Casey Stoner Leads a MotoGP Full House at Sepang Test
With the exception of the yet-to-be named riders from Team Roberts, the first MotoGP pre-season test for 2008 at Sepang Circuit beginning this Tuesday (January 22) will feature all the competing riders along with a number of test riders as they conduct their first test after a seven-week mandatory embargo.
Leading the way will be the newly crowned champion Casey Stoner, who is partnering Italian Marco Melandri for the Ducati Marlboro Team and following the style of 2006 winner Nicky Hayden, using the champion’s No #1 plate for the new season.
“Basically, we will have everybody here at Sepang. Except for Team Roberts, we basically have a full house for the test here at the circuit,” says test coordinator Rick Crichton of the International Racing Teams Association (IRTA) when met at the circuit today.
“Yes, Casey Stoner and the whole Ducati team will be here … the Honda teams, Yamaha, Suzuki teams will all be here. All except Team Roberts,” said Ricky, adding that as in previous years, the MotoGP test in Sepang would run in three days from January 22 to 24.
After Sepang, the teams and riders would proceed to Phillip Island in Melbourne, Australia before returning to Sepang early month from February 4 to 6 for a second round of test around the 5.543-km Malaysian track to prepare for the 2008 season.
For seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi, it will be his first pre-season test for the new season after missing the tests in Valencia and Sepang last year due his hand injury that he sustained at the concluding round in the Spanish city, capping a disappointing season for the legendary rider.
Champions in the premier class for five seasons from 2001 to 2005, Rossi finished third overall last year - 126 points behind Stoner and one point behind Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. The Italian took four race wins, which was his least amount of victories since 2000.
Speaking ahead of the Sepang tests, Rossi, who unlike Stoner and Hayden, competed with his traditional No #46 plate during his years as world champion, said that he was looking forward to the new season and the test in Sepang.
“I’m very happy that we’re so close to the start of racing. This is a very important year for us and our only aim is to win, although it’s going to be hard work. My hand [injured at the Valencia season finale] is much better, if not yet perfect, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike in Sepang.
“Everyone has been working very hard over the winter and I think our new bike is quite good, although of course we still have a lot of work to do. Everyone is very motivated and I know that we have the best team there is,” he said at the official launch of the new 2008 YR-M1 MotoGP machine in Turin, Italy last Friday.
With Colin Edwards moving to Team Yamaha Tech 3, Rossi having a MotoGP rookie as his new partner in Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, winner of the 250cc in 2006 and 2007. Despite being partners, the two riders would be racing with different tyres for the new season, with Rossi switching to Bridgestone while Lorenzo riding on the Michelins.
Now with Rizla Suzuki, Loris Capirossi already believes that the GSV-R 2008 machines will be able to compete with anything on the 2008 MotoGP grid.
Like his rivals, Capirossi and team-mate Chris Vermeulen are looking forward to the first test of 2008 at Sepang; boosted by the positive results from the previous three pre-season tests last year at Valencia, Sepang and Phillip Island.
“This is a great time to be with Suzuki, I believe that I have joined a team that is very much on the way up. I was pleased with the way the bike behaved in the tests last year and am very excited about what we will have to test in Sepang. For sure it is not going to be easy this year as other teams will have improved their bikes, but I feel we will be able to compete with anybody.
“We need to get into the tests and make sure we can get the best set-up and performance from the bike in time for the first race. You don’t win races in tests but we have a good chance to make sure that we are in the best position to win them when the season starts by using these upcoming days to make every possible improvement that we can,” said the former Marlboro Ducati rider.
The new season would open on March 9 at the Qatar Grand Prix with Losail International Circuit hosting the first ever night race in the history of MotoGP. Sepang would host the penultimate round of the season from October 17 to 19.
Sepang MotoGP Test – The Full List
1.Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) – Ducati
2. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) – Honda
3. Alex de Angelis (Honda Gresini) – Honda
4. Andrea Dovizioso (JIR Scot Team) – Honda
5. Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) – Yamaha
6. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) – Suzuki
7. Anthony West (Kawasaki Racing Team) – Kawasaki
8. Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR) – Honda
9. John Hopkins (Kawasaki Racing Team) – Kawasaki
10. Toni Elias (Team Alice) – Ducati
11. Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro Team) – Ducati
12. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) – Yamaha
13. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) – Yamaha
14. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Alice) – Ducati
15. James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3) Yamaha
16. Shinya Nakano (Honda Gresini) – Honda
17. Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) – Suzuki
18. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team) – Honda
19. Nobuatsu Aoki (Suzuki Test Team) – Suzuki
20. K. Akiyoshi (Suzuki Test Team) – Suzuki
21. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki Test Team) – Kawasaki
22. Serizawa (Kawasaki Test Team) – Kawasaki
23. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Test Team) – Ducati
24. TBA (Honda Test Team) – Honda
