Dani Pedrosa was denied a perfect sweep of the two-day Jerez test by just 0.018sec, but the Repsol Honda rider left the Spanish track happy with the engine and chassis work completed on a prototype version of the 2009 RC212V.
Pedrosa won two out of the three 2008 grands prix held on home asphalt, including
Jerez, and had continued that form by claiming a 0.610sec advantage over nearest rival
Valentino Rossi on day one.
However Pedrosa - now riding with a #3 on his bike, in reference to his third place in the 2008 standings - could only lower his best lap time by 0.078sec on day two and lost the top spot to reigning six-time
MotoGP world champion Rossi as a result.
Both Pedrosa and Rossi were using prototype versions of their 2009 machinery, while Rossi's team-mate
Jorge Lorenzo - third on both days - used an evolution of the 2008 M1 on Thursday. Lorenzo was almost one-second behind Rossi and Pedrosa by the close of testing.
"After working with the engine yesterday, today we concentrated on the chassis," stated Pedrosa. "We worked to improve the behaviour of the machine during braking and in the turns. The only problem was the weather, which meant that we didn't get so much time on the bike today. We had to wait for the track to dry, so we didn't start until 2pm, and we finished at five. But we worked well and got the most out of those three hours.
"I found a good feeling with the bike this afternoon, so now we can sit down and analyse all the data we've gathered here in order to be ready for our next testing appointment at Sepang next year," he continued. "I don't have any special plans for the holiday season. During December I have some promotional events to do for some sponsors and then I will relax and enjoy some time with my family and friends."
New team-mate
Andrea Dovizioso is still adapting to his new role as a factory rider, and to
Bridgestone tyres. The Italian was seventh on day one and tenth on day two, out of the 14 riders, but at least lowered his lap time by 0.689sec. Dovi was also using the prototype 2009 factory RCV.
