Irta Motogp Test Jerez, Spain

[Andy]

IRTA MotoGP test Jerez, Spain. First day of three-day test March 10, 2006

Pedrosa springs surprise on opening day of IRTA test at Jerez

The final pre-season MotoGP test got underway in bright sunshine at the 4.423 km Jerez circuit in the south of Spain. Three-days of intense testing for the MotoGP teams prepare the 990cc four-stroke grand prix machines they will race in the 17-round World Championship that opens at the same Jerez circuit on march 26.

Repsol Honda factory team rider Dani Pedrosa was the fastest Honda rider on the opening day of the test with fourth place, and also the fastest Michelin equipped machine on the day. Spaniard Pedrosa, the reigning double 250cc World Champion, was riding a MotoGP machine at Jerez for the very first time and worked step by step to set up the big five-cylinder 990cc grand prix machine for the demanding Andalusian track before setting fast times.

Nicky Hayden, on the latest version of the Repsol Honda RC211V put in a mammoth 108-lap stint as he worked his way through an extensive opening day test programme. Hayden was pleased with the improvements made to the front end of his RCV and tomorrow he will concentrate on finding more rear wheel traction.

Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda) worked to find a good base setting for his RCV at Jerez spending time on total machine balance for his RCV before moving on to analysing various suspension alternatives available to him.

Melandri's Fortuna Honda team-mate, Spaniard Toni Elias worked on a range of suspension and tyre combinations for his RCV getting faster as the day wore on. Once he had found the best combination for the conditions he settled into a fast consistent rhythm and ended the day with fifth fastest time.

Konica Minolta Honda rider Makoto Tamada and his team worked hard on rear suspension settings riding exclusively with the new Michelin rear tyre searching for better mid-corner speed. The popular Japanese had been the fastest Honda rider on track but after he slid off his RCV in late afternoon he called it a day.

Team Roberts started the Jerez test running the KR211V Honda powered KR rolling chassis in the same specification as on the last day of the Catalunya test. The team comparing data from one circuit to the other as they build up a solid data-base of information on the all-new GP machine they will bring to the line on the opening day of the season.

Honda rider Lap times and quotes.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda:1m 41.984s - 108 laps. "We came out today and got on the pace pretty quick which I was happy about. We've got the front of the bike working a bit better but it's still spinning a bit at the back so we didn't quite get down to the lap time we'd hoped for. We got into to the low 1m 42s but we just couldn't jump down to the 1m 41s which is where I really wanted to be to take a big step. We're just searching for a bit of traction. Tonight we'll put our heads together and see if we can make a bigger step tomorrow."

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 41.499s - 96 laps. "This is another new track for me on this bike so we started little-by-little in the morning. Until noon we were just playing with the bike - the seating position, handlebars and footpegs. Then in the afternoon we started tyre testing for Michelin. The results were good today, though we haven't finished and we have to do more laps and further improve the set-up of the bike."

Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager "It's perfect weather for testing today and we got along very well with today's test menu. We had tested a lot of things in the past few tests so we analysed a lot of data and narrowed the set-up menu down to one direction for the up-coming race here. Both Nicky and Dani worked hard today. Nicky did a lot of laps and I know we need more work tomorrow to get the right set-up. Dani showed good progress here with the quickest time of the Michelin runners. We're getting closer to the top time but still have much work to meet our target."

Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 1m 42.106s - 88 laps."The bike has improved compared to last week test. Today we worked mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and tyre testing. We tested many different solution in order to understand the behaviour of the bike and to collect as many data as possible that will be extremely useful in order to create the best base for the first race of the championship that will take place in two weeks on this track."

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 41.680s - 95 laps. "Today we started adapting to the technical characteristics of the Andalusian track the best base of last week test. We worked mainly with suspensions and we did tyre testing. I found myself comfortable and so I could improve my pace, lapping in the end with a rhythm of 1'41"high. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set up of the bike and we will work together with the Michelin techs. I 'm confident to able to do another step forward."

Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.558s - 69 laps."Today we could carry out a very important day of testing apart from my fall at the end of the day. For a long time I have been the fastest Honda rider but it gives me no satisfaction because even here, as in Catalunya, the gap from the first positions is remarkable. We still have to work before I find a good feeling with my new bike, especially in the central part of the corner. In this phase, the behaviour is not as natural as I would and I think this is the reason of my slip."

Giulio Bernardelle - Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director "We have deeply verified the setting of the bike rear suspension and set-up starting from the basic solution we defined in Sepang. The telemetry data analysis showed that Makoto is fastest than last year in some parts of the track while we loose too much in the sections where riding is demanding, as we are not still able to easily cover the ideal line. In other words, Tamada is still obliged to force intensely the bike and this prevents him to be constantly efficacious. Tomorrow and Sunday we should have all the time to solve this problem."

Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 1m 42.33s - 82 laps. "Basically we used the same chassis we ran at Catalunya all day today running through a bunch of stuff and got better as the day went on. We are pretty close on the chassis now so tomorrow we can move forward with other things we need to work at."

[Andy]

MotoGP pre-season testing came to a close when the teams and riders ended

their three-day IRTA test at Jerez today. The next time they fire up their

990cc four-stroke grand prix machines it will mark the start of the

17-round world championship which opens on the same 4.423 km Jerez circuit

on March 26.

Honda fields its youngest ever senior class line up for a championship

campaign this year. The six RCV riders have a good balance between youth

and experience averaging 23 years of age, with Dani Pedrosa and Casey

Stoner the youngest at 20, Makoto Tamada the elder statesman at 29. Nicky

Hayden 24, Marco Melandri 23, and Toni Elias, a 24 year old complete the

line up.

In addition Team Roberts have chosen Honda power for their all-new for the

2006 season KR211V. The RCV engine housed in a Team Roberts built rolling

chassis. Kenny Roberts Jnr will race the machine he has helped develop

since the drawing board stage.

On the last day of the three-day test the Repsol Honda pairing of Dani

Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden set the pace for their fellow RC211V riders to

chase. Pedrosa ended the day with a flourish setting fourth fastest time of

the day, Hayden a tenth of a second behind in sixth.

Both riders worked hard on race simulations using the latest Michelin

rubber. While Hayden feels he improved the rear end of his all-new 2006

factory machine he hopes for more feeling from the machine at the grand prix.

MotoGP debutante Pedrosa is on a fast learning curve but ends winter

testing in better shape than he could have hoped for. The young Spaniard

has improved each time out on the 240 hp plus RC211V but the real test

comes when he returns to Jerez to race.

Fortuna Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias emerged from the final

day of testing in confident mood. Both men spent the day tyre testing

running a series of tests on 2006 race rubber. Melandri set his fastest

time of the day on lap 12 of a 15-lap session on race tyres. While Elias

worked his way through an intensive tyre testing programme ending the day

more as one with his RCV than at any time during winter testing.

Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda) ended the day faster than yesterday

but the gritty Japanese rider is still searching for the optimum base

setting for his RCV. He is still trying to eliminate the chatter problems

he ran into yesterday.

Kenny Roberts Jnr ended the test with fifth fastest time aboard the KR211V.

Roberts spent the day gathering as much data as possible for the team

before they return to their UK base to decide upon the next phase of

chassis development.

Honda rider Lap times and quotes.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.570s - 109 laps."Well all the testing's

all over and now it's time for the real deal. Next time we get on the bikes

it'll be showtime. I'd like to say we're right there and everything's all

gravy but the truth is still couldn't quite get the bike to stay in line

and get hooked up as good as we wanted. We've made some progress today and

at the end we put on some soft tyres, not qualifiers, just to see what it

would do and that definitely helped my lap time a lot. And I did a full

race run to get a feeling but I it was hard to maintain the pace.

Nonetheless, I'm excited to go racing. Testing's cool but going toe-to-toe

with the boys is the fun part!."

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.416s - 81 laps. "It's been a very good

pre-season for me because each time on the bike I've been able to improve

step-by-step. I did a lot of laps over the winter and this is very useful

to get to know the bike because the step up from the 250 to MotoGP is much

bigger than the step from 125 to 250. Physically I'm getting stronger and

this will continue throughout the year. I'm starting to understand how the

tyres work, though I need more experience with the electronics, on race

starts and qualification tyres. I don't know if I'm ready for round one -

we'll have to wait and see!"

Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager. "We have worked through a

demanding menu of testing here, in readiness for the up-coming Spanish GP.

Both Nicky and Dani have done lots of laps. Thanks to all of our staff,

they all worked very hard during this pre-season test schedule. Dani showed

very good progress today, especially with his consistency during the long

run with race tyres. Dani made good progress, more than what we hoped, so

we are very much looking forward to the opening race. We are the quickest

Michelin runner throughout three days of testing here and Nicky showed good

speed and he gave us the top two times of the Michelin runners. But Nicky

hasn't got the perfect set-up yet and we still have a lot of work to do to

improve his machine for the race. We have some positive feeling from a good

race tyre pace but still need more hard work. We'll do our best to ensure a

good race here in Jerez."

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 40.753s - 101 laps. "Today we concluded our

pre-season testing plans. My evaluation of the work done by all the team is

very positive, in that respect I'm very satisfied. We have improved

steadily which has allowed us to lap faster and also helped me feel more

comfortable on the bike, which I think is the most important thing. I must

thank Michelin for all the work they have done. I can't wait to race here

at Jerez in front of these great fans