[deez]

Here is a link, first day of testing was today for the Honda riders. Valentino is supposed to test the M1 on Saturday

http://www.motograndprix.com/en/moto...&news_id=11379

[deez]

http://www.motograndprix.com/en/moto...&news_id=11383
http://www.motograndprix.com/en/moto...&news_id=11381

http://www.motograndprix.com/en/moto...&news_id=11388

http://www.motograndprix.com/en/moto...&news_id=11380

[Baketech]

Season is in sight...

Honda Quotes:

Max Biaggi - 2m 02.96s. 54 laps
"I have tested only 17-inch front tires since my arrival here. It was my choice because I wanted to get a good set-up first before testing the 16.5-inch tomorrow. Now my set-up is good I will feel the difference tomorrow, and it will all be coming from the tires. This newer bike is definitely one step ahead of the 2003 machine with better power-delivery and more of it. However, we are two or three months from the start of the season, and the key is to get the new material as soon as possible."

Sete Gibernau - 2m 03.30s. 64 laps
"Michelin requested that I try the 16.5-inch tire for them today. I have had problems with it and I still think after today that the tire does need some more work on its construction perhaps to be more suited to the Honda. The problem is that the tire is used in four or five laps. So for the next test they must try to make some new developments. Otherwise I am happy to be riding fast consistently, this bike is even smoother than before and has a clutch that works better, so the factory is going in the right direction."

Makoto Tamada - 2m 03.40s. 54 laps
"This morning we tried some major part changes to see the effects it would have on my bike and the performance. We changed things like the wheelbase or the linkages because you don't normally have the time to do that in a race weekend. The results were as expected, but it was worthwhile none the less. In the afternoon I worked on some endurance tire testing with the Bridgestone's."

Colin Edwards - 2m 03.60s. 54 laps
"Today we went everywhere but the right way perhaps. I lost a bit of confidence in the 16.5-inch tire that I have been riding for so long now, just because we were chopping and changing it with the 17' a lot. Today was the first time I have got good laps in on a 17' in a while, and there are some good and bad in both types of tires. I just think I was a little off-kilter today, the first time for a long time, but I think I'm just tired from the travelling over here and the change in conditions."

Tohru Ukawa - 2m 03.63s. 87 laps
"It's getting better and the lap times are better too, so that's good to see. Today I tested tires with the new machine. It has a different engine character so there is a different feeling in the rear. That's where we worked today. I found a good tire and some good settings. Yesterday we had a bit of gearbox confusion and I chose a new one today which worked better. Also I tried a new injection setting. We've done a lot of laps today. Tomorrow is endurance, and we will work on engine mapping, it's going to be a difficult day."

Nicky Hayden - 2m 03.69s. 84 laps
"I wanted to put a lot of laps in today to get comfortable again with the bike; I also tried the 16.5-inch Michelin front, which has its plus points, but I'd like to wait to say more on it. Today I went faster than in the race here which was pleasing; we did some work with the chassis too, which helped me get back into the groove. There's lots to work on for us now though, the new engine I have tried is good. It's got a very different feeling when you put the power down, but I made good advances with suspension ride height settings which has helped me go better."

[tigerblade]

Damn I'd like to watch the Rossi video Saturday but I'll be in meetings all day.

[ND4SPD]

Wonder why Nicky was running so much slower than all the other guys.

[CyBeR929]

Nicky's doing better on day 3 (from CE II's site):

Max Biaggi ......... Pons Camel Pramac Honda 2'02.585
Sete Gibernau .......Gresisni Telefonica Movistar Honda 2'02.70
Nicky Hayden ...........Repsol Honda 2'03.20
Tohru Ukawa ........HRC/Honda 2'03.20
Colin Edwards .......... Gresini Telefonica Movistar Honda 2'03.37
Makoto Tamada ..........Pons Camel Pramac Honda 2'03.50
Shinya Nakano ......... Kawasaki 2'04.80
Alex Hofmann .......... Kawasaki 2'05.28
Shinichi Itoh ...........HRC/Honda 2'05.50
Andrew Pitt .......... Moriwaki Honda 2'06.57


And it seems that not everyone is on equivalent machinery (from Colin Sr on Colin II's site):

...Max, Sete, Tomato and Nicky are on the same bikes that VR finished the 03 season on, rumored to have 15% hp more the 03 bike that Colin is riding at this test and he will be on this bike untill he gets his full spec bike ...Ukuwa is the only Honda rider that is on a full spec 04 machine...All the Honda riders will have full spec 04 machines by the first race but they have promised Colin a full spec 04 machine by the "SECOND" race of the season, BOOOOOOO , but he doesn't seem to be worried about it, so if he's not, I'm not!!...Seems that the pecking order put him on the last rung of the ladder but thats OK too, he is good at handling this kind of situation, it just makes him stronger and more determined...I still think that he is going to be hard to beat this year...Snr


And the 3 day time comparison (same source):
Day 1
Max Biaggi......... 2'03.47
Sete Gibernau...... 2'03.51 (+ .04)
Colin Edwards....... 2'04.26 (+ .75) (+ .79)

Day 2
Max Biaggi .......... 2'02.96
Sete Gibernau .......2'03.33 (+ .37)
Colin Edwards ......... 2'03.72 (+ .39) (+ .76)

Day 3
Max Biaggi ......... 2'02.585
Sete Gibernau .......2'02.70 (+ .115)
Colin Edwards .......... 2'03.37 (+ .67) (+ .785)

[ND4SPD]

Why does Ukawa get the only 04 bike??! Makes no sense. The other guys are faster on last year's bikes

[CyBeR929]

Ukawa is a test rider only this year....he's shaking down the new model for the other guys

[ccwilli3]

damn if max isn't looking in form though... The bastard.

