Rizla Suzuki has begun the second pre-season test of 2011 with an in-depth evaluation of front and rear suspension parts and settings, and electronic control strategies to further refine the Suzuki GSV-R
Álvaro Bautista (P10, 2’02.224,), completed 48 laps of the 5,548m Sepang circuit today as he worked thoroughly with his crew and the Suzuki engineers to find solutions to a number of different situations and conditions that the GSV-R might face this season.
Bautista was ably supported today by Team Test Rider Nobuatsu Aoki at the Malaysian track. Aoki joined the team directly from Suzuki’s private test track and completed 57 laps of the Sepang circuit in temperatures of up to 35°C. His feedback and data acquisition will be valuable for the Factory as it prepares the bike ready for the forthcoming season. Honda’s Casey Stoner recorded the fastest time of the day.
Rizla Suzuki has two more days of comprehensive testing ahead of it, which Bautista, Aoki and the rest of the team will use to test a number of new and updated components and to fine tune many electronic control strategies, suspension settings and other intricate details of the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R.
Álvaro Bautista:
“Well, I feel much better today than the last time I did some laps here – then it wasn’t so nice with the sickness! Today I wanted to ride in a calm way and concentrate on the details that we had to work on. Also, last time here in Sepang we really struggled to use the hard rear tyre, so we did many laps on it today and made some progress. Then finally we put in some softer tyres – the same as I used in the race last year – and the feeling was really smooth and very easy to make a low 2.02. We didn’t make an exciting lap-time today but we improved the bike, especially on corner exit where it now feels much smoother. I’m looking forward to pushing a bit harder tomorrow.”
Second MotoGP Official Test Sepang Day One Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Honda) 2’00.987: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.373: 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.481: 4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.667: 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.760: 10. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.237: 19. NOBUATSU AOKI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +3.652:
