Repsol Honda trio Stoner, Pedrosa and Dovizioso pleased with Estoril testing – MotoGP news
The Repsol Honda team hit the track of Estoril on Monday, with its three-rider squad comprising of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso continuing the development of the fast RCV.
The test was held on the following day of the 2011 MotoGP bwin Grande Premio de Portugal.
Repsol Honda have scored two victories, one at the season opener round of Qatar Grand Prix with Casey Stoner and the other at third round of Portuguese Grand Prix with Dani Pedrosa. Andrea Dovizioso is yet not able to get any podium finish in the 2011 season.
Casey Stoner suffered a back-muscle lock problem during the bwin Grande Premio de Portugal race. His back was stuck for some laps in the race, but somehow he became relaxed and continued the race with no one near behind the Aussie.
While recovering from his backache, he tested the new 2011 Ohlins front suspension fork with variable hydraulic settings. His testing also included the new clutch and two new different compound tyres from Bridgestone. Casey Stoner was third fastest on the
time sheet with best lap time of 1:36.602 seconds.
Stoner said, “We haven't had a lot to test, there aren't really any new parts, and we tried a different system on the clutch which was fine but not actually improving on what we have.”
The new Ohlins forks work very well as compared to the 2010 model which caused a little problem of chattering. The improved set is better to absorb the bumps and in the braking section, which is an option to use in the season.
Dani Pedrosa was the man of pure strategy, which gave him the victory at Estoril. He hung on the tail of Lorenzo until the last fourth lap where he blazed ahead of the reigning world champion.
Due to the reviving pain in his shoulder, the Spaniard chose to run only 17 laps during Monday’s test session. Pedrosa completed few laps with a modified clutch and tested the new compound Bridgestone tyres. He was tenth fastest with best time of 1:37.679
seconds on the clock.
Pedrosa said, “The shoulder is a bit better than last night thanks to some muscle relaxing tablets I took, but I've still got a lot of pain. I did a few laps with the bike I used yesterday for the race, but I saw immediately that I wouldn't be able to do
the full program today.”
The bike was tested with a modified clutch to reduce the hopping while launching the RCV. Pedrosa was not happy to miss the test day, because his team was also set to test the new Ohlins front fork and rear shock absorber for better traction, but his health
conditions did not allow it. Now the Spaniard will rest for couple of days and set a technique to relax muscles during the race.
Andrea Dovizioso also tested the same components as front forks and new Bridgestone tyres of different compounds. The Italian was on the neck of Rossi during the Sunday’s race but the last lap was totally breathtaking when he passed his compatriot to score
the fourth place and dropped Rossi to fifth position. Dovizioso was eighth fastest on the time sheet with 1:37.460 seconds.
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