Fantastic driving conditions gave way to downpours in the second day of pre-season testing at Jerez. Repsol’s Stoner and Pedrosa called it quits early on, while Ducati’s Nicky Hayden took advantage of a late dry spell to come out on top…
With rainfall hitting Southern Spain on day two of the second set of MotoGP testing at Jerez, many of the participants were able to ride briefly in the dry in the early hours before the heavens opened onto the asphalt below.
This, of course, gave the riders the chance to try out their wet tyres with Dani Pedrosa putting in 25 wet laps, the highest tally of the day. World Champion Casey Stoner, the top rider of day one of testing, took to the soggy track after Pedrosa and tried out the conditions in a brief three-lap ride, before deciding to call it a day and await better weather on Sunday.
"I decided to go out when it started raining properly because it's always good to get some information about the behaviour of the bike in wet conditions before the beginning of the season, and even more important with a new bike,” said Pedrosa. “Everything has been positive and smooth so far, so let's hope to close the pre-season with a good result".
"We realised that the weather conditions weren't really suitable for what we needed to work on today so we decided to wait for the heavier rain, which never appeared,” said Casey Stoner. “We went out briefly but realised it wasn't really wet enough to work on anything regarding wet set-up and there was no reason for us to stay out on track and ruin sets of tyres.”
Following Repsol’s early exit and with the track drying in the afternoon sun, Ducati’s Nicky Hayden was able to bring out the slick tyres and post the fastest time of the day.
“It’s a shame about the weather because I’d like to take advantage of as much time as possible to work on the bike, since I lost so much time in the past few months,” said Hayden. “Considering that the conditions weren’t perfect, it’s positive that we quickly come close to my best time from yesterday. Now we hope the weather will let us work well tomorrow, because we’d like to improve some details before Qatar, especially with traction in the fast corners.”
Unfortunately Hayden’s teammate Valentino Rossi was unable to take a final run with dry tyres, and as a result, didn’t improve upon the time that he’d set in the rain in the early afternoon.
“I’m sorry to have lost practically the entire day of testing,” said Rossi. “Even if we still did three exits with wet tyres and a wet setup, to confirm the feelings we had in similar conditions at the last test.”
Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham recorded the second fastest time of the day with Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies taking the third spot.
“It’s been a tough day but it’s been like that for everybody,” said Spies. “Today we just tested some wet set-up stuff. I was quite happy with that, we didn’t get on the track when it was in prime condition for wet but good enough.
Despite the dodgy weather, Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista crept up the testing ranking from seventh to fourth on the second day after getting the chance to complete his first laps on the Honda RC213V in the wet. It was a less positive day for Michele Pirro, who needs dry time and could only make use of the final thirty minutes of the session.
“It has been a similar day to the second test at Sepang in Malaysia but we at least managed to get some laps in the wet and the first impressions are good because I have confidence in the bike, so that's positive,” said Bautista.
Day two was far from a fruitful day for the Pramac Racing Team with Hèctor Barberà’s time on the track proving to be an especially frustrating affair.
"When I went out to try my Ducati riding with wet conditions, the track was already damp,” said the fifth fastest rider of the day. “We made some test to try the wet set up but, unfortunately, the weather changed quickly. The highlight spot was that today we spent our time to improve my confidence with these unexpected weather conditions.”
MotoGP Jerez test – Day two times
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 1'40.755
2. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 1'41.661
3. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'41.726
4. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 1'42.711
5. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 1'43.288
6. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 1'43.613
7. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 1'44.264
8. Michele Pirro (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'44.761
9. James Ellison (UK) Paul Bird Motorsport 1'44.969
10. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came Iodaracing Project 1'45.336
11. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1'47.968
12. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'49.822
13. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'50.088
14. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 1'51.127
15. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 1'51.702
16. Mattia Pasini (ITA) Speed Master 1'51.772
17. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 1'51.778
18. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 1'51.856
19. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 1'51.910
20. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Power Electronics Aspar 1'52.397
21. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Power Electronics Aspar 1'57.718
- Day one of MotoGP pre-season testing at Jerez
- Official MotoGP website
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