Posted by Administrator on 11-30-2007 at 04:11 am
Shaking off any remaining pain in his recovering hand in Jerez today, Valentino Rossi recorded the second fastest time of the day, dipping well under the lap record he set on the way to victory back in 2005. The Fiat Yamaha rider, who also won the race here last March, set a best lap of 1’40.134 on a qualifying tyre, after a total of 56 laps on the second day of the year-ending three-day test.
Rossi’s second day on Bridgestone tyres was once again focused almost entirely around adapting his M1 to the different tyres and discovering as much as possible about his new rubber. Rossi’s time was bettered only by Dani Pedrosa with a lap of 1’39.993.
Valentino Rossi (2nd, 1’40.134, 56 laps)
“Today we made longer runs than yesterday and our times were still consistent, which means we are working in the right direction. We still are still missing something in terms of performance, but for sure we are making improvements in terms of constancy. Bridgestone has brought quite soft tyres here to Jerez, because they expected lower temperatures, so I am sure that with some harder material we could do even better. The pace is not bad at all and it is similar to the one I had in the race here at the beginning of the past season. I could probably have done even better today with the material I had, but I kept some “margin” to improve tomorrow. Tomorrow we will test some more qualifying tyres and we will also make a long run. Today we tested 2007 tyres, but tomorrow I will have some brand new tyres in order to find more grip. Of course we need to work on the bike, too; the bike’s power delivery puts a lot of pressure on the tyres, so we need to make it “sweeter”. Generally speaking this is what I was waiting for: new motivat ion and a lot of fun, and in fact I am having a lot of fun with the new tyres. I am looking forward to starting the next season because it will be exciting and interesting, but before that I want to finish this test in the best way and then start again in January in order to arrive at Qatar in the best possible shape”.
Davide Brivio –Team Manager
“Today was another positive day for us. We are still working on “discovering” the Bridgestone world, which is brand new for us. We are testing several different solutions, reviewing all possible material from Bridgestone to find the best way to achieve our goal. Today we continued from where we finished yesterday to see how to adapt the bike to the new tyres and we also tested two different qualifying tyres. The rider’s feeling was positive, so we look forward to working in the same direction tomorrow.”
Lorenzo making quick progress in Spain
New 2008 Yamaha signing Jorge Lorenzo continued to impress as he carried on with his YZR-M1 testing programme in Jerez today, despite a fall in the morning. The 20-year-old was luckily unhurt and was able to continue almost immediately, eventually improving nearly 0.4 seconds on his time from yesterday.
Lorenzo and his new team carried on with set-up work, looking to perfect his position on the bike in order to make him as comfortable as possible. After 49 laps, the Spaniard’s time of 1’40.883 put him tenth today.
Jorge Lorenzo (10th, 1’40.883, 49 laps)
“Today it went even better than yesterday, despite my fall this morning, which was due to the fact that I entered turn 11 too fast and I slid out. Fortunately I did not hurt myself at all and I immediately got back on the track. Today we improved in the hard braking areas: now I feel that I am braking later and riding more cleanly. Today we also tested a new front tyre and I found it to be quite good, so I think we will keep working in that direction tomorrow. Today I only tested race tyres and I am quite satisfied with the times, but I am sure we can improve further tomorrow.”
Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Unfortunately today’s fall slowed down our working schedule a little, but despite this we used all the information we collected yesterday in order to improve the bike set-up even more. For sure we improved the bike stability in braking and going into the turn, working on the overall set-up and particularly on suspension and bike geometry. Day after day Jorge is more and more the “owner” of his bike, he gets more confidence and now we need to improve the traction a little bit, but we have some good ideas and information for tomorrow. We also found a good front race tyre and we will keep on working on that tomorrow. Generally speaking it was a positive day for us and we look forward to making further improvements tomorrow.”
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Lap Times
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’39.993
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’40.134
3. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1’40.251
4. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1’40.332
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.40.650
6. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’40.692
7. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1’40.820
8. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’40.833
9. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’40.838
10. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’40.883
11. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1’40.939
12. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1’41.278
13. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1’41.424
14. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1’41.729
15. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1’42.188
16. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1’43.143
17. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1’43.399
18. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1’43.869
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Posted by Administrator on 11-28-2007 at 06:11 am
Rossi completes first day of testing with Bridgestone as Lorenzo’s third Yamaha test gets underway in Jerez
Valentino Rossi, back in action for the first time since breaking his hand in Valencia, tested his Yamaha M1 on Bridgestone tyres for the first time today at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. The three-day test is the final test of 2007 and Rossi was joined in the garage by his new 2008 team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo, as well as the majority of the MotoGP paddock.
Rossi, his team and his engineers used today as a chance to get to know the Bridgestone technicians, whom they will be working with next season, and to understand the initial adjustments they need to make to the bike to suit the new tyres. Rossi’s comments were positive and, having started testing at midday on a sunny but cold day in Jerez, he completed 49 laps. Despite still suffering from some pain in his hand, the Italian’s best time of 1’40.514 was good enough for third and was just 0.293 seconds off Casey Stoner, who topped the time sheets.
Valentino Rossi (3rd, 1’40.514, 49 laps)
“My first comment about the tyres is positive, and this has definitely been a positive day for us in terms of times and my feeling with the bike. My pace was not bad at all, even though my hand is still hurting, especially in braking. Let’s say that I am at 90% fitness! I am happy with the choice I have made and I have great motivation for the task. Today it was also clear that there is a very high level of concentration from all the team members and this gives me even higher motivation, if possible. We have two more days, so it is not time for a final comment, but I am happy with the first day. Furthermore Furusawa-san is here, and this gives an idea of Yamaha’s commitment to improve and to return to the top. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow and let’s hope it can be even better than it was today.”
Davide Brivio –Team Manager
“Today was the day we have all been waiting for. It has been a very important day for us, because we’ve been looking forward to having the chance to confirm our decision. We also wanted to check Valentino’s physical condition after the crash in Valencia. At the beginning of the test he suffered a bit, but he went better as the day went on, even if we know he is not at 100% yet. As far as the new work with Bridgestone is concerned, we made a good start. Today we used all the time to get to know each other and to allow our engineers to interact with their technicians. We also worked to understand what kind of modifications we need to make to the bike, in order to make it work properly with the new tyres. Technically, of course, we have concentrated entirely on tyres and on understanding Valentino’s initial comments about them. It was a good day with good times and we look forward to continuing the work tomorrow and on Thursday.”
Lorenzo’s third Yamaha test gets underway in Jerez
Lorenzo began his third test with Yamaha today, his final test before he becomes an official Fiat Yamaha Team rider in January. Having tested recently in Malaysia, the 20-year-old Spaniard finds himself a little closer to home this time and in somewhat cooler temperatures, at the Andalucian circuit of Jerez.
Lorenzo and his team picked up from where they left off in Sepang, continuing to work on general set-up as the 250cc World Champion becomes better adapted to the demands of an 800cc MotoGP bike and his new Michelin tyres. Lorenzo’s aim for this test is to get as many kilometres under his belt as possible and he started well today, completing 91 laps and setting the seventh best time of 1’41.230. The best time of the day was set by Casey Stoner, with a lap of 1’40.221 while Lorenzo’s 2008 team-mate Valentino Rossi was third with a time of 1’40.514.
Jorge Lorenzo (7th, 1’41.230, 91 laps)
“Today I felt much better on the bike than I did in Sepang. I feel more comfortable with the bike every time I ride it and for sure it feels more like a part of me now. I am really looking forward to improving again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Today I rode 91 laps, so I really made the most of the day, and I will continue to work tomorrow to improve again. The more kilometres I ride, the better it is for me and for my team, and I want to give them all the information I can in order to improve as much as we can over these winter tests.”
Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Today with Jorge we confirmed the set-up we found in Sepang and we also confirmed the new bike geometry we tested there. This helps us to check that we are working in the correct direction. Today we also found a new riding position for Jorge; we put a new spacer on the tank and it seems to work perfect ly. He feels better and better on the bike all the time. He rode 91 laps, which is a huge effort, both from him and from our staff members (who I want to thank!) He kept a high level of concentration throughout the whole day, and he was therefore able to give us the maximum in terms of information, feeling and comment. Tomorrow we will work on the set-up again and hopefully we will be able to confirm today’s modifications.”
Lap Times
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’40.221
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’40.355
3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’40.514
4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’40.790
5. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’40.923
6. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1’41.111
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’41,230
8. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1’41.277
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1’41.313
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1’41.414
11. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1’41.776
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1’41.889
13. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.42.033
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1’42.666
15. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1’43.051
16. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1’43.576
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1’44.530
18. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.44.588
Posted by Administrator on 11-17-2007 at 01:11 pm
Future Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo rounded off his second test with the factory with more steady improvement in Malaysia today, bettering his lap time from yesterday by almost a second. After intermittent rain for the last two days, the MotoGP teams were rewarded with a completely dry day today and Lorenzo made the most of the time available, completing 83 laps of the 5,548m circuit.
Lorenzo’s best time of 2’02.643, which put him seventh, was set on qualifying tyres near the end of the day. However he set his fastest lap on race tyres in the early afternoon, his time of 2.03.044 showing his improvement over the course of the test. The quickest lap of the day was set by Nicky Hayden, also on qualifying tyres, in a time of 2.00.592
The Fiat Yamaha Team will now pack up and return to Europe for a week’s rest before the final test of the year at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain on 27th, 28th and 29th November.
Jorge Lorenzo - 7th, 2’02.643, 83 Laps
“Overall I’m happy with these three days of testing. It’s been hard work but I have improved each day and especially today, when I have gone nearly one second faster with race tyres than I was yesterday. I’ve been concentrating on changing my riding style; braking later and accelerating sooner and we can see from the data that I have improved quite a lot, although we still have more to do. I am okay on the longer, faster corners but on the slower ones I have more problems. We haven’t done so much work on the tyres, just trying one different tyre, the same as we tried in Valencia, and with this tyre we improved half a second. I didn’t ride the new bike today but it was good to get the chance to try it briefly yesterday. We won’t start working on it properly until January; for now the important thing is for me to learn as much as possible about ridin g a MotoGP bike. I’ve had fun these three days and I’m quite happy with my progress, and now we will look forward to Jerez.”
Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“The main use of this test has been to collect information regarding the needs of Jorge as we try to make him as comfortable as possible on our bike. We have tried to move his position on the bike slightly further back and we have made some changes here, but we are now waiting for some new parts for the future which we think will improve his position further. Overall we’ve improved his braking points and his feeling going into the corners; this is an ongoing process and we will continue to work on it over the next tests. Thanks to Jorge and to the team for their hard work and for so many laps; everything we’ve done here will help us for the future.”
Masahiko Nakajima – Fiat Yamaha Team Director
“Today we’ve had a good test and we were helped by the weather being sunny all day. Jorge managed many laps and we got through a lot of work. We’ve found a good direction now with regards to his chassis set-up and this is very encouraging news for us. Jorge, his crew and all the Yamaha engineers are all working together and sharing in his development and learning process, and we are very clear now what we have to do in preparation for the next test in Jerez. We’ve learnt a lot here and it’s been a very useful test for us.”
Unofficial Lap Times
1. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2’00.592
2. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2’01.811
3. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 2’02.047
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 2’02.128
5. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2’02.447
6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 2’02.587
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2’02.643
8. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 2’02.659
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 2’02.700
10. Yamaha Test Team 2’03.269
11. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2’03.550
12. Yamaha Test Team 2’05.755
13. Yamaha Test Team 2’05.879
Posted by Administrator on 11-17-2007 at 01:11 pm
Former world champion Valentino Rossi has said that he is unsure how long he will continue riding in Moto GP.
“At the moment I really don’t know how long I will stay in Moto GP,” the Italian said.
“A lot depends on how competitive we [Yamaha] are next year.”
But Rossi, who last week hinted at a future move to Ducati, made it clear he would end his career with Yamaha.
Ducati rider Casey Stoner of Australia raced away with the title this season with Rossi finishing third, the first time he had finished outside the top two in any category since his rookie season in 1996.
Posted by Administrator on 11-13-2007 at 10:11 am
Former world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has said he would be interested in riding for Ducati in 2009 if his Yamaha bike does not improve next season.
Ducati’s Casey Stoner raced away with the title this season with Rossi finishing third in the standings, the first time he has finished outside the top two in any category since his rookie season in 1996.
Italian Rossi will stick with Yamaha next season - but has given the team a warning.
“If it gets better I can wait another year. If not there is nothing left to do,” Rossi said.
“I have a good relationship with both [Ducati and Honda] - but would definitely prefer Ducati because they are Italian.”
Source: Reuters
