Honda's 2012 MotoGP Machine Tested In Japan, Stoner And Pedrosa To Test In Jerez

After the high-profile rollout Ducati gave their 2012 MotoGP machine at Jerez in early April, where both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden put laps on the new, larger capacity Desmosedici GP12, attention turned to the other manufacturers, with speculation beginning on when Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha would start to test their 2012 prototypes. Most of that attention was focused on Honda, as HRC had been due to test their bike for the new 1000cc capacity limit in mid-March, but the devastating Tohoku Earthquake (as it has now been named) which took place just a few days before the planned rollout put a stop to the test.

HRC was forced to postpone the test, but once the situation in parts of Japan started to normalize, the Japanese manufacturing giant could start to think about rescheduling the bike's on-track debut. The postponement would eventually be only a month, with the 2012 machine finally undergoing its shakedown test at Suzuka, on April 14th and 15th. The bike was put through its paces in a shakedown test by HRC's test riders Kousuke Akiyoshi and grizzled MotoGP veteran Tady Okada, according to a report on MotoGP.com.

Source:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Honda+new+prototype+machine+shakedown

http://twitter.com/falsap/status/61346893371936768

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