FIAT YAMAHA GET GOING IN CHILLY QATAR NIGHT After the rain upset the first night of testing yesterday, Fiat Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were finally able to make a proper start on their testing programme in Qatar tonight. Running under floodlights in preparation for the season-opener in a month’s time, the pair were able to put in a good night’s work despite a late-evening break when the track was red-flagged after two riders crashed. With cool temperatures and a dirty track surface after high winds earlier, lap times were well off record pace but Rossi was able to put in some consistent times and finished the night second behind Casey Stoner. Lorenzo is still looking to find his confidence in the new Bridgestone tyres but he improved gradually throughout the evening to finish in seventh position. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’57.747 Laps: 51 “Today was good because first of all we were able to test! I am quite happy because I was fast from the start and the bike is a lot better than this time last year. The setting is completely different after a year with Bridgestone and we seem to be in good shape. The lap times are quite slow compared to the race because it is cold and also the track conditions aren’t perfect, but hopefully in a month’s time it will be quite a bit warmer. We worked well today, testing some things for the engine and some electronics, and everything is helping us to improve our setting and to be faster. Now I hope that we have good weather between now and tomorrow night and no more wind so that the track is cleaner tomorrow and we can improve the times a bit more.” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 7th Time: 1’58.400 Laps: 63 “Today’s practice was quite hard, harder than I expected in fact! It was windy and the surface of the track was quite dusty and quite cold, so this has made our job of building confidence with the new Bridgestone tyres harder. To start with I was finding it quite hard to go fast in these conditions, and especially to brake later. I am still braking too early at the moment, which makes it difficult to be fast. We tried some new electronic systems tonight in order to reduce the wheelie, and this seems to be positive. Later on this evening we tried a new setting and I was able to improve my pace in the cold conditions. Hopefully we can continue to improve from the start tomorrow.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “I think we can be happy with this ‘delayed ‘first day!’ Valentino did many laps, and we’ve had positive feedback from what we’ve tested. Now we will try to use the final night as best we can and try to leave ourselves in good shape for the first race here.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “Today we had more problems at the start than we expected, and Jorge was struggling to find feeling going into the turns. Later on however the team tried some new settings that allowed him to obtain a decent pace in the cooler conditions, so we were able to end the night’s work on a good note.” Test Times 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’57.139 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’57.747 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1’57.817 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1’57.879 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’58.018 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’58.264 7. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’58.400 8. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 1’58.441 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’58.577 10. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1’58.619 11. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1’58.936 12. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 1’59.036 13. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) Scot Racing Team 1’59.153 14. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 1’59.195 15. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Alice Team 1’59.266 16. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 1’59.764 17. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 2’00.234 Losail: Record Lap C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1’55.153 Losail: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1’53.927 More, from a press release issued by Honda: Dovizioso fastest Honda rider on day two of Qatar Pedrosa injured in turn 10 crash Following a rain induced false start on the opening day of MotoGP pre-season testing at the Losail circuit at Qatar the teams and riders were able to put in a complete six hour session of serious testing under floodlights this evening, despite the prevailing strong wind depositing sand and dirt onto the cold 18 degree track surface. The Qatar test is crucial to the early season fortunes of the competitors as the 18-round 2009 MotoGP World Championship series opens at the 5.380 km Losail circuit, on April 12. The day’s action resulted in contrasting fortunes for the Repsol Honda factory team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, while Dovizioso was the fastest Honda rider of the day teammate Pedrosa suffered a heavy high side crash that ruled him out of further participation in the test. Italian Dovizioso and his technicians work on the electronics of his RC212V and overall machine set up and balance and ended the day with fourth fastest time on the day. For Pedrosa the trip to Qatar turned into a nightmare. The cautious Spaniard sat out opening day of the three-day test preferring not to risk a crash in the wet and sandy track conditions while carrying a lingering knee injury. Unfortunately for Pedrosa his fears were confirmed when he crashed at turn 10 in the slippery sand strewn conditions. He was taken to the circuit medical center where an examination revealed the fall had reopened the surgeons incision on his left knee that required stitching to close. Pedrosa also damaged his left wrist and the scan revealed severe contusions but no obvious fractures. He will fly home, to Barcelona, in the morning for further injury assessment but hopes to be fit for the final pre-season test at Jerez, Spain which begins on March 28. San Marinese Alex De Angelis was in sparkling form aboard his San Carlo Gresini Honda RC212V setting sixth fastest time of the day. De Angelis spent his day fine tuning machine set up and testing tyres and was pleased with his performance and eager to improve tomorrow on the final day of the test. De Angelis’ teammate, Spaniard Toni Elias, who has