2012 Sepang I MotoGP Test
Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden continued progress on the Ducati GP12 Wednesday during the second day of MotoGP testing at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.
Rossi worked with Filippo Preziosi throughout the day, and completed 44 laps. The nine-time World Champion of Italy posted the seventh quickest time of 2:01.886, which was 0.991 behind the leader, Casey Stoner (Respol Honda.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: "It was another positive day, both because we achieved our goal of lapping at 2:01 and because we managed to make further progress with the bike’s setup. On the other hand, as is normal with a brand-new bike like the GP12, as we progress with our tests we also find other details that can’t be addressed with setup alone and that will therefore have to be perfected in the coming weeks.
"We had already identified those areas yesterday, acceleration and electronics, and we confirmed the progress made with the front end. Honda and Yamaha have been working on their bikes for a year, while we’ve just had two days, which makes our job particularly challenging, but we already knew that as well.
"Tomorrow will be important as well because we’ll be able to make an overall assessment of the three days, and we’ll have a clearer idea of where we stand compared to the others. If we manage to stay under one second from the top, I’ll be happy."
As for Hayden, he had pain in his left shoulder, which he injured while practicing on a flat track in Kentucky, and only completed 16 laps. Once Hayden was off the track, Ducati test rider Franco Battaini took over the controls, allowing the team to complete the work planned on the GP12.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: "I was okay when I first went out this morning, and on my second lap I managed to make a pretty decent step from yesterday. After that I lost strength in the shoulder and wasn’t really able to ride fast or consistently enough to test much.
"I’m okay under braking because I can lock my shoulder out, but when the bike shakes I don’t have enough strength to hold on. I didn’t want to crash and cause bigger problems, so I just decided to chill out. It’s a bit of a bummer, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
"They’ve done a great job with the new bike, and you can see just from looking at it that it’s really slick. I just wish I could ride it closer to the edge and really see what it does and how it reacts to changes. Maybe I’ll do a few more exits tomorrow, but that’s about it."
The Ducati Duo of Rossi and Hayden will be back on Sepang Thursday for the final day of testing.
