Pedrosa and Dovizioso leave Sepang happy

A constructive test in Malaysia sees Repsol Honda’s two riders make positive statements about their respective experiences.
Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso were in good spirits following the conclusion of the first 2010 MotoGP test on Friday, with each rider highly satisfied with what had been achieved.

Pedrosa finished the second and final day of the test as the fourth quickest rider on board the RC212V, which he rode with Öhlins suspension. The Spaniard also took advantage of the rain in the morning to test his new machine, with its enhanced electronic package.

“We got through a lot more testing today and I can say that we improved significantly - and that’s important in terms of finding a good direction to follow,” said Pedrosa, whose best lap was 2’01.822. “We were working mainly on the rear suspension and we’ve managed to collect a lot of data that should help us for the next test here in two weeks’ time. We were also testing swingarms and at the end of the day I could feel the improvements, and so I’m happy about that.”

He continued: “Yesterday (Thursday) it took me longer to get into a rhythm on the machine because it was the first day back in the saddle, but today it was much better - though I’m not at 100% yet. To have the second test here in just two weeks is really good for us. I haven’t asked for new parts because me and the team think it’s better to analyse what we’ve found here and focus on that. I’m going home satisfied.”

Dovizioso continued the detailed testing programme designed to configure the settings for this year’s factory machine, focusing predominantly on suspension set-up. The Italian reported that the electronics have improved many areas of the RC212V’s dynamic performance.

“I leave Sepang feeling positive and I’m confident for the next test because we have clear ideas about the direction we have to follow,” said Dovizioso, who timed his best lap at 2’02.272. “Today we worked on the suspension and tested some set-up options - with positive results. I’m happy because, thanks to the electronics, the package has improved in all aspects - but there is still a job to do.”

He added: “In particular we need to take another step forward regarding the balance. I’m confident that we can work on this at next test session here in Sepang. Today we were always running on hard tyres and we didn’t look for ultimate lap times. I think the next Sepang test will be more indicative about our true pace.”(motogp)

Donington Park MotoGP Result

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Gap
1 25 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda
2 20 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1.360
3 16 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1.600
4 13 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 8.958
5 11 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 21.622
6 10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 22.465
7 9 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 35.284
8 8 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 38.769
9 7 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 42.112
10 6 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 45.845
11 5 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 53.190
12 4 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'12.315
13 3 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'20.398
14 2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1 Lap
15 1 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1 Lap


DNF
99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 22 Lap
24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 23 Lap

Raines’ forecast: MotoGP Expert Eye predicts Pedrosa victory

Official MotoGP statistician Dr. Martin Raines expects Dani Pedrosa to take the holeshot and run to victory at the British Grand Prix on Sunday.

Although World Champion and poleman Valentino Rossi has a good record at Donington, MotoGP expert Dr. Martin Raines believes it will be Dani Pedrosa who crosses the line first at the end of Sunday’s final premier class race at Donington Park.

Raines can name any number of Donington racewinners from the history of the World Championship, but his prediction for the future shows Pedrosa as the top man for the final event at the track. His list of picks indicates Rossi and his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo in a battle for second place, with Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso also in the top five. The motogp.com statistician thinks that home rider James Toseland will feature in the top ten, and says to watch out for Marco Melandri in the event of a Donington downpour…(motogp)

Pedrosa says front row "more important than pole"

Pedrosa delighted with front row

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso had a positive qualifying session for the British Grand Prix, with the former placing second and his Italian colleague fifth. Both are optimistic about their chances of a top result -even if rain falls on Donington Park- and Pedrosa in particular can be content with a front row that he insists was his principal objective.
Dani Pedrosa -2nd

“We did a good job in both sessions today and I’m happy to qualify on the front row because, in reality, that’s more important than taking pole position. On my last run at the end of the qualifying session I found some traffic on the circuit which caused me to lose my concentration and rhythm slightly, so I think I could have gone a little quicker. But still, the middle of the front row is OK. Our dry set-up is nearly there so we’ll aim to make just a few little improvements before the race. The weather is looking changeable for tomorrow, though at least we’ve had some practice time in the wet yesterday. If it’s raining I’d like to improve my riding and my pace a bit but the weather is out of our control so we’ll have to see. It’s the last MotoGP race at Donington tomorrow and of course I’d like a good result to sign off with - preferably a win.”

