MotoGP News
Date: 5/February/2012
‘Catch me if you can’. That was the clear, if unspoken, message delivered by reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner during the first test session of 2012.
The Repsol Honda star didn’t even ride on day one a Sepang in Malaysia, but went straight to the top on day two, then strengthened his position with a record-breaking day three lap.
Amazingly, Stoner achieved that success while nursing a painful back strain, which caused his day one absence, and despite significant vibration problems with the latest Bridgestone tyres on his RC213V motorcycle.
The hard-riding Australian, the only rider to tame the 800cc Ducati and a world champion for the second time in his debut season at Repsol Honda, strained his back whilst warming-up in the pit garage on day one.
"All of a sudden my back just locked up on me,” he said. “I had some more physio after lunch but it still wasn't easing up. I could have gone out in the afternoon but we agreed it would probably make it worse.”
The lost track time certainly didn’t seem to hold Stoner ‘back’. The #1 went on to finish 0.157s clear of the field on day two, and then extended his advantage to 0.591s on the final day.
But he had to grit his teeth to do it.
Shortly before leaving Malaysia, Stoner said: “The bike is getting better but unfortunately my back feels like it's gone three rounds with Mike Tyson! My whole back is killing me at the moment.
“I'm very surprised that we were able to be so competitive after what happened on day one. We just tried to make the test as productive as possible without doing too many laps, by weeding out what was good and bad in time for the next test.”
Stoner’s best time of 1m 59.607s is believed to be the fastest ever two-wheeled lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix circuit - and was set on only his second lap of the final day!
“Cloud cover was keeping the temperature lower in the morning. We knew we could do a fairly good lap time but we didn't expect that,” said Stoner. “I might have had one more run left in me in the afternoon to try and beat it, but it started raining.”
Stoner’s main technical concern is with solving a stubborn vibration issue which has emerged when using the latest specification of Bridgestone tyres.
“We're still chasing a solution for the vibration but we're going pretty fast even with the problem. So it's a positive and a negative,” he explained. “We had the vibration a bit last year, but it’s increased with the new tyres.”
Stoner handed Bridgestone its first premier-class title during open tyre competition in 2007, but now seems suspicious of what MotoGP’s exclusive tyre supplier tells him.
Stoner said: “You don’t really know what they’re giving you. They’ll tell me the tyre is exactly the same as the time before, but why are they the ‘new’ version if they are exactly the same?
“We’ve definitely got a problem [with the vibration] but I think we can overcome it.”
Stoner will return to Sepang alongside his main MotoGP rivals for a second test session later this month. Until then, his priority will be on personal matters.
“I'm looking forward to getting home to Switzerland to see Adriana and await the arrival of our baby!" he said.
Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo finished second at the test, with Stoner’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa in third.
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