I can't wait for Honda to realise that they've backed the wrong "real" rookie with Lie-monchelli later this year

Especially if they have given him the HRC bike...

I'm just still so baffled how they could actually give him the factory support instead of Melandri. It made absolutely no sense in the first place and hopefully they will themselves realize that soon and give it to Melandri who can actually do something good with it instead of just trashing parts.

I was thinking more Aoyama... having been a honda for the majority of his career...

And winning the last 250 champ on a honda!!!

Yes, but with Aoyama it's simply a question of money, not loyalty. The Interwetten Team simply can't afford a full factory-spec for him in their first year and since he has a contract with them and not with Honda directly, it's not on Honda to make an exception and give him the factory parts anyway.

Regarding the test I completely forgot they actually finish at 6PM, so the last results I posted are actually the ones for the day and Bati finished it in 9th position, within a shot up to 7th. Not bad, not bad.

Quotes and stuff will follow as soon as we have it.

Not bad at all, very pleased with that

Pictures make the crash look very stylish too, like he just got bored & decided to leave the bike in the middle of the track for a wee while

Bati is going even better today and has already improved his laptime from yesterday. As of 2PM local time he's standing in 8th.
Bad news of the day is that Simoncelli had a nasty high speed crash. Apparently his helmet was completely destroyed and he was stretchered away awake but completely disoriented. He's now been brought to a nearby hospital for precaution, but he should be okay.
I'm not surprised he crashed again and I definitely don't like him, but I don't want him to get seriously injured either. I think he might be starting to learn that crashes in MotoGP hurt more than in 250cc and 125cc.

Laptimes as of 2PM

1. Rossi (Yamaha) 2.00.271 (giri 12 di 26)
2. Stoner (Ducati) 2.00.512 (13 di 20)
3. Hayden (Ducati) 2.00.703 (20 di 28)
4. Edwards (Yamaha) 2.00.988 (18 di 21)
5. Spies (Yamaha) 2.01.014 (11 di 31)
6. Capirossi (Suzuki) 2.01.320 (6 di 28)
7. Dovizioso (Honda) 2.01.439 (13 di 18)
8. Bautista (Suzuki) 2.01.732 (17 di 21)
9. De Puniet (Honda) 2.01.980 (4 di 33)
10. Melandri (Honda) 2.02.078 (3 di 28)
11. Kallio (Ducati) 2.02.117 (22 di 34)
12. Aoyama (Honda) 2.02.196 (10 di 21)
13. Pedrosa (Honda) 2.02.366 (23 di 24)
14. Espargarò (Ducati) 2.02.403 (17 di 21)
15. Barberà (Ducati) 2.02.487 (11 di 32)
16. Simoncelli (Honda) 2.03.689 (2 di 2)

UPDATE

At the end of the test day Alvaro did not manage to improve his laptime any further and finished the test in 10th position. Apparently he only did 4 more laps after the lunch and with 25 laps he's done the least laps of all riders bar the crashed Tonto. I'm curious to read his statement on that.
EDIT: It appears that Bati actually injured his arm a bit in the crash yesterday during the slide. As seen in the picture he's been wearing protective tape all day. But it doesn't seem too bad and I hope he'll be alright soon.

In other news, Tonto is already out of the hospital and completely fine.

Unofficial laptimes at 6PM local time

1. Rossi (Yamaha) 2.00.271 (giri 12 di 39)
2. Stoner (Ducati) 2.00.512 (13 di 33)
3. Hayden (Ducati) 2.00.703 (20 di 42)
4. Edwards (Yamaha) 2.00.988 (18 di 35)
5. Spies (Yamaha) 2.01.014 (11 di 44)
6. Capirossi (Suzuki) 2.01.320 (6 di 50)
7. Dovizioso (Honda) 2.01.439 (13 di 46)
8. Pedrosa (Honda) 2.01.478 (56 di 57)
9. Aoyama (Honda) 2.01.692 (47 di 50)
10. Bautista (Suzuki) 2.01.732 (17 di 25)
11. De Puniet (Honda) 2.01.980 (4 di 58)
12. Melandri (Honda) 2.02.078 (3 di 60)
13. Barberà (Ducati) 2.02.4080 (45 di 52)
14. Kallio (Ducati) 2.02.082 (65 di 66)
15. Yamaha T 2.02.287 (17 di 18)
16. Espargarò (Ducati) 2.02.367 (49 di 49)
17. Simoncelli (Honda) 2.03.689 (2 di 2)
18. Yamaha O 2.04.500 (11 di 43)

as much as I don't like Smiellichilli I don't like seeing riders getting hurt. I just hope he'll learn that boneheadness causes more damage in MotoGP.