Pedrosa ups pace to head MotoGP morning session

Dani Pedrosa kept up his pace in Saturday morning’s practice session for the British Grand Prix, racking up the fastest MotoGP time for the second successive run-out at Donington Park. The 2006 racewinner at the Midlands circuit was under two-tenths quicker than nearest rival Jorge Lorenzo courtesy of an exceedingly quick late lap.

Lorenzo and Pedrosa engaged in a brief shootout on a dry track, at one point both level at the head of the timesheet with exactly the same time. It took a further lap from Pedrosa to distance the Spanish pair.

A crash three minutes in at Melbourne gave Casey Stoner something to think about early on, but the Ducati Marlboro rider appeared unfazed as he rejoined the action soon after. There was no repeat of the low speed tumble en route to his third place finish on the session’s results board.

Completing the top quartet of the class’ ‘big four’, Valentino Rossi was just behind and still under half a second slower than Pedrosa. Colin Edwards, Toni Elías, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Melandri, Randy de Puniet and Mika Kallio completed the top ten.(motogp)

Pedrosa happy to be on top in FP1

Dani Pedrosa showed that he isn’t giving up in the battle for race victories with an early warning for his rivals at Donington Park. The Spaniard was fastest in the Friday practice session for the British Grand Prix, elated by the late lap that took him up to the top spot.
Dani Pedrosa -1st

“It feels great to be on top today and I’m pleased with how we handled a tricky practice session. The conditions were continually changing and so we needed to make the best use of the track time to learn as much as we can. There are a few areas we can improve upon - such as the feeling from the bike when it’s really wet - and we’ll look at working on the settings for those conditions because the weather doesn’t look so stable for the weekend and we could see more rain on Sunday. It nearly dried out fully towards the end of the session but we stayed on wet tyres for the whole time and I think this was useful because you can have this sort of situation in the race. We’re in reasonable shape for the rest of the weekend and I hope I can be in this position at the end of Sunday afternoon.”(motogp)

Pedrosa and Dovizioso get chance to avenge German performances

Seven days on from race in which they were unable to challenge the leaders on a potentially winning bike, Repsol Honda duo get second chance in Donington.

Ice cold and focused, Dani Pedrosa is not one prone to sentimentality. However, the Spaniard has admitted in the run-up to the British Grand Prix that he will miss the Donington Park circuit, the scene of one of his first MotoGP premier class victories.

Pedrosa and teammate Andrea Dovizioso suffered from tyre problems in Germany last Sunday, with the latter’s troubles the more serious. For this reason both are looking to give Donington Park a Repsol Honda send-off.

“We’ve built some momentum with our good results in the last two races and we’ll be looking to take that to Donington this weekend. It’s a circuit I like and I’ve had some good results there so I’m confident we can have a strong weekend. To be honest, while the podium in Germany wasn’t a bad finish and we weren’t far behind the winners, we thought another win was possible last weekend,” says Pedrosa, whose third place in Sachsenring kept up his strong run of form but did little to close the gap on his title-contesting rivals.

“Naturally, the weather is always a consideration at Donington so we need to be prepared for anything,” adds Dovizioso, not averse to wet weather riding and with added experience on Bridgestone’s cut compounds.

“We gained some valuable experience on the Bridgestones in the wet in Germany so we’ll be working to make maximum use of the practice sessions, whatever the conditions. It’ll be sad to see the back of Donington because the track itself is very good to ride and one I like. I hope I can sign off there with a good result.”(motogp)