2012 Sepang 1 MotoGP Test Day 2 Times Compared: 2012 Test vs 2011 Test

With almost everyone at Sepang improving their times on the second day of the MotoGP test, it is once again worth comparing times with test times from the same test last year. Below is both a list containing the full ranking, including times from the second day of the 2011 test at Sepang and the second day of the 2012 Sepang test, and a list showing the amount by which each of the riders have improved.

The improvement for each rider makes for interesting reading. The most obvious detail is that the riders who have improved the most are riders who were rookies last year. Cal Crutchlow is nearly a second and a half faster than he was at the same time last year, while Karel Abraham has posted a very respectable improvement of over eight tenths. The other thing that is immediately clear is how badly Toni Elias struggled on the Honda - or rather, on the Bridgestone tires - last year: Stefan Bradl is over 1.6 seconds faster than Elias was at the test last year. Bradl's adapation period has been fast, the German getting up to speed quickly, but most of all, the number illustrates Elias' plight in 2011.

Of the regulars, Valentino Rossi has made the most progress, reflecting in part the massive step forward that Ducati have made with the GP12. The magnitude of the task that Rossi faces is clear from the men behind him, however. While Rossi improved his time by over seven tenths, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies all took more or less half a second off their times from last year, a number which is probably a realistic guide to the amount the bikes have improved. Ducati Corse chief Filippo Preziosi said the models they had run comparing the 2011 bike with the original design of the 2012 machine predicted about a half a second faster lap times around Mugello, a number wholly in line with what we are seeing at Sepang.

Of the Fab Four at Sepang, Dani Pedrosa's time is the biggest surprise, the Spaniard being a quarter of a second than his best time of 2011. Pedrosa spent a lot of time in the garage during Wednesday, and the time Pedrosa set in 2011 was made very early on, under near ideal track conditions. Whether there is more to come from Pedrosa will have to wait for the final day, perhaps.

Pedrosa wasn't the only rider to post a slower time than last year, though the rest were all riders who changed manufacturers. After Suzuki pulled out, Alvaro Bautista was forced to switch to the satellite Gresini Honda, while Andrea Dovizioso lost his factory Honda ride and now sits in the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha garage. Dovizioso is also still recovering from a broken collarbone, making finding his feet on the Yamaha a little difficult.

The rider who lost the most, unsurprisingly, was Colin Edwards. The Texan left Monster Tech 3 Yamaha for a genuine adventure with the NGM Forward team racing as a CRT entry. The Suter BMW needs a massive amount of work done, and the technical niggles which have plagued the team are testament to that. While the 2012 Suter has solved some of the problems, the bike is still suffering from chatter at the rear, and a lot of development work lies ahead for Edwards. That, though, is exactly what the Texan signed up for.

Improvement from day 2 of the 2012 and 2011 tests at Sepang:

* Stefan Bradl took Toni Elias' spot at the LCR Honda team
+ Bautista, Dovizioso and Edwards all changed brands, Edwards switching to a CRT bike

Full results ranking, including times from both 2011 and 2012: