After quotes from Yamaha, Repsol Honda and Ducati riders, here are several more from the rest of the riders from the final day of testing at Sepang.
The final pre-season test for the majority of the riders will be at Jerez de la Frontera from March 23rd to the 25th, but Honda and Yamaha teams will get a further oppurtunity to test when they head to the Circuit of the Americas for a private three-day test March 12-14.
Alvaro Bautista 5th“I am delighted.
Things couldn’t have gone much better than they did today.
This has been an extremely useful and positive test for us.
Now we know we have the tools to fight at the front but more importantly we have gained an understanding of the changes we need to make in order to make swift improvements to the set-up.
My feeling with the bike was really good today.
There were already some positive signs yesterday and we were able to confirm them today.
I can’t wait to get back on track because I am having a lot of fun with this bike at the moment.
”Cal Crutchlow – 6th“We were pleased on the last day, we did a long run and I was happy with the pace.
We never planned to do a long run but I stayed out and they called me in after 14 laps because I was going to run out of fuel, so it was disappointing not to do the full 20 that nobody did except Jorge [Lorenzo].
We worked on the setting a lot today – one bike was better than the other in one area, and one bike was better than the other in the other area.
So we need to make a bit of a combination, and we need to try this combination in Jerez.
Overall I’m pleased – we’re in the mix a little bit with the factory guys.
I won’t have any new parts for the first four races.
” Stefan Bradl – 7th “It has been another productive test for us! We still have to improve few tenths of a second but we did anyway good progress with the new bike.
We found some interesting front suspension setting, which allowed us to increase the front tyre feeling and some new traction control map gaining a bit more drive in the corner exits.
I am looking forward to discover the new circuit in Texas and continue our bike development!”Bradley Smith – 10th“It’s been really good in terms of my experience on the bike and my knowledge about settings, electronics, about how I’m working with my team, how they will work with me, understanding each other, and understanding the balance of the changes we need to do.
During the test it’s quite easy to have time to change things, but during the race weekends it’s only 45 minute sessions, so we focussed a lot today on which riding style I have and which changes we need to do to solve each problem.
I think in Jerez we’ll push forward, we’ll try to understand more how to get the best potential out of new tyres for me, because right now I can do the same lap time with new tyres as with old, so we’ll focus more on the new tyres and unleashing the potential of the Bridgestone slicks.
”Andrea Iannone – 11thMy apprenticeship continues, I am more constant and the feeling with the bike is improving day by day, nevertheless I have not tried the race simulation because we’re still working on finding the best set-up.
We have a lot to work on but I am very pleased with what has been achieved so far and what I could try.
We’ll certainly get to Jerez with more data to be developed.
My goal right now is to get closer to Ducati’s Top Team riders.
Randy De Puniet – 13th“We continued to work on the rear grip issues we have found here at Sepang during this test, working with the rear suspension and electronics to try and get more stability under braking.
We have taken small steps forward on every outing and even though the track was in bad shape again today we were able to improve on our lap times from the first test, which shows that we have worked in the right way.
It has been a positive test here at Sepang and now I am looking forward to going to Jerez, a track where I am usually quick and where we will be able to confirm a lot of the data we have gathered here.
The 2013 chassis is quite similar to last year but it gives us more options to play around with the set-up so hopefully we can find some more rear grip at Jerez.
”Ben Spies – 14thI am not yet at full condition but considering the situation of three weeks ago I am satisfied with what has been done in this second phase of the winter tests.
I could not ride the last hour of the day because of a small problem with the fork, but I have some more specific ideas about what changes should be made.
I rode consistently focusing on the reactions of the bike in a variety of settings.
Aleix Espargaró – 18th“The track was really slippery today and we had a lot of trouble with the rear, even though we used the same set-up as the last two days.
We went back to the configuration from the last test and it felt a little better but we need to work hard in the next test at Jerez to improve it and get more stability.
Anyway, I am happy with the new chassis, which is an improvement on 2012, and we have more or less found a base set-up we’re happy with so it’s a case of working on small details and finding more rear grip.
We have had six productive days here at Sepang and set the fastest CRT lap so we’re very satisfied.
”Karel Abraham – 19thI´m happy that we finally managed to accelerate, but not so to fulfill the target we determined – to get under two minutes and four seconds.
I am really upset with that, because otherwise it was good today.
We´ve got a little problem with tyres, which were out quickly, so we changed them every fifteen laps and unfortunately in the moment when we were at the top time on the track, we had no more new tyres.
Than we rode for few more laps on soft, but I didn´t upgrade the time.
Of course is not good that I am loosing on De Puniet and Espargaro, but on other site, there´s only Colin Edwards close to me, other riders have greater distance.
Next week the Motosalon fair in Prague – Leťnany awaits me, after that we will prepare for the last pre-season test in Jerez.
“Bryan Staring – 28th“ It has been another important test for me.
I feel more confident on the bike and I have learnt a lot about how to ride it and understand it, as well as getting a feeling for how the team works.
They have been a great help to me and I am sure that in future we will be able to take bigger steps.
I am going home feeling satisfied and looking forward to my future in MotoGP.
”Photos © Getty Images
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