GP10 gets Stoner thumbs up as Hayden continues to heal

The new Ducati Desmosedici GP10 engine is developing at a rate that has Casey Stoner extremely happy, following the first day of the second test at the Sepang International Circuit on Thursday.

The Australian set the second fastest lap of the day – a 2’01.219 from 33 laps – on the prototype, with a 0.151s second gap to quickest rider Valentino Rossi. Stoner is delighted with how the bike is progressing and believes there is plenty more to come.

“Everything was very positive and we have made a big step from the last test. Of course the track conditions were a lot better today than they were the last time we tested here,” said Stoner. “In general the bike felt pretty good from the beginning. We didn’t really change too much, we tried a lot of different things on both bikes but in the end we came back to what we started with, and the bike in general is very well balanced. It’s working quite well and we could have gone quite a lot faster today, but we definitely have a little bit in reserve so we’re very happy at the moment.”

The new engine in the GP10 is giving Stoner particular pleasure, and he continued: “The chassis is very similar to last year and we’re just trying different levels of stiffness in the swingarm, but the engine characteristics are just so much smoother, so much easier to ride and I’m finding it a lot better when the grip is down. We tried to improve from last year’s bike and make the bike a little bit easier on all circuits, instead of it being a real specialist bike. For me the bike is working a lot easier and is very good on the brakes.”

Team-mate Nicky Hayden rode for 61 laps at a best time of 2’02.221, and whilst the American wanted to go faster he knows that the surgery he had on his arm two weeks ago means he has to be careful.

“We started out just confirming a few things from the last test, a couple of geometry settings, so nothing too crazy at the moment. We’re just trying to check everything and be very clear and make sure we’re running in a good way,” said Hayden.

“This morning I wasn’t really thrilled with how it went – I would’ve liked to have been a bit quicker and got a bit more stuff done. Unfortunately after my arm surgery I have to be careful and not get carried away, only do a few laps at a time and make sure it heals. It feels quite good – the strength is the main thing, but I don’t really have a lot of pain.”