Pedrosa and Dovizioso leave Sepang happy

Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso were in good spirits following the conclusion of the first 2010 MotoGP test on Friday, with each rider highly satisfied with what had been achieved.

Pedrosa finished the second and final day of the test as the fourth quickest rider on board the RC212V, which he rode with Öhlins suspension. The Spaniard also took advantage of the rain in the morning to test his new machine, with its enhanced electronic package.

“We got through a lot more testing today and I can say that we improved significantly - and that’s important in terms of finding a good direction to follow,” said Pedrosa, whose best lap was 2’01.822. “We were working mainly on the rear suspension and we’ve managed to collect a lot of data that should help us for the next test here in two weeks’ time. We were also testing swingarms and at the end of the day I could feel the improvements, and so I’m happy about that.”

He continued: “Yesterday (Thursday) it took me longer to get into a rhythm on the machine because it was the first day back in the saddle, but today it was much better - though I’m not at 100% yet. To have the second test here in just two weeks is really good for us. I haven’t asked for new parts because me and the team think it’s better to analyse what we’ve found here and focus on that. I’m going home satisfied.”

Dovizioso continued the detailed testing programme designed to configure the settings for this year’s factory machine, focusing predominantly on suspension set-up. The Italian reported that the electronics have improved many areas of the RC212V’s dynamic performance.

“I leave Sepang feeling positive and I’m confident for the next test because we have clear ideas about the direction we have to follow,” said Dovizioso, who timed his best lap at 2’02.272. “Today we worked on the suspension and tested some set-up options - with positive results. I’m happy because, thanks to the electronics, the package has improved in all aspects - but there is still a job to do.”

He added: “In particular we need to take another step forward regarding the balance. I’m confident that we can work on this at next test session here in Sepang. Today we were always running on hard tyres and we didn’t look for ultimate lap times. I think the next Sepang test will be more indicative about our true pace.”