Step forward for 2015 machine in Brno post-race test as Marquez logs new record lap
Brno Official Test: Repsol Honda review
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Championship leader Marc Marquez and Sunday’s race winner Dani Pedrosa were back on track in Brno on Monday for the post-race test.
This was a chance for the Repsol Honda riders to confirm some modifications made on the 2015 prototype after the initial test at this track just over a month ago. Despite a brief afternoon shower, track conditions were noticeably better than during the July test – after the action from the weekend – and both riders reported positively on the RC213V evolution, especially the chassis, and set their fastest times of the day on the new machine.
Marquez, who finished off the podium for the first time in his MotoGP career yesterday, was back on top on Monday working on setups on his current 2014 bike this morning. This afternoon he concentrated on the 2015 machine and set the fastest time of the day – 1’55.411 on lap 54 of 65 – and a new lap record, 0.116 faster than Crutchlow’s 2013 pole position (1’55.527), and 0.174 faster than his own pole time from Saturday (1’55.585).
"Today went very well and I am very happy, because we’ve erased the doubts that we had after yesterday’s race," explained Marquez. "We didn’t understand what had happened. We reached the conclusion that many factors combined yesterday, because today we were fast from the start and had a good pace with the same setup as yesterday. This morning we focused on work with this year’s bike, using some different setups, and I immediately felt very comfortable. Later we tried out the new bike again, which has great potential, and we set a good time with it. The best thing is that the pace we had today was back to that which we had over the entire weekend – except for Sunday."
Pedrosa worked on suspension settings and engine mappings on his 2014 RC213V in preparation for the remainder of the season. However, he also set his best time of 1’56.014 (lap 23 of 38) on the 2015 prototype, and finished 3rd fastest for the day.
"We used today to try different setups, using the data gathered during the race yesterday here at Brno," said Pedrosa. "Above all we focused on suspensions and on engine mapping, bearing in mind the races we have remaining this season. We also tested next year’s bike, which has a few updates compared to the last time we rode it here in July. After the first test we made a few changes; some worked out positively and others didn’t, but we were able to take a further step forward with its development and the next time we will test it will be at Valencia."
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