Gresini Honda Phillip Island test notes 2008-02-01

PHILLIP ISLAND -- The final day of MotoGP tests in Australia saw Team Honda Gresini working hard on the RC212V Honda bike set-up. Some improvements from yesterday's best lap timing were set with race tyres, but not with qualifying tyres. The team is now ready to move back to Malaysia where another three-day testing session is to take place next week, before returning to Europe.

ALEX DE ANGELIS, 91 laps, best time 1.30.438
"Today I made many laps on my bike and even simulated a race: it was a tough session and one of the longest in my entire career, but in the end I managed to improve slightly my lap time from yesterday, which is positive. This shows we are competitive and I believe that, with Bridgestone helping us, we will soon be able to do better. I am aware there is still lots of work to do, but I have proved to be a top rider already and this is a great satisfaction for me!"

SHINYA NAKANO, 89 laps, best time 1.30.728
"Also today we have worked hard on different bike set-ups: our RC212V Honda bike is a very competitive machine and I believe we will be able to achieve good results during this year's championship. We concentrated on race simulation but tested qualifying tyres as well; we now expect to receive new material from Bridgestone and are confident in their total support."

FAUSTO GRESINI, team manager, stated: "It has been a very positive three day test for my team: the bike is competitive and both my riders have proved to have a good pace with race tyres. With qualifiers instead, we didn't produce satisfying results so we will have to work harder on this aspect. These tests gave us the chance to try different material and understand where we need to make some progress. On the whole I am very pleased with my team's work and my rider's results on track. We can now move to Malaysia for the last winter tests next week, with great enthusiasm."

-credit: gresini racing