Yamaha Factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies today completed the final session of the three day IRTA test at the Sepang International circuit in Sepang. The second outing for the 2012 1000cc YZR-M1 proved to be a great success with the riders getting the opportunity to work through a number of updates including chassis, electronics and set up in both wet and dry conditions.
Both riders suffered crashes this morning but were unhurt. Lorenzo spent the final afternoon engaged in a race simulation run, pleased with the results having been able to deliver consistent fast laps over an extended period around the 2’01 second mark. He finishes the second Sepang test in fourth position, 0.404 seconds behind Casey Stoner. Spies leaves Sepang in confident mood having bonded well with the 1000cc bike in both wet and dry conditions, taking his first ever wet laps of the circuit yesterday afternoon. The Texan wrapped up the test in eighth place, 0.959 seconds from first.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position : 4th Time: 2’00.877 Laps: 52
“Well, this afternoon was one of the hardest race simulations of my career because the 1000 is more tiring to ride and the rear tyre seems to drop a lot after three or four laps. After this the feeling stays the same but it’s very different to last year, it’s almost like racing in the rain trying to control the rear in the corner exits and acceleration. I managed to finish the simulation with a good pace so all in all it has been a very positive test, thank you to Yamaha for their hard work.”
Ben Spies
Position : 8th Time: 2’01.432 Laps: 28
“Today was good, we unfortunately had a small crash but we learnt a lot and got to test some new electronic settings which were a big improvement. We also tried some different shock settings which were a big step forward. It’s a shame we crashed but we know from this test that the bike has great potential so we can go to Jerez with confidence.”
Test Times
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2’00.473
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’00.648
3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2’00.802
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’00.877
5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2’00.986
6. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’01.231
7. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2’01.275
8. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’01.432
9. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2’01.492
10. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2’01.550
11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2’01.609
12. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2’03.490
13. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2’03.681
14. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 2’06.632
15. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’06.785