[Baketech]

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

Wonder why Nicky was running so much slower than all the other guys.

Hasn't been on the bike for weeks....recovering from surgery...?

[CBRVFR]

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

Why does Ukawa get the only 04 bike??! Makes no sense. The other guys are faster on last year's bikes

My guess would be that, while they are all good development riders, ( and Edwards might be the very best of the group) he probably speaks Japanese better than they do, and Tamada is married to Bridgestone so his input is less germaine to the other teams.....

Don't forget this isn't qualifying.. If Nicky or Colin is within a partial second of the other times, I wouldn't worry. Seems to me that the more combinations they try, the better off they'll be from a team coordination and data acquisition standpoint during a season in which conditions will change radically.

If Biaggi were staying within a narrower parameter of variables, he could be turning the best times and learning the least.

[tigerblade]

Originally Posted by Baketech

Hasn't been on the bike for weeks....recovering from surgery...?

That's my guess. He was off for a while when he got his thumb fixed.

[Baketech]

Originally Posted by tigerblade

That's my guess. He was off for a while when he got his thumb fixed.

That and the no-talent ass clown thing......

[RRWANTR]

It's been reported that the fast laps set by Biaggi and Sete were on Qs near the end of the 3rd day......

[luvtolean]

Originally Posted by ccwilli3

damn if max isn't looking in form though... The bastard.

Maybe he's got his head right now that he believes he has a better bike than Rossi. Don't worry, Rossi will get back under his skin good enough.

Don't take these times to mean much, you never know what they're doing/testing etc etc.

[Nick the Quick]

Nicky hasnt done too bad in his first tests back. ND4SPD for having a longer winter then anyone else and recovering from injury, Nicky has not disapointed anyone for being a little off the pace (If you can even really call it that). He doesn't like Sepang, plus hes faster on race tires now, then he was on Qs last season. Just wait, he will be making Biaggi really Biachi.

Did you all see that they let Mladin have a few laps on the new Suzuki GP machine? Didnt see any of his times posted. They also said that it would be harder for him to get a Suzuki GP seat then it was winning 4 AMA SB Titles. Something to do with politics and him being an Aussie or something.

Oh yeah, Alpinestars already has Nicky's new leathers ready.

[ccwilli3]

Mladin was 2-3 seconds slower than hopper and KR... From the sound of the reports, he thought it was crap too and wouldn't want to ride it!

[BDA116]

Blaming mladin's lack of a GP ride on politics and nationality came out of Dean Adam's lips during a break from them being wrapped around mladin's pecker. The nationality argument used to hold water, but lately doesn't.
Confirmed riders for this season include 5 Americans, 4 Japanese, 4 Italians, 3 Spaniards, an Aussie, German and Brazilian. Last year was just a diverse. It used to be that there were Italians and Spaniards that weren't as good as riders from other areas, but that really isn't the case any longer.
I'd say that mladin's lack of a GP ride comes from the fact that he has already had one and not only didn't impress anyone but pissed people off along the way. He's too old to go to GP at this point, and makes more money in the AMA than he would as a GP rider.
Sure, he's better than Hopkins and could take his place, but so are half a dozen other AMA riders. Not to mention WSBK and others.
He also has a history of blaming the bike for all his problems when he's not riding one that has the advantage - something that doesn't fly in the world of GP.

[ND4SPD]

Originally Posted by BDA116

Blaming mladin's lack of a GP ride on politics and nationality came out of Dean Adam's lips during a break from them being wrapped around mladin's pecker. The nationality argument used to hold water, but lately doesn't.
Confirmed riders for this season include 5 Americans, 4 Japanese, 4 Italians, 3 Spaniards, an Aussie, German and Brazilian. Last year was just a diverse. It used to be that there were Italians and Spaniards that weren't as good as riders from other areas, but that really isn't the case any longer.
I'd say that mladin's lack of a GP ride comes from the fact that he has already had one and not only didn't impress anyone but pissed people off along the way. He's too old to go to GP at this point, and makes more money in the AMA than he would as a GP rider.
Sure, he's better than Hopkins and could take his place, but so are half a dozen other AMA riders. Not to mention WSBK and others.
He also has a history of blaming the bike for all his problems when he's not riding one that has the advantage - something that doesn't fly in the world of GP.

You coulda just said they don't want another Biatchi, we would've understood. Wordy sumbitch

[Nick the Quick]

I agree with you, Mladin had his chance.

But too old, maybe not too old, too bitchy.

[tigerblade]

Rossi's new ride (pic from Soup):

[HondaGalToo]

This year is going to be great to watch!! Can't wait!!

[deez]

http://www.amasuperbike.com/image/20...cleanrossi.jpg



Can you check the oil when you are done with that?

http://www.amasuperbike.com/2004/Jan/040123v.htm