Casey Stoner has described his three days spent testing for Honda as a “very positive” after riding a variety of motorcycles for the team at Sepang. The Australian ran both the 2014 and 2015 specifications of the RC213V MotoGP machine, comparing the chassis and experimenting with several new components, and believes the three days proved ultimately productive despite some unwelcome rain.
“Overall it’s been a good test, very positive and we got a lot done! On the first day we worked on the base setup and tested some small things before the rain arrived and we had to stop. Then on day two I spent a lot of time doing a back-to-back chassis comparison from last year’s bike to this year’s and I also tested different variations of the chassis. Brembo brought some new aluminium callipers for us to try and Honda had several other test items which we managed to get through before the rain came once again. On the final day we confirmed some feelings from yesterday and tried a few electronic packages as well as some different suspension.”
Stoner also tried out a Honda CBR1000RR with an eye on this year’s Suzuka 8 Hour and the two-time MotoGP world champion enjoyed his experience on a superbike.
“Riding the CBR was very different, I’ve never really ridden that kind of bike, the shifting, riding position, engine power, weight characteristic etc was quite difficult and took some getting used to. After a few exits I had more of an understanding and was able to give some feedback. In general it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being able to feel the rear of the bike step out!”.