rejoined the team following a year contesting the championship for the Pramac team, worked on machine geometry and suspension of his San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V in a bid to improve the traction. Elias struggled to find a solid base line for his RCV at the last test in Sepang and today’s track conditions did not allow the Spaniard to make much progress. Frenchman Randy De Puniet ended the day in buoyant mood having established a good base line set up for chassis and suspension that gave him confidence in the front end of his LCR Honda. He will continue testing tyres tomorrow, the final day of the test. The Scot Racing Team and HRC have enjoyed a successful multi-year association in 125cc and 250cc GP racing fielding an impressive array of talent over the years. The partnership has delivered numerous race victories and a 125cc World Championship title win, with Dovizioso in 2004, the enduring success has encouraged the Italian team to seek further success at MotoGP level with Yuki Takahashi retained for his MotoGP debut season. Following a long career racing small capacity two-stroke machines Takahashi has adopted a sensible step by step approach to riding the powerful RC212V Honda 800cc four stroke. The Japanese star concentrated his efforts on adapting his riding style to the characteristics of the big four-stroke and slowly lowered his lap times as the session progressed and was rewarded by breaking the two minute barrier in the closing stages. Honda rider quotes and lap times. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 4th fastest time at 1m 57.879s 60 laps. “This was an interesting day and I’m happy with how it went. We tried many settings with the electronic systems on the machine to enhance the power delivery. The results were pretty positive and now we’ll have a meeting to decide how to move things forward tomorrow. The track conditions were not so bad – not as good as the race here last year, but considering how windy it was today, it was OK. The lap times were not as fast as the race lap times, but it was a good test today and we’re moving forward.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 8th. 1m 58.441s 53 laps. “My feeling has improved and I’m confident. We tested various set up options and the behaviour of tyres over a race distance and I ‘m satisfied with the performance. We did around 20 laps with the second set of tyres and I’m happy with the results we got. Tomorrow it will be another important test session.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 10th. 1m 58.619s 28 laps. “The early part of the session went quite well and I was happy with the progress we were making. The conditions weren’t ideal with the sand blowing on the track, but this was an unexpected crash. I was entering Turn 10 and I had a high-side and then the bike came down on top of me. It’s a shame because we also lost testing time yesterday, but now I will go home for some more scans and hopefully they won’t show anything more serious. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP: 11th. 1m 58.936s – 55 laps. “Compared to the last test session in Sepang today we made a big step forward. I changed my riding style and the feeling with the front improved a lot. I’m satisfied, we are working on the correct direction. Today in fact we only used two tyres as we worked on suspensions and the tyres were also working well with the machine base set up. Tomorrow we will use some new tyres to reduce the gap in terms of lap times.” Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 12th. 1m 59.036s 56 laps. “Considering that the first race of the season will be held here in a month we focused on the setting of the bike, in particular we worked on machine geometry and suspension to improve the traction. We struggled a bit in Sepang, but here today, with these difficult track conditions we suffered more than Malaysia. We have a lot of work to do but we have another day here to test the new bike and I hope the track conditions improve for tomorrow.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team: 13th. 1m 59.153s 65 laps. “I’m still adapting to the RC212V that is a complete new bike for me. It’s normal that I need to do kilometres and get the feeling with the bike. At the beginning of the test session there was a lot of san on track, then the conditions improved. I tried to do as many laps as possible to understand the bike, It was important to follow some more experienced riders to study the best line and I have to thank Andrea Dovizioso for this. Tomorrow we will continue working in this direction.” OFFICIAL LAP TIMES 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1:57.139 37 laps 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:57.747 51 laps 3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1:57.817 41 laps 4. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (Repsol Honda) 1:57.879 60 laps 5. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1:58.018 24 laps 6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 1:58.264 42 laps 7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1:58.400 63 laps 8. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda) 1:58.441 53 laps 9. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1:58.577 54 laps 10. DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda) 1:58.619 28 laps 11. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda) 1:58.936 55 laps 12. Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda) 1:59.036 56 laps 13. Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda) 1:59.153 65 laps 14. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) 1:59.195 63 laps 15. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati ) 1:59.266 36 laps 16. Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1:59.764 48 laps 17. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2:00.234 51 laps More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PROGRESS FOR DOVIZIOSO BUT A FALL HALTS QATAR TEST FOR PEDROSA MotoGP tests, Losail, Qatar Monday 2 March, 2009 The Repsol Honda pairing of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso experienced mixed fortunes on the second evening of testing at the Losail International circuit in Qatar today. Dovizioso made encouraging progress on his factory RC212V and set the fourth fastest lap of the day while he and his team focused on electronic settings. Though a strong wind blowing sand across the track meant that the MotoGP riders’ lap times were not as fast as in the race here in 2008, Dovizioso completed 60 laps and set the fourth fastest time of the day, a 1m 57.879s lap, which was 0.740s off Casey Stoner’s best. Dovizioso will return to Losail tomorrow for the final session of this three-day test. After sitting out yesterday’s mostly wet session, Pedrosa completed 28 laps and had begun to up his pace on the floodlit track. Unfortunately, at 10.00pm, the 23-year-old Spaniard had a fall entering Turn 10, which brought an early halt to his Qatar test. Pedrosa hit his left wrist and left knee in the fall and was taken to the circuit medical centre where initial x-rays showed no signs of a break. However, the impact re-opened the existing wound in his left knee, which required three stitches. Pedrosa will now fly to home and undergo further precautionary scans. He will be hopeful of being fit for the final pre-season test at Jerez, Spain which begins on 28 March. Andrea Dovizioso: Best lap time 1m 57.879s “This was an interesting day and I’m happy with how it went. We tried many settings with the electronic systems on the machine to enhance the power delivery. The results were pretty positive and now we’ll have a meeting to decide how to move things forward tomorrow. The track conditions were not so bad – not as good as the race here last year, but considering how windy it was today, it was OK. The lap times were not as fast as the race lap times, but it was a good test today and we’re moving forward.” Dani Pedrosa: Best lap time 1m 58.619s “The early part of the session went quite well and I was happy with the progress we were making. The conditions weren’t ideal with the sand blowing on the track, but this was an unexpected crash. I was entering Turn 10 and I had a high-side and then the bike came down on top of me. It’s a shame because we also lost testing time yesterday, but now I will go home for some more scans and hopefully they won’t show anything more serious. OFFICIAL LAP TIMES 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1:57.139 37 laps 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:57.747 51 laps 3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1:57.817 41 laps 4. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (Repsol Honda) 1:57.879 60 laps 5. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1:58.018 24 laps 6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 1:58.264 42 laps 7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1:58.400 63 laps 8. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda) 1:58.441 53 laps 9. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1:58.577 54 laps 10. DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda) 1:58.619 28 laps 11. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda) 1:58.936 55 laps 12. Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda) 1:59.036 56 laps 13. Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda) 1:59.153 65 laps 14. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) 1:59.195 63 laps 15. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati ) 1:59.266 36 laps 16. Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1:59.764 48 laps 17. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2:00.234 51 laps More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: GOOD NIGHT IN QATAR FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM It looked like it was set to be another difficult night in the desert after a blustery day in Doha but last night’s fortunes were reversed as the strong winds dropped at the Losail circuit just as the riders went to work on the second day of a three-day test in the capital of Qatar. It was a welcome turn of fate for the MotoGP riders and in particular the Ducati Marlboro Team, who had work to do not only on the new swingarm and electronics for the Desmosedici GP9 but also on checking the physical condition of former World Champion Casey Stoner, who is recovering from a wrist operation. Stoner set the fastest lap of the day and was satisfied not only with his pace but also with his recovery. The Australian only tried the new swingarm at the very end of the session and will wait until tomorrow before making a full evaluation. Hayden, who had to start virtually from scratch with set-up after a rain-hit first day, took a step forward in comparison to Malaysia but admits there is still work to be done. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team), fastest time: 1’57.139 (on lap 23) “We have worked well and we’ve made progress with the set-up of the GP9 so it has been a positive day despite the difficult track conditions. Pretty much the same goes for the wrist it’s obviously still not 100% yet but it is better than Malaysia and better than I was expecting for this test, so it’s looking hopeful from that point of view too. In general I am satisfied.” Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team), fastest time: 1’58.577 (on lap 52) “The way the day started out I didn’t even expect to be riding tonight. The wind was so strong but luckily it turned and we were able to start working seriously on the set-up, adapting the bike to this circuit because the conditions were so strange yesterday that we didn’t gather any useful data. Things are going better than Malaysia, my feeling is improved but there is obviously still a lot of work to do.” Losail Circuit Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati 2008) 1’55.153 Best pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha 2008) 1’53.927 Unofficial lap times: Monday 02/03/2009 1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 1:57.139 (37 giri) 2. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:57.747 (51) 3. Colin Edwards Tech3 Yamaha 1:57.817 (41) 4. Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda 1:57.879 (60) 5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki MotoGP 1:58.018 (24) 6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki MotoGP 1:58.264 (42) 7. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:58.400 (63) 8. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:58.441 (53) 9. Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 1:58.577 (54) 10. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 1:58.619 (28) 11. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1:58.936 (55) 12. Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:59.036 (56) 13. Yuki Takahashi Scot Racing Team 2:00.153 (65) 14. Marco Melandri Hayate Racing Team 1:59.195 (63) 15. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Racing 1:59.266 (36) 16. Mika Kallio Pramac Racing 1:59.764 (48) 17. James Toseland Tech3 Yamaha 2:00.234 (51) TRACