Stoner breaks Mugello circuit record

The Repsol Honda Team were back at the Mugello circuit this morning for the last test of the season with the 800cc RC212V.

All three riders tested a new swing arm and then followed their own testing schedules.

Casey Stoner was the first Repsol Honda rider to exit the garage, 15 minutes after the track was opened. The Australian rider who had a small crash in the morning session, completed forty-seven laps and set a new circuit record of 1'47.326 on his penultimate lap, seven tenths faster than his pole position time set here on Saturday. In addition to the swing arm, Casey tested a new Bridgestone front tire as well as some other smaller set up issues on his RC212V.

Andrea Dovizioso reached a good pace quickly. He completed sixty six laps and spent the day working on engine braking and testing the new swing arm.

The plan for Dani Pedrosa, considering the pain in his right shoulder and the fatigue accumulated over the race weekend, was to combine short rounds with long pauses in the garage to test new Ã-hlins rear shocks and other items more effectively. Dani left the circuit after twenty six laps with a positive feeling.

The next test for the Repsol Honda Team will be on August 15th in Brno, aboard the 1000cc 2012 Honda prototype.

CASEY STONER – 1st 1'47.326 (47 laps)

"This morning the track was very dirty and I had a small incident going into turn one, but nothing major. We had a few things to test here today, a new front tire from Bridgestone which wasn't so different to the one we are currently using, perhaps just a little more contact feeling so it could be a good direction they are working in. We tested a new swing arm and had positive feedback, we found more traction and some more grip delivered a little earlier so I don't need to pick up the bike so much, which could help us in a track like Sachsenring where you spend a lot of time on the edge. In general we didn't test so much, the bike was very similar to the race day set up, we also tried something small on the rear suspension and this was also a small step forward".