Strong finish for the Repsol Honda Team in Sepang

The Repsol Honda team leave the Sepang circuit satisfied with a job well done and 1-2 atop the charts.

Casey Stoner set the fastest time of the day with a flying lap of 2'00.473 and team mate Dani Pedrosa recorded the second fastest time with a lap of 2'00.648, just 0.175 from Stoner.

Despite missing yesterday, the two Repsol Honda riders have been able to complete their testing program planned for Malaysia. Casey and Dani spent the test working on their RC213V chassis', focusing on reducing the chattering and both reported a slight improvement.

The next test will be at the Jerez circuit at the end of March, a different track where they will be able to fine tune their machine in preparation for the first race in Qatar on April 8.

CASEY STONER 1st 2'00.473

"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 2nd 2'00.648

"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".

Testing Results

Pos Rider Time Nat Bike Team
1 Casey Stoner 2'00.473 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Dani Pedrosa 2'00.648 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Andrea Dovizioso 2'00.802 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4 Jorge Lorenzo 2'00.877 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
5 Cal Crutchlow 2'00.986 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6 Hector Barbera 2'01.231 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
7 Alvaro Bautista 2'01.275 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
8 Ben Spies 2'01.432 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
9 Stefan Bradl 2'01.492 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
10 Valentino Rossi 2'01.550 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
11 Nicky Hayden 2'01.609 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
12 Franco Battaini 2'03.490 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
13 Colin Edwards 2'03.681 USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing
14 Yonny Hernandez 2'06.632 COL BQR-FTR BQR
15 Ivan Silva 2'06.785 SPA BQR-FTR BQR