I am very content with Bati's performance. Bike isn't the best out of them and he's getting accustomed to the machine and he still beats some of the regular riders and factory rookies. I'm very positive

The press release from Rizla Suzuki just came out and apparently the injury Bati sustained (tore a muscle in the left arm) is not from the reported crash, but from a second time where he slid out. We wish him a speedy recovery!

The Mapfre website has published the more or less complete list of best runs from the Sepang test which is very interesting to scan through as it paints a bit of different picture than the final laptimes list alone. For example it's worth noting that with several riders their fastest laptime was an isolated one and the rest of their laps were substantially slower (Nicky Hayden is the highest up on the list who this applies to as his fastest lap was his only one even under 2.01. while the rest of his laps were at least half a second slower than that). The interpretation also shows that Alvaro is probably faster than Hiro who finished the test one position ahead of him (not counting the injury Alvaro had to deal with) which is positive, but at the same time Capirossi's true rhythm is a bit slower than his final test position which could be a bad sign for the potential of the Suzuki.
All this is of course only testing and then some interpretation, but I think it can least give us a glimpse on what we could expect this year and what is possible. And keeps us busy while we wait for the real racing.

Source: http://www.mapfremoto10.com/noticias/22 ... -DE-MOTOGP

what are honda doing?

i know its only testing and sepang suits the yamaha but dovi vs spies is embarrassing. as for de puniet


the times paint a picture that looks the same as last year, if not worse

Honda does seem to have some serious issues at the moment. Neither Dovi nor Dani really got to grips with the bike and Dani stated that it was moving way too much and even with a million different attempts of a solution they couldn't solve the problem. If the issues are because of the new developments Honda brought then the shortened testing times will really bite them in the ass this year. And it does appear to be a general Honda problem, because Rookie or not, all Hondas have been at the end of the timing sheets in Sepang and not really been able to keep up with Yamaha and Ducati.
To be honest, I'm getting a little bit annoyed by the Yamaha "superiority" already if they keep this up. I mean, of course they'd deserve the success, because they clearly put an awful lot of effort in their racing programme (bringing two test riders every time instead of just one already speaks volumes), but at the moment the Hondas don't look too well, Suzuki is again not really at the front and on a close look Casey still appears to be the only one comfortable enough with the Ducati to get top results. If Lorenzo was in Sepang, we'd more than likely have all four Yamahas among the top 6 of the test and that's just wrong. It'd be much more interesting with all the manufacturers really involved in the upcoming title fight and it'd be much more interesting to really see then who can do what - Yamaha under their ass or not.

Runaway titles are boring; I do hope there's some shaking up to come...

I hope so too g!

Though the whole premier class is reeking of major technical rule changes... delay the engine capacity change another year, loose the TC, etc and possibly allow more testing for teams under these rules:

- Extra testing for teams/manufacturers who haven't won races within the past season.
- Works teams are not allowed to use satellite teams to test new parts during these tests. (Sounds wrong, but prevents another stupid rookie rule)
- The tests do not count towards the total engine usage over the season.

... and any more rules you can think of.

Sounds a bit dodgy and not very cost effective... but could help provide closer racing potentially.

you could give suzuki hundreds of test days and i doubt theyd catch yamaha.

id actually like a rule similar to in WSBK where ducati are allowed an extra 200cc
where some circuits suit the 4 strokes better and some the twins, at least it would shake up the results a bit.

with yamahas and stoner on rails in the wet i cant even pray for rain to make the races interesting

Seems that Paul Denning is happy with his decision about this year...



http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/MotoGP/2010/March/mar0510-suzuki-delighted-with-bautista/