Slow start to testing for Pedrosa due to rain and electronic problem

The Repsol Honda Team was back in action at Valencia today as preparations for the 2011 season began with the first of two days of MotoGP testing. Early morning rain ruled out any action when the track opened at 10am, but sunshine at lunchtime dried the surface and at 12.30 the garage shutters began to open and the new-look MotoGP field, which features several riders who have switched teams, took to the circuit.

Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and new signing Casey Stoner began a busy schedule of testing aimed at honing the development direction of the 2011 RC212V in preparation for the first tests of 2011 at Sepang at the beginning of February. The 2011 machine will be an evolution of the RC212V that won four races this season in the hands of Pedrosa and became one of the strongest packages on the grid in the second half of the season. Pedrosa carried out back-to-back tests on the latest evolution chassis and his 2010 bike, reporting…

Dani Pedrosa: “Today I rode the 2010 bike we used in Sunday’s race and also next year’s evolution machine. The chassis is slightly different and I have to do more laps tomorrow to understand it further – but my first thought is that it is a bit stiffer with the target of getting more stability, more grip and better braking. Today we used only one tyre and didn’t make many changes to the bike to keep things simple. Unfortunately we had a problem with the electronics on the first lap and this meant we lost some time in the pits, but anyway it was good not to do so many laps today because of my physical condition. I thought that having Monday off I would feel better but I’m still tired from yesterday and feeling some effects from the injury. The feeling is quite similar from both machines, although I didn’t get stuck into any real comparisons, so we will come back tomorrow and continue with our testing schedule”.

Source: Repsol Media Service