The 2006 MotoGP world champion and his Repsol Honda team say goodbye to the trainings in Australia and head again to Malaysia to continue with the next week tests.
Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda completed their second 2008 pre season test today, the American ending this Phillip Island session with the second fastest lap time. After yesterday’s rainfall, today’s conditions were perfect: sunny with ambient temperature at 1 9 to 22 degrees and track temperature at 35 degrees.
Hayden and his hard-working crew dedicated the day to fine-tuning chassis set-up and evaluating Michelin race tyres, though like most other riders he did his best lap on qualifying tyres. The team will continue its pre season work at Sepang, Malaysia, next Tuesday and Wednesday, February 5 and 6.
Nicky Hayden was the team’s lone ride throughout this test, team-mate Dani Pedrosa recuperating in Europe from a hand injury sustained at Sepang last week. The date for Pedrosa’s return to action has yet to be fixed.
Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 1m 29.734s (lap 71 of 102) Click here to read more
Nicky Hayden took advantage of an excellent opportunity to test the new RC212V in the wet on Phillip Island
Morning rainfall at Phillip Island today gave Nicky Hayden the opportunity to evaluate his 2008 Repsol Honda RC212V for the first time in the rain. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion took to the wet track at 11am, tak ing the opportunity to get a feel for the V4 in low-grip conditions. The rain stopped at lunch time but the track wasn’t dry enough to continue with dry track testing until 3.40pm when Hayden returned to action on slicks.
Hayden had a very productive day and was happy with the bike’s performance in the rain. His dry-track pace was similar to yesterday’s despite cooler conditions and less traction following the rainfall. Tomorrow he will continue working on chassis settings and testing more tyres.
Nicky Hayden - fastest lap: 1m 31.373s (lap 71 of 72)
“You know, we get a lot more dry races than wet, so the dry’s more important, but we’ve got to be ready for everything, so today was useful. We were able to check the bike in the wet and make a few little adjustments. Click here to read more
Nicky Hayden had an intense day out on the track of Phillip Island, doing 107 laps of the Australian circuit.
Nicky Hayden put in a typically determined day’s work at Phillip Island today, riding an amazing 107 laps of the high-speed Australian circuit aboard his Repsol Honda RC212V. Once again the American tried both Honda’s latest pneumatic-valve engine and the conventional spring engine, focusing on the conventional engine in the afternoon.
Fastest at Sepang last week with qualifying tyres, the 2006 MotoGP World Champion only used race tyres today, making plenty of progress in excellent weather conditions with ambient temperature at 21 degrees and track temperature reaching 40 degrees. Tomorrow he will continue working on chassis and suspension settings and he will commence tyre testing – Phillip Island is a particularly challenging racetrack for tyres.
Nicky Hayden is currently Repsol Honda’s sole rider on track. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa is in Europe recuperating from an operation to fix the broken hand he suffered in Malaysia last week.
Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 1′31.226s (lap 96 of 107) Click here to read more
The practice sessions in Malaysia ended today. There will be another three days practice starting on 30th January, this time in Australia, on Philip Island
Nicky Hayden completed the first MotoGP tests of 2008 with the fastest lap at Sepang today. The Repsol Honda man rode a stunningly fast lap on qualifiers to top the three-day session. He also set an impressive pace in race tri m, riding his best-ever Sepang lap on race tyres at 2m 01.6s.
The 2006 MotoGP World Champion spent most of the day riding his RC212V equipped with conventional valves after testing Honda’s new pneumatic-valve engine this morning. The Sepang weather was typically tropical today, with ambient temperature at 33 degrees and track temperature at 51 degrees.
Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 00.326s (lap 25 of 77)
“Today’s gone a lot better than the last couple and we’re feeling positive, I feel like I’m a lot closer than I was a year ago here. This morning we checked the pneumatic valve engine, then we just focused on the standard engine and this year’s chassis, working on the general set-up. Click here to read more
Nicky Hayden continued his sterling work at Sepang today, once again riding more laps than anyone else at the Malaysian circuit. In gruelling tropical heat (ambient 35 degrees, track 51 degrees) the Repsol Honda rider rode 66 laps, cutting more than four tenths off his previous best time from yesterday. Hayden spent most of the day evaluating HRC’s latest RC212V engine with pneumatic valves, having spent yesterday using an engine with conventional valves.
The 2006 MotoGP World Champion was Repsol Honda’s lone rider today, his team-mate Dani Pedrosa is in Barcelona, Spain, awaiting surgery. The Spaniard broke a bone in his right hand when he fell here yesterday afternoon. Dr Xavier Mir at the Clinica Dexeus is expected to operate on the injury this afternoon. It is not yet known when Pedrosa will be able to ride again.
Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 02.102s (lap 24 of 66)
“We used the standard engine in the morning. I set my fastest lap, then we started using the pneumatic-valve engine after about 25 laps. With that engine the bike did feel more like the prototype I rode last November, I guess because the bike was designed to have that engine, so maybe the extra weight makes it work a bit better. Click here to read more
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