Marco Simoncelli to test Honda 1000cc bike in Japan

Italian rider Marco Simoncelli will make his debut on Honda’s new 1000cc RC213V machine at the Twin Ring Motegi on Monday.

The former 250GP world champion, who announced he’d signed a new one-year contract with the San Carlo Gresini Honda squad yesterday (Wednesday), confirmed to MCN he will ride the bike that so far only Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa have tested earlier this season.

Simoncelli told MCN: “I will try the bike after the race on Monday and I am very curious. I want to understand what it is like to ride a 1000cc bike and to try and give my opinion to the technicians to try and develop the bike.”

Simoncelli is hoping the new 1000cc bike with more power and torque compared to the current 800cc four-stroke machines will help him much more in 2012.

He has complained frequently that being one of the tallest and heaviest riders in the MotoGP field puts him at an unfair disadvantage compared to smaller and lighter rivals like Pedrosa.

Simoncelli has made regular comments on excessive fuel consumption hurting him in the latter stages of races, but he thinks next season might be a more level playing field with the introduction of the 1000cc bikes.

He added: “I hope with more power and more torque that the heavier riders feel much less difference to the smaller riders. The 21-litre fuel rule for me is not a good thing because a lighter rider accelerates more. Also when there are consumption problems on a certain track like Qatar or Misano, if you’re a lighter rider you have less consumption and you can use more fuel, which means more power. You can lose some tenths in every lap because you have less power.”