Winter testing this year have been a bust.
More wet than dry conditions have hampered the riders in the development of the their machines for next season, but Marco Melandri seems satisfied with what he was able to do during the two days at Jerez – Friday it rained – he was able to ride and giving clear indications on the direction the team has to take in order to prepare for 2013.
During the Jerez test Melandri was able to complete 123 laps (524 km), while BMW team-mate Chaz Davies did 125 laps (533 km) on his BMW S 1000 RR.
Marco Melandri said, “We certainly hoped to have more dry track time during winter testing.
Anyhow, we can be happy as we were able to complete our planned programme on Wednesday and Thursday.
I started working with the 17-inch tyres on the 2012 bike.
The feeling of the bike was completely different compared to last year – not only the chassis, but also the engine characteristics and the electronics.
Pirelli has done a good job.
In my opinion, the switch to the new tyre is a positive one.
The tyre is more consistent and really good fun to ride.
Once I was happy with the settings of the bike, we went on to test different 2013 parts.
We clearly have an idea of which way to go, as we understand exactly what we need to do.
I am looking forward to the winter break now, as I need some rest before I start working out in the gym again and preparing for 2013, ” said Melandri.
“The 2012 winter testing was quite difficult for me.
Out of seven days in total, we had only two days in the dry” said Davies.
“These last two days were very important for me.
In Aragon I got an initial feeling for the bike in the dry, but here I really had a lot of track time, which helped me to get used to the BMW S 1000 RR, the working system and the team.
We made good progress, and I am confident that I will make further progress when I get some more time on the bike.
So far, I am not on the limit.
Once I am close to the limit, I am sure we can improve a lot.
We will continue to work methodically, and I am already looking forward to jumping on the RR again.
Over the next couple of weeks I will stay at home and step up my training.
Depending on the weather, I might go to Tenerife in January to find consistent conditions for preparing for the season.
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