2012 MotoGP Tests
Although the Repsol Honda duo of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa only rode two out of three days during the Sepang II MotoGP tests due to rainstorms, when the test concluded Thursday they held the top spots.
Stoner would finish the MotoGP testing sessions with a quickest lap of 2:00.473, with teammate Pedrosa finishing 0.175 behind. Throughout Thursday, the two MotoGP pilots improved the RC213V’s chassis, attempting to reduce chatter.
Attached above is a video highlighting Stoner’s and Pedrosa’s performance Thursday. The final pre-season test of 2012 MotoGP occurs at Jerez March 23-25 ahead of the season opener at Qatar April 8.
Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V MotoGP, 2:00.473, 34 laps) says: “Again we’ve been unable to profit from the full three days of the test here in Sepang, the first day we only manages about 16 laps before the rain came and then yesterday we weren’t able to get out at all.
“So today it’s been good to have some nice weather, get out on track and find some different solutions on the bike, we’ve been trying a few different things with electronics to have the engine character the same way we like it.
“We’ve also tried shortening the wheelbase, aiming to reduce the chattering and we’ve been successful in decreasing it slightly but at the moment we’re unable to eliminate it completely, so we still have quite a lot of work to do. The chassis balance feels good as does the traction on the bike, it’s turning well but we really need to get rid of the chatter, in general we are happy with the bike.”
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V MotoGP, 2:00.648, 40 laps) says: “In general we’ve been working a lot on the chassis at this test, to find the best compromise. We tried different ideas and set ups and we leave quite happy with the feelings.
“This is a very specific track, so it’s important to have clear ideas for the future. We also made some progress on the braking and the chassis feels a little better because we have a less chatter compared to the first test.
“We need to keep improving on entry and middle of the corner, but I think that we can expect improvements when we start to work more in depth with the engine and the electronics, which we will do in the Jerez test. Today I also used a different screen to be more comfortable on the straight which felt better.”