February 08
Repsol Honda complete winter testing in QatarFeb 29, Day two of two Repsol Honda press release
Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden completed this winter testing programmes at Losail at midnight tonight. After acclimatising to riding under floodlights yesterday evening, he continued working at getting the best out of his RC212Vs in these very different conditions.
Hayden is now raring to go racing after a busy few weeks of testing in Asia, Australia, Europe and here in the Middle East.
Practice for the 2008 Qatar MotoGP event, the first GP to be staged in the dark, begins at 7pm on Friday March 7. Qualifying takes place at 10.55pm on March 8, with the race at 11pm on March 9.
Nicky's Comments fastest lap: 1m 55.674
"I’ve enjoyed riding at night but conditions are not easy here at night – there’s the wind and the track temperature changes a lot. We tried race tyres tonight and at the end we tried a couple of qualifiers, we went quicker but we’re not where we need to be. We left Jerez feeling really confident but we’ve been brought back to reality. Nonetheless I’m happy to go racing after so much testing, that’s exciting.
Now we’ve got some work to do, we need to try to come up with something to make an improvement. I think we can get the bike to hold the line better and finish the corner better. Now Honda have got a couple of days to think about stuff and I’ve got some time to go over some lines, so hopefully come Friday night we’ll be closer to where we need to be”.
Repsol Honda begin final test session - Repsol Honda Press ReleaseFeb 28
Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa commenced their final preseason test session at Losail this evening, experiencing for the first time the 5.380 km Qatari track’s awesome new lighting system that will illuminate the first-ever floodlit motorcycle GP on March 9.
Testing began at 6pm following a spectacular ceremony to turn on the unique lighting system, the world’s largest permanent sports floodlighting project. The 5.4 million watt network is powerful enough to light up a road from Doha to Moscow!
Hayden and Pedrosa, still recovering from the broken right hand he sustained in January, complete preseason testing tomorrow night. Qatar GP practice commences on the evening of March 7.
Nicky Hayden - 12th 1.57.010
“I quite enjoyed myself, it’s a little bit different, I thought it was pretty fun. We need to get faster but the actual feeling is quite good and it’s a pretty cool experience. I haven’t ridden with anyone yet to see how that’s going to be, but as far as the lines and stuff, it’s not really much different from daytime. I haven’t had any problems with the shadows, just a bit of the glare off some of the lights is a bit strange, but the actual track, the grip, the tyres seem okay, so I think it’s good. Last year we struggled a lot here so we basically started with our Jerez settings, just checking a few things right now and trying to dial it in”.
HAYDEN FASTEST AT JEREZ. Repsol Honda Press ReleaseJerez, Febuary 18
Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden rode the fastest lap during three busy days of testing at Jerez, the American this afternoon riding a lightning-quick lap on qualifiers, more than half a second inside last year’s Spanish GP pole position. Testing started late this morning following a rain shower, the conditions staying cool and blustery throughout.
2006 MotoGP World Champion Hayden, who was also fastest on day one and third quickest in yesterday’s official qualifying-style shootout session which was run in the wet, left the Spanish circuit in buoyant mood after some productive work on chassis set-up and Michelin tyre development.
The MotoGP paddock now moves to Qatar for the final preseason tests at Losail (on February 28 and 29) where the first race of 2008 takes place under floodlights on the night of March 9.
Nicky Hayden - 1'38"848
“It’s definitely been a really positive and productive three days. We had high hopes coming here because when we tested here in November the bike worked pretty good and Michelin tyres normally work good at Jerez, so this is a good track for us, also there’s no big long straightaways. The wind here has made it tough, the conditions haven’t been easy, but I do feel more comfortable on this year’s bike in the wind. The team really worked hard and made some good moves and good decisions. We didn’t make a lot of big changes, we just got closer to race settings, tried a couple of qualifiers and did a 25 lap run. The chassis seems to be working good and also the tyres are working good. We tried a few different tyre options, and we’re still checking data between the 16 and 16.5 rears. But the show hasn’t started yet, we’ll find out what everybody’s really got and what we’re in for when we get to Qatar but we leave here pretty happy. At the Qatar tests we’ll see how it is under the lights and dial everything in for the first race.”
Hayden Fastest at Jerez!Day One IRTA test, Feb 08
The Kentucky Kid at the front
Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden topped the first day of the penultimate preseason tests at Jerez today.
Hayden rode more laps than anyone in cool, blustery conditions, evaluating a modified RC212V chassis with revised stiffness character, otherwise focusing on detail set-up changes. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion also recorded the fastest top speed at 282km/h-175.226mph
Both riders are using 2008 RC212V engines with conventional valve actuation and will commence the 2008 World Championship with these engines. Meanwhile the 2008 RC212V pneumatic-valve engine is under development at HRC, where engineers are focusing on improving power delivery, and will be raced by Hayden and Pedrosa when it is ready.
Today was an important day at Jerez, because the latest weather forecasts predict rain during the remaining two days of the session.
Sepang, Malaysia - TestingFebruary 6, 2008
Sepang, Malaysia - Testing
NICKY HAYDEN CONTINUES DEVELOPMENT ON HIS RC212V IN SEPANG
Nicky Hayden leaves Malaysia pleased with the work carried out so far, centered mainly on the chassis and on new compounds for the Michelin tyres
Nicky Hayden made an early start to his final day of testing at Sepang today and the American was quickly up to speed on the Repsol liveried RC212V Honda on a hot and humid day. The ambient temperature soared to 34 degrees with the track surface at 46 by early afternoon, rising to 60 plus degrees at one point consequently reducing the level of grip in the process.
Despite the sweltering conditions the Repsol Honda team technicians managed to improve the chassis specification of the factory RC212V and find suitable Michelin rubber to suit the set up in the extreme conditions.
The former MotoGP World Champion was pleased with the results achieved over the two days and will not test on the final day of the planned three-day test. He now leaves Malaysia for his Kentucky home and a well earned break before MotoGP tes ting resumes in completely different weather conditions at the Jerez circuit, Southern Spain on February 16 to 18.
MotoGP
Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 00.900s (lap 36 of 90)
"Not too bad all in all a positive two-days testing. The team have worked extremely hard for me from day one of testing this year, the HRC engineers and the mechanics . Today we didn't focus on just one thing but worked on chassis comparison tests and working on tyres with Michelin. The track surface temperature was as high as it's ever been here and we got some positive feedback on tyres in the conditions. We found a good rear that gives good grip on the edge of the tyre. The front we tried was OK but we went back to the front tyre we had used at the last test. The chassis is now OK and we will have the new engine ready for the next test. It's been a pretty busy time and we go at it again i n Jerez before the big show opens."
SEPANG, MALAYSIAFebruary 5, 2008
NICKY HAYDEN, SATISFIED WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE CHASSIS OF HIS HONDA RC212CV DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF TESTS IN SEPANG
The first of three days of tests planned for the Malaysian Sepang circuit The Repsol Honda Team was back on track at Sepang today for the second pre-season test at the 5.548 km Malaysian grand prix circuit. American Nicky Hayden, MotoGP World Champion in 2006, is the sole factory Team rider present at Sepang his team mate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa at home in Barcelona working on his recovery from a hand injury sustained at Sepang last month.
Repsol Honda team work today focused on chassis comparison testing while running with a variety of front and rear tyres from Michelin. The Repsol Honda Team technicians tried slight geometry variations that improved the overall balance of the RCV and provided Hayden with better rear end grip, particularly on the edge of the rear tyre. Hayden crashed at turn 15 near the end of the day escaping unscathed from th e incident. Hayden and the team will continue chassis comparison testing tomorrow working from the data gathered today while running with the latest Michelin tyre developments
MotoGP
Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 01.949s (lap 80 of 80)
"We got a late start because the track was not in good shape after the overnight rain. Nobody was in a hurry to go out. When we did we all went together and cleaned up the track a little. We ran comparison chassis tests and confirmed what we learned at Phillip Island. The guys changed the geometry a little on the 2008 chassis and the bike had a better balance so we made some progress there. Michelin gave me a couple of rear tyres I really liked, one 16 inch and one 16.5 both ha ve good grip on the edge of the tyre and the bike felt a lot better. We will keep on working on the chassis tomorrow and test more tyres."
