STIPA-Molenaar Racing GP presented their fresh colours for the season ahead in Switzerland recently, with competitors Randy Krummenacher and Quentin Jacquet. Swiss racer Krummenacher will be with the squad for another season, while Frenchman Jacquet arrives into the World Championship for his initial full year with the side.

Krummenacher has currently been training with friend, Formula 1 racer Sebastien Buemi of the Toro Rosso squad, at the Red Bull facilities in Austria. Krummenacher aspires that his preseason work will ensure a strong  year ahead with Arie Molenaar’s side.

Krummenacher, whose best result last season was ninth in the final race at Valencia, said: “After a difficult year in 2009 on the Aprilia RSA I’m confident that this year the performance will be better. The last race at Valencia, where I fought for fourth position, has pushed me to fight a top five finish in every race this year! During the winter I worked hard on my fitness. I know my goal to compete and be part of the top riders in the world is ambitious, but I will use the coming tests to prepare myself for the season.”

Krummenacher has been working intensely on his program following his debut. He has been racing with his Aprilia in Almeria, Cartagena and Motorland, he arrived twelth and ninth respectively in the official tests at Valencia and Jerez.

Jacquet is sure his colleague will aid him in developing a good first year, and is setting his goals to acheiving points at his home Grand Prix at Le Mans.

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A difficult final pre season testing for Hiroshi Aoyama, however this did not deter the Japanese racer’s spirits.

Issues with rear grip created problems for the Interwetten Honda MotoGP competitor and his squad, that was was unable to be resolved prior to the close of play, however an improved front feeling with the prototype was positive.

“It has been a bit of a hard day for us this second day in Qatar, but we started to work a little bit on set-up – yesterday was just to learn the track,” says Aoyama. “We improved the front feeling and the grip so it was positive for us, but we have a little bit of a bigger problem on the rear so we will try to find a solution.”

He adds, “In the time we had here we could not find the right solution, so it was a little bit hard. We kept working on it and we will see how much we can improve in the race week.”

Aoyama’s team will now analyse the information gathered over the tests and work on improvements that can be made prior to the initial race of the campaign in Qatar on April 11th. 

Aoyama’s crew chief Tom Jojic commented, “The second Test day was not easy for us. We are not yet where we have to be at this race track and Hiro needs some laps with the fast riders to learn from them. But even though he had problems with the rear we were able to improve his feeling for the front of the bike and that is a positive point about this Test. He was much happier today than yesterday.”

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Pramac Racing competitors Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaró, helped present the fresh colours of their Ducati Desmosedici GP10 machines on Wednesday at the Losail International Circuit, prior to the beginning of the last preseason offical testing.

The duo will begin the finale of their on circuit preparations for the fresh year on Thursday. The squad are taking their responsiblities to a new level this season by ensuring their actions are environmentally friendly.  This will entail solar panels and wind turbines, along with the use of recycled materials where available.

Paolo Campinoti, Pramac Racing owner, states, “We hope this can help to raise awareness among millions of fans and followers of MotoGP, and to be respectful for the world in which we live. We want to and we can make a difference, every one of us, and during this season our Green Energy Team will try to make the difference with various eco-friendly initiatives.”

On the year ahead, Campinoti adds, “Our riders will give the best on the track, and I am confident that we will achieve good results. Last year was perhaps one of the worst years of our MotoGP history even though we won the Rookie of the Year title with Mika Kallio. This year he will have to make the step forward to always fight among the top eight riders while his team-mate, the young Aleix Espargaró, can easily be near him considering his good results in the final races of last season.”

Campinoti is confident about his squad’s opportunities following the action seen of the Desmosedici GP10.

“Outside of the three riders who currently seem to have a gap on the others (Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo), behind them anything can really happen. I am also very confident after seeing the new Ducati on track. They worked very well this winter, giving us a very competitive motorbike.”

He concludes, “The two official Ducati bikes were in the top three (at the last Sepang test) and this has given me great confidence for this season, but at the same time I was worried to see our motorbikes far from the top positions.

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Pol Espargaró is one 125cc competitor that has shown excellent form in pre-season, as the preparations continue for the 2010 season. The young Bainet Derbi racer was the second quickest rider in the tests at Valencia and Jerez, with only Marc Márquez in front of him.

Espargaró has offered positive feedack for the work produced at Jerez, he was able to progress well on the circuit despite the consistency of rain.

“It’s been good, I think we’ve worked well during the weekend. We have had some small problems with the suspension, but little by little we are improving,” explains Espargaró.

“The main problem is the time we have had. With the rain every ten minutes this has stopped us from doing long runs and working with the tyres, because we haven’t had time, but we did a good job and we are ahead. These tests serve to prove things and we are doing well,” adds Espargaró.

Some competitors opted not to race in the wet conditions, however Espargaró used the rain to gain more experience on circuit.

“Last year I had a lot of problems in the rain and I needed a day like this to gain confidence on the bike. In the morning a set a time of 1’59.8 and in the afternoon, with a lot of water on the track, I made a 2’00.3 whilst testing two types of tyre and different chassis configurations,” he says.

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On February 18th, Roberto Rolfo had an unfortunate fall on the second day of private testing in Montmeló, which dislocated his left shoulder. The incident pushed him to skip the first official Moto2 test at Valencia last week, however he has now come back to action over the weekend at Jerez with a remarkable display.

“I am better. During this time out between the Barcelona test and now I was able to recover very quickly,” explains the Italian racer. “At the moment I still don’t have the strength to push at my maximum, but I am getting better hour by hour.”

“I’m happy I’ve recovered at such a rapid rate and I hope to be at 100% for the test at the end of the month. I’m sure I’ll be more competitive then.”

Rolfo finally tested his fresh motor, and information collected was very positive.

“The bike has changed a little bit compared to the one I rode previously,” he comments. “It’s improved in some aspects; I really like how the engine responds even though the feeling is practically the same.”

“I’m satisfied with the developments that we’ve made to the overall set-up of the bike and I hope we can add a few more kilometres at the final test so we arrive in Qatar in the best possible shape, for the start of the Championship,” concludes Rolfo.

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As the Fiat Yamaha squad, plus Valentino Rossi, prepare for defending the Italian’s title in this season’s MotoGP World Championship.  Rossi's team Manager Davide Brivio comments on Rossi's M1 that he will be racing this 2010 season.

Speaking at the second official test at Sepang, Brivio explains, “It’s a little bit different compared to the 2009 machine, starting with the front cowling. Yamaha worked on the aerodynamics of this new bike, in order to improve the performances and top speed, and also the cooling. Here at Sepang is a very good place to test because the temperature is very high and we can see if this has a good effect. We actually tested it last time and it was good, so this will be the final spec of the cowling for 2010.”

Discussing the new technical regulations that incporporates a maximum of six engines per racer, Brivio adds, “Another important area where we worked on this bike is the engine. Because the regulations this year mean everyone must only use a maximum of six engines, we had to improve the durability and reliability of the engine because they have to last much longer. The difficulty has been finding durability without losing performance. We already had some good results, because in lower rpm and middle rpm our engine is better than 2009, and we haven’t lose any top speed so far.”

The frame of the bike also receives some concern, as Brivio describes the task of modifications without loss of performance.

“We’re also working a lot on the chassis, trying to find a different rigidity balance in order to improve the grip on the tyre, without losing too much on the engine. So we have to find the best compromise between gaining the grip and maintaining the good characteristics of the bike,” says Brivio, before concluding.

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With Ben Spies at Monster Yamaha Tech3 this season will be Tom Houseworth, the competitor’s crew chief. Houseworth is united with the set up of Spies’ world superbike championship victory squad last season, and carries his expertise over to MotoGP with the racer.

