The first day of MotoGP Tests took place at Jerez today with the Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP Team confirming the progress they have made since their last test here in November.
Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri started today’s test from scratch, comparing their data from the November test with the set-up they had found at the MotoGP Test at Catalunya last week. The first conclusions are very positive for both riders.
Sete Gibernau didn’t complete as many laps as some of his rivals but his 56 circulations of the Spanish circuit were of high quality. His objective is still to prepare for the first race of the season and he again set a high rhythm. His best lap was a 1’41”397, almost a second and a half inside the circuit record set by Valentino Rossi last season (1’42”788).
Marco Melandri completed as much work as possible today, with rain forecast for tomorrow. The Italian youngster completed 96 laps with a consistent pace, setting a best lap of 1’41”626, over a second inside the circuit record. Marco wouldn’t mind wet weather tomorrow as he looks to gather even more information for the Honda machine he is riding for the first time this season.
SETE GIBERNAU (1’41”397, 56 laps):
“We’re still very focused on ourselves and the work we are doing is very precise. We’ve done a lot of tests today – we started with the setting we found here in November and then worked from the base we had at Montmeló. From there we worked out the best setting for this circuit. The team have done a great job comparing everything and tomorrow we have to keep making progress. I hope it doesn’t rain, so that we can complete our programme and on Sunday do a race simulation, as we have done at the other circuits. If it rains, I still don’t think it’s time to compare. We’ll see how the day pans out.”
MARCO MELANDRI (1’41”626, 96 laps):
“I’m really happy because I was keen to see how far I’d come since November, when I rode the Honda for the first time, and I’ve seen that we’ve made a lot of progress. My riding style has changed completely over these five months of preseason. We’ve tested a lot of different settings today with regard to the race set-up and I improved a lot from the morning to the afternoon. I did 96 laps and I was able to maintain a good pace over 15 laps. The forecast is for rain tomorrow and even though I don’t like riding in the wet I think it would be a good opportunity to gain some confidence with the bike in those conditions”.
LAP TIMES
- John Hopkins (USA/Suzuki) 1’40”893
- Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) 1’41”045
- Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’41“273
- Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) 1’41”397
- Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1’41”626
- Alex Barros (Bra/Honda) 1’41”637
- Makoto Tamada (Jap/Honda) 1’41”668
- Alex Hoffman (Ale/Kawasaki) 1’41”702
- Shinya Nakano (Jap/Kawasaki) 1’41“775
- Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 1’42“018