MotoGP news

De Puniet satisfied with Honda's new bike

After the winter break, the MotoGP riders and teams are back on track for the first time this year at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang for a three-day test session. This represents the first opportunity this year for the competitors to begin work on their 2008 prototypes.

Sunny skies and hot temperature (32°) welcomed the premier class riders for the first day of testing and LCR Honda MotoGP Team rider Randy De Puniet, aboard the 2008 RC211V (2007 engines will be ready for Jerez test session in Feb.), topped the board with a 2.01.377 lap.

The Frenchman's quick lap came on race rubber on lap 65 at the end of a productive day. De Puniet completed 68-laps today working on new chassis setting, suspensions development and tyre testing for Michelin. Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa got the second position behind Randy with a best lap time of 2'01.864 but he suffered a big crash with a suspected broken hand.

De Puniet commented on his day: "I feel quite satisfied today! We tested the new bike for the first time and the chassis seems a bit better for me. Honestly I did not find a big difference between this new bike and 2007-spec one. We did a good job on chassis setting and suspensions regulations even if we must wait till Jerez test to work on the 2008 engines. We kept on working with Michelin on race tyres testing with good results and we planned to ride a race simulation tomorrow. I feel sorry for Dani Pedrosa and hope he will better soon."

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