The third and final day of the second pre-season MotoGP Test at Sepang concluded on Thursday, and rounding off the three days as the fastest rider on each was Casey Stoner. Getting well under the 2’00” mark with a best effort of 1’59.665 – Valentino Rossi’s 2009 circuit best lap had already been surpassed by both Stoner and Dani Pedrosa the previous day – the Australian continued what has been an impressive switch to the RC212V in the lead-up to the 2011 campaign.
Casey Stoner and Honda RC212V
It was a notable Test for the Honda in general and the RC212V filled the top four positions on the final day. Joining Stoner under two minutes was his team-mate Pedrosa, who with a best effort of 1’59.803 was just over a tenth of a second behind his colleague. Both have spent the Test comparing chassis options and working on braking stability. Marco Simoncelli, fastest here three weeks ago, was third with a best time of 2’00.163 and the San Carlo Honda Gresini man was satisfied with his performance on both hard and soft tyres across the entire three days. The outstanding issue for the Italian remains edge grip. Third Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was the final rider to get within a second of his team-mate Stoner, posting a fastest time of 2’00.541.
Following the quartet of Hondas were a trio of Yamahas, with factory team rider Ben Spies the highest placing M1 on Thursday in fifth position. Concluding his day early due to some remaining effects of his late crash the previous day, the American focused on electronics and chassis work in the morning, timing in with a 2’00.678 to close the day at 1.013s off Stoner.
2011 Honda RC212V Specifications and Photos
via MotoGP
