THE FORTUNA HONDA TEAM BACK TO WORK AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Marco Melandri was the fastest rider on track while Toni
Elias made his debut with the RC211V on the Australian track.
Phillip Island (Australia), Tuesday, January 31st 2006 -
MotoGP action resumes at Philip Island, Australia for the
first day of the second test session in preparation of the
2006 season.
It was an important test session for both riders of the FORTUNA
HONDA TEAM: Marco Melandri worked in particular at the weight
distribution of the bike, finding interesting solutions. He
lapped with a good rhythm, scoring the best lap of the day.
Toni Elias continued his step-by step approach, working to
a carefully prepared pre-season test schedule designed to
give him a complete overview
of precisely what he can expect from his RC211V during his
debut season.
The opening day of the Australian test session was characterized
by generally cloudy sky and strong wind, typical for this
area.
MARCO MELANDRI (92 laps, 1'30"72):
"The bike worked very well today. At the Sepang test
we found the right direction to work in and today we concentrated
on the geometry of the bike and the weight distribution looking
for a base setting that will be good for all tracks. We need
to work on the front suspension to get a better feeling but
I feel quite satisfied with what we did today. I am beginning
to find rhythm without pushing too hard."
TONI ELIAS (100 laps, 1'32"20): "To
come back to a track new to me with the RCV I found it difficult
to get comfortable on the bike. After the lunch break things
got a little better with the set up. We are looking for a
base setting that will be good for all tracks. We worked on
the general chassis and suspension settings and we continue
our step by step schedule."
Temperatures: Air 24°C - Asphalt 34°C
Unofficial lap times
1) Marco Melandri (Honda) 1'30.72
2) Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1'30.94
3) Casey Stoner (Honda) 1'31.00
4) Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 1'31.27
5) Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'31.49
6) Kenny Roberts (KR) 1'31.50
7) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1'31.61
8) Makoto Tamada (Honda) 1'31.88
9) Shinja Nakano (Kawasaki) 1'32.04
10) Toni Elias (Honda) 1'32.20
11) Randy DePuniet (Kawasaki) 1'32.49
11) Josè Luis Cardoso (Ducati) 1'32.78
12) Alex Hoffman (Ducati) 1'32.90
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