Brno MotoGP: Repsol Honda to test Ohlins suspension

Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will test Ohlins suspension during Monday’s test session at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic.
The factory Honda duo will run back-to-back tests against current suspension supplier Showa following successful Ohlins tests in Japan by Tadayuki Okada and Kousuke Akiyoshi recently.
The surprise move is the result of a request by Honda’s Research and Development department in Japan, which is currently working on the 2010 factory RC212V.
One of the big complaints voiced by Pedrosa and British GP winner Dovizioso in 2009 has been Honda’s struggle to extract maximum performance out of Bridgestone tyres.
Tests in Japan on Ohlins have been deemed a sufficient step in performance to get Pedrosa and Dovizioso’s comments on Monday.
But Pedrosa said it would be impossible for him to switch to Ohlins for the final six races, even if he felt the switch from Showa was a big improvement.
Pedrosa told MCN: “This was a HRC proposal and I think it is a good idea. Everybody else is on Ohlins, so why not try and see if we can improve? It will be just a test and if I really like them we will have to push. But there is no way we can use it for the races during this season.”
Italian Dovizioso also told MCN: “This will be really interesting because I’ve never tried Ohlins. It will be interesting to see how it performs and whether there is a difference. It is good to see Honda deciding to try because it means they want to find a solution to some of our problems. When you speak with all the other riders about suspension I’ve never heard any bad complaints about Ohlins so I’m looking forward to trying it.”
HRC denied it could run Ohlins for the remainder of the season because of its current contract with Showa. But Honda did have a contract with Michelin in 2008, which was broken to allow Pedrosa to switch to Bridgestone tyres,
LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet currently uses Ohlins suspension on his satellite RC212V.