2012 Brno MotoGP Test | Recap

2012 Brno MotoGP Testing Results

One day after the Czech Grand Prix, round 12 of 18 in the 2012 MotoGP Championship, the grid remained at Brno Monday for a one-day testing session.

During the MotoGP test, not only did the grid experiment with new parts, some also testing new prototypes, many potential MotoGP newcomers gained some experience, such as World Superbike’s Jonathan Rea, who will ride for the injured Casey Stoner aboard the Repsol Honda at upcoming races.

And leading the group was Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, who took his first-ever MotoGP podium Sunday at Brno, the Brit finishing third behind Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo and race-winner, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. At the Brno test, Crutchlow put in 47 laps, finishing ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso and Lorenzo.

Crutchlow was tasked with testing some small parts on his Yamaha, yet also focused heavily on race consistency. Apart from running out of fuel in the afternoon session, the Brit was happy with his day’s work.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “It was a good test and I was really pleased with my times. We did the whole morning and the first run of the afternoon on the same r ear tyre and it was an old one from qualifying on Saturday.

“I did a 56.9 on it, which is basically as fast as my race pace and it had 44 laps on it. We tried some different settings but the only problem I have with this bike now is we make some big changes but the lap time is the same, so you never know which direction to go in. In practice for the race on Friday I struggled with the hard tyre but today I tested it again and I was lot faster and consistent as well, so that was a big positive.

“We can leave Brno really happy because it has been a great weekend. I signed a new contract with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, got my best grid position, scored my first ever MotoGP podium and then set the fastest time at the test today. We can go to Misano in a positive frame of mind and I’m confident we will be challenging close to the front again.”

Crutchlow’s teammate Dovizioso, fastest in the morning, did not contest the afternoon session, as he was content with his work on front suspension and engine settings to enhance his mid-corner speed.

Andrea Dovizioso (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “It was a positive test today because we tried to understand if a different set-up could help give me more corner speed compared to the race, particularly in the middle of the corner. We found some positive and negative points with the changes we made so it was good to experiment with the set-up and we have found a direction to help me be faster in the middle of the corner.

“We tried something on the front but this didn’t make such a big difference, so it is clearer now that the im provements have to come from the rear to give me more speed in the middle of the corner. The grip was quite good but the wind was very strong and it was really difficult to do the lap time, so I am happy we made a small improvement and I’m looking forward to seeing how some of the changes we tried work at the next race in Misano.”

Lorenzo was first out on track in the morning with his current 2012 YZR-M1, before switching to a black-liveried 2013 prototype rolling-chassis, fitted with the current engine, shortly before the lunch break.

He did not go under his times from the previous weekend, and stated that he did not feel it had any improvements over his current package. Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg did however state there will be more upgrades to test next week when the team heads to Aragón.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “We tried the 2013 bike today, for the moment it’s a prototype so not the final one. The engineers will now take the data away to prepare for our next test. We also worked on braking which was where I struggled with Dani during yesterday’s race. We found something a bit better which should help us gain some tenths of a second.”

Lorenzo’s fastest lap was set on his current machine, while teammate Ben Spies, who was working on set-up issues with his bike, finished the day in seventh.

Pedrosa, testing new parts in his RC213V, was fourth quickest, yet will also have further upgrades to test at a test in Aragón next week.

Jonathan Rea, the Ten Kate Honda World SBK rider, who is set to substitute for the injured Stoner at the forthcoming races, was on a steep learning curve all day as he adjusted to the Australian’s bike and the Bridgestone tires, stating that the latter were the hardest part to adapt to. Having ended the morning session over five seconds off the front, he did extremely well to end the day in eighth, just over three seconds off the front. His time improved by over two seconds across the day, and he set his fastest time on the penultimate lap of the day.

LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, who finished the day in fifth, was seeking better rear grip and was testing a new front suspension and rear shocks. Behind him, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista was working on his Showa suspension, the only prototype Honda to be fitted with them, along with three Showa technicians, to analyse data, and resolve some of the handling issues he has been having.

Moto2 rider Julián Simón had his first outing on a MotoGP^TM bike on the second Avintia Blusens BQR-FTR of Yonny Hernandez, and did well to walk away unscathed from a heavy crash before the lunch break. Fellow intermediate-class rider Mike Di Meglio, riding Iván Silva’s machine, also got his first taste of the premier-class, sighting that the carbon brakes were the most difficult thing to get used to. Hernandez himself put in some work testing a new Öhlins front fork, finishing the day in ninth, while Silva went out briefly in the morning to reduce his bike’s chatter issues, ending the test in 10th.

San Carlo’s Michele Pirro put in numerous laps to improve the team’s FTR-Honda effort, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards was getting familiar with the ART machine of the Speed Master team. Edwards confirmed that he will be talking to his team boss Giovanni Cuzari about potentially switching to the ART for the next race in Misano.

MotoGP Safety Officer and ex-MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi, who had announced he would be testing numerous bikes, was initially out on track with Bautista’s RC213V, after which he tried Pirro’s machine, Edwards’ current Suter-BMW machine and the BQR-FTR. He stated that he was extremely happy with his first-ever ride of a Honda four-stroke, and commented that he was impressed with the high level of the CRTs and the developments Bridgestone have made since last year.

2012 Brno MotoGP Test Results: