with the electronics and we have a few ideas to put into practice tomorrow or in future tests. This is making me learn new things and I am little-by-little understanding the way the electronics behave on this bike.

Stefan Bradl (Team LCR Honda RC213V): 6th, 2m, 1.369s This morning I took the track later than the others due to some sleeping issues. Unfortunately, I could not sleep properly last night and I started my daily testing program a bit later, but it was still a productive day for us. Once I joined the track I could immediately set an acceptable lap time and we proceeded with our rear suspension settings for the major part of the day. After that we decided to go for a 15-lap long run to improve the average speed before the rain interrupted our TO DO list.

Alvaro Bautista (Go & Fun Honda Gresini): 7th, 2m, 1.729s It 's been a day during which we did a lot of work. We worked mainly on trying to improve the setting of yesterday, speaking of the geometry of the frame because this bike is very different compared to that of last year. In practice all morning we devoted to finding a better setting, but we could not find what I wanted. In the afternoon we tried new brakes that we were very satisfied with and when we planned to do some tests of suspension the rain came to ruin everything. However, we did some laps on a wet track, but the conditions were not optimal. Hopefully, tomorrow we have time to complete the work of this first test session of the year.

Bryan Staring (Go & Fun Honda Gresini): 27th, 2m, 6.898s Today I had a little pain from yesterday's crash, but after a few laps I was able to pick up the pace. With the engineers we worked on the geometry of the frame and we did some comparative tests on data from the last year. I am happy to work with them, because they are very professional and I have a great help. I also improved slightly my time from yesterday, but I think that to make a quantum leap we need another test session. However, I am convinced and determined to do well and be ready for the start of the championship.

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MotoGP Test Sepang Day 3

MotoGP Test Sepang, Malaysia
ay three of three-day test.
February 7, 2013

Weather: Hot, sunny
Track temperature: 51 degrees
Ambient temperature: 33 degrees

PEDROSA COMPLETES TESTING DOMINANCE

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) took top honors for the third consecutive day of MotoGP testing at the Sepang International Circuit, cementing his dominance and making him the early favorite for the 2013 MotoGP World Championship. Team-mate Marc Marquez finished his first three-day Sepang test with the fourth fastest time after having been third fastest on the first two days, and also after concluding a successful race simulation. And Honda riders Stefan Bradl (Team LCR Honda MotoGP) and Alvaro Bautista (Go & Fun Honda
Gresini) again finished with the sixth and seventh fastest times, as they'd done a day earlier.

The test marked the first time in his career that Pedrosa had swept to honours on all three days of of a test, though that wasn't his aim. His aim was to improve his Repsol Honda RC213V, which he did through a structured and efficient testing programme. Pedrosa diligently worked through a number of development issues on the second year 1000cc machine, with an emphasis on weight distribution.
By rule, the Repsol Honda RC213V weighs three kilograms more than it did last year and Pedrosa, who bore the brunt of the development work, was tasked with finding the optimal location for distributing the added weight.

He left the test satisfied and looking forward to returning in less than three weeks' time, when he hopes to test new Ohlins forks and shocks, clutch parts, and software settings.

The 19-year-old Marquez narrowly missed out on finishing third, the hypothetical front row, for the third day in row, though there was no shame in finishing fourth. Just ahead of him were two world champions, Valentino Rossi in third and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo in second.

Marquez showed dazzling speed in the first test of the new year, putting himself near the top of the order from the outset. The team studiously provided him with the tools needed to improve his efficiency on the Repsol Honda RC213V and he made the most of them.
He had a brief setback in the morning when he crashed for the first time in the MotoGP class, but he was unfazed and quickly got back up to speed. His fast lap of 2m, 0.636s came on the 32nd of 33 laps, at the 5.548km Malaysian circuit.

In the afternoon, Marquez did a simulated race, 20 laps at speed to learn how the motorcycle would react with a lighter fuel load and used tyres. The times were remarkably consistent, which is what Marquez and the team were looking for as they head into the season.

Stefan Bradl nearly dropped below the 2m, 1s mark, missing out by .003s. The second year MotoGP rider continued to adapt to the 2013 Team LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V, which is the same spec as that of the Repsol Honda riders. Three days of testing produced gradually diminishing lap times, which highlighted the progress of the young German. Now the team will digest the data collected to be ready when they return here at the end of the month.

Alvaro Bautista was half a second behind fellow Honda rider Bradl ending the test. Bautista's fastest lap came on the 29th of 48 laps at the end of a three lap run. He and his Go & Fun Honda Gresini team are the only ones using Showa suspension, which meant he spent the day doing short runs to evaluate the differences in suspension setup.
The work was made more difficult by scorching heat, the hottest of the three days, which made the track greasy and exacerbated chatter problems that most riders were suffering.

Bryan Staring (Go & Fun Honda Gresini) successfully concluded his first MotoGP test aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-powered FTR-framed CRT machine. The Australian admitted there was still much to learn, but added that the team had been instrumental in helping with what by necessity is a steep learning curve. Staring incrementally improved his times over the course of the test and fully expects to be more competitive when the next test commences.

HRC test team rider Kosuke Akiyoshi completed his test programme early, finishing with the 14th fastest time. Fellow test rider Takumi Takahashi was the 19th fastest rider after putting in 46 laps.

The Honda riders will return to Sepang in three weeks time, Feb.
26-28, to continue their off-season testing.

HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): 1st, 2m, 0.100s We can leave Sepang with a good feeling, because we had good lap times on all three days. We were able to put in a lot of laps and, above all, try out some important things with the engine and the bike weight to adjust to the three kilos more for this season - dictated by the new rules. Today we focused on rear tyres, in particular the new Bridgestone hard compound. It is similar to the old one with a little more grip in some areas, but it also creates more chatter. We finished the test well and hope to continue like this in the following ones.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC212V): 4th, 2m, 0.636s I am very happy with the results that we have had from these three days, above all because I gradually got more consistent with my times. This was what we were looking for from this test. Day by day we improved our times, but this is secondary, really. The important thing is that we made our first race simulation, which has helped me to understand the class and the bike better and his given us a lot of information for the next test. We also had a first crash, which luckily was fairly light. I lost the front on the brakes, but I was unhurt and the overall verdict on the test is still very positive.

Stefan Bradl (Team LCR Honda RC213V): 6th, 2m, 1.003s The result of these three days of work is quite good for me. I think we have completed our job gathering more data ahead the next test here. Even today I was working on a raft of things from traction control, to suspension and brakes and Bridgestone gave us a new rear hard tyre to test. At the end I run the circuit 43 times growing my confidence on this bike. There's more work to do before the first race of the season but we leave Sepang with a good base.

Alvaro Bautista (Go & Fun Honda Gresini): 7th, 2m, 1.502s The intense heat that we've had over the past few days ended up making it considerably harder work out on track. That didn't affect our schedule, however, and we continued with the job of setting up the Showa suspension. We are making progress, but we still have a lot of work to do and our aim remains to have everything ready for the season start in Qatar. We have gathered a lot of data that we will use at the next test here in Sepang at the end of the month.

Bryan Staring (Go & Fun Honda Gresini): 27th, 2m, 6.481s There is still a lot to learn, but I think that we are on the right track with the help of the guys on the team. They never put me in any difficulty and always have me trying out technical solutions, without distracting me too much from just adapting to this new style of riding. Sepang is definitely not the best circuit at which to make your debut, as it is so long and it is hard to learn all the lines.
In any case, I am motivated. Today I improved my time from yesterday and I am convinced that very soon I can be competitive.

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