Record times for Tohru Ukawa and RC211V.
The second day of the HRC RC211V test at Sepang, Malaysia, saw Tohru Ukawa and the five-cylinder Honda four stroke circulating at lap record time. The daily monsoon rain held off until late afternoon allowing Ukawa and HRC test rider Shinichi Itoh a trouble free day of testing.
Ukawa made the best of the opportunity to set the fastest lap recorded at the 5.548km circuit by a grand prix motorcycle. His time of 2m 05.39s was 0.228s inside the lap record, set by Valentino Rossi at the grand prix last October.
The second day of the HRC RC211V test at Sepang, Malaysia, saw Tohru Ukawa and the five-cylinder Honda four stroke circulating at lap record time. The daily monsoon rain held off until late afternoon allowing Ukawa and HRC test rider Shinichi Itoh a trouble free day of testing.
Ukawa made the best of the opportunity to set the fastest lap recorded at the 5.548km circuit by a grand prix motorcycle. His time of 2m 05.39s was 0.228s inside the lap record, set by Valentino Rossi at the grand prix last October.
"I'm very, very happy with today, especially to break the lap record." Said Tohru Ukawa. "Everything ran just fine. We were testing tyres and some small modifications I was not looking for a lap time. What is important here is to keep the development of the machine moving forward. The bike is good here but we still have a lot of work to do."
Itoh, on his first ever visit to the circuit, was not far behind Ukawa at 2m 05.91s.
"Very happy, and very surprised," added Shinichi Itoh. "My lap times are very good, considering I have only had two days at this track. The bike has made it easy, it works very well here. I'm pleased with the progress we're making with the RCV."
Team Honda Gresini rider Daijiro Katoh was a shade faster than Itoh at 2m 05.86s on the V-4, NSR500 two-stroke he will race against the mighty 990cc the four-strokes in the 2002 MotoGP World Championship.
After a shake down test yesterday Team West Honda Pons got down to serious work with their 2002 NSR500's for the first time and were quickly on the pace. World number three Loris Capirossi faster than team mate Alex Barros at 2m 05.98s.
Team Kanemoto Honda rider Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh did not test today following his heavy crash yesterday. The team's NSR500 was too badly damaged to repair in time.
Tohru Ukawa , RC211V 71 laps. Time 2m 05.39s.Shinichi Itoh, RC211V 71 laps. Time 2m 05.91s.
Daijiro Katoh, NSR500 47 laps. Time 2m 05.86s.Loris Capirossi, NSR500 50 laps. Time 2m 05.98s.Alex Barros, NSR500 44 laps. Time 2m 07.73s.