“I started in AMA in the late 80s and worked my way up, and I’ve been with Ben since 2003,” says Houseworth. “I basically take whatever Ben has on the track and get it to the engineer and our data guys, and try and get the best package for Ben for race day.”

He adds, “For me he is really good. He is one of the few riders I’ve had who will come in and say: ‘It’s me, it’s not the bike: I have to go a little faster before we change anything’. That’s really refreshing. You can have a guy who will go out for three laps and say the bike is a pile of junk, but Ben never does that. He will make sure he is up to speed before he changes anything so that’s a real plus on our side.”

Spies had an impressive Sepang test which has increased expectations following the 2010 season ahead, though Houseworth says the goal focus is on the racer to continue learning with his M1 bike.

“As far as targets go, I know Ben said top ten or top five,” states Houseworth. “Top ten’s going to be good, and obviously deep down we’re going to want to win. Is that possible? I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until the first few races and see where we stand. He’s just been learning the bike. We haven’t really pushed it too hard, we barely changed anything and it’s just a matter of Ben learning the limits of this particular bike, and then we’ll see where it happens.”

Looking ahead and whether Spies may be a future contendor for the World Champion, Houseworth explains, “I don’t see why not. My opinion is that he is as good as anybody out there.

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Following over 100 laps and a speed of nearly 600km, the Dani Pedrosa has consistently improved by taking half a second off his lap times initially on the second day of testing.

Could you sum up the two days of testing?
“We mainly focused on the new chassis and Ohlins suspension again, after the tests we did at the beginning of the month here in Malaysia. To be honest, the sensations on this machine are still new for me because as well as starting to work with Ohlins after so much time with Showa (both Honda and I), the chassis has changed and the electronics have evolved. What we're looking for now is a good combination of everything and we still haven't found it, we haven't made the progress we expected. So we need to reflect on it, see what we need and advance in the forthcoming test in Qatar.”

You haven't finished where you expected. Are you worried because there are only two test days left before the World Championship starts?
“I'm not worried, but it's true that we only have two days left to test and perhaps that won't be enough time for us. However, that's what there is and we have to work with that, so we'll try and be as ready as possible for the first race. Honda is making a huge effort and I'm also making a maximum effort, so the results have to be noticeable soon.”

What is the problem at the moment?
“It's difficult to explain because I have conflicting sensations. On the positive side, we have managed to get better control of the machine coming out of the turns and it's a bit smoother.”

Do you think that Honda could do anything, like bringing new material?
“I don't know what the plan will be because obviously, first of all we have to analyse and check what we need and what we have to do. Then, we'll take the necessary measures.”

What would be the priority that you need to resolve?
“At the moment we have problems with the chassis and suspension. The combination hasn't worked well and it isn't truly matched.”

After being able to train well over the winter, without the problems of previous years; how do you feel physically?
“In the first test we did, I didn't feel completely fit and after riding those two days, we prepared a more specific training plan concentrating on the points where I felt a little weak, for example, when braking. We did more arm exercises and in this second test I felt better. There are still aspects that can be improved and we have a month to go before the first race, during which time we can do it well.”

Have you improved in braking, which was one of the biggest problems last year?
“Not enough yet to be able to say that we can forget about it.”

And the electronics?
“I think we've advanced there, although we still haven't managed to adjust the machine's chassis, so we can't really get the most out of them. As soon as we find the direction to take with the chassis and the suspension, we'll be able to benefit more from the new electronics, which I think is positive.”

The next test is in Qatar, at night, in conditions that are very different to those that you are going to find in the rest of the season.
“Yes, it will be a test that focuses more on the first race, but we'll have to get the most out of it for our machine.”

Do you think the change in your garage with Alberto Puig as the team manager will affect you in any way? Have you noticed any differences?
“At the moment, it's the same as before. Things are running smoothly but if we have any problems, I hope that they can be corrected more quickly, as he is a person who says things very clearly.”

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