Alvaro Bautista completes valuable “long run” testing on day two at Sepang
Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista made further improvements on day two of the second official MotoGP test at Sepang International Circuit.
Today in the afternoon Bautista was able to try a first race simulation, focusing on tyre durability putting in 20 consecutive laps.
In the latter part of the day, Alvaro was also improved his lap time from yesterday, setting a good 2’00”500, which puts him third overall in today’s session, as well in the combined times.
The three day test will conclude tomorrow at the Sepang International Circuit.
ALVARO BAUTISTA (2’00″500 – 55 LAPS)
“Today we completed a good race simulation: having done it in the afternoon, the track was not in the best condition, but all in all we are pleased with how it went. We have gathered important data and we have seen an improvement with regard to the durability of the rear tyre. Compared to what happened in last year’s race, especially thanks to the new Showa rear suspension items, the bike moves less when the tyre starts to wear out. The front tyre instead starts to slip a little bit after about 15 laps, and this leads to lose the ideal line, therefore we will work to improve this aspect. At the end of the day I also set a very good lap time, the best ever for me on this track, but I’m especially happy for the good work we were able to do: tomorrow we will continue to work on chassis set-up and refining the electronics, but we are definitely in a good shape”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“This second day at Sepang proved to be very successful: we were able to complete a lot of work with both riders, making good progress. Alvaro has proved once again to be very competitive, setting a good lap time and making a first race simulation that has been very useful. The assessment of these two days is undoubtedly positive, but our preparation for the upcoming season clearly does not stop here: tomorrow, in the last day of testing in Malaysia, we would still try different details to make a further step ahead”.
Source: Gresini Racing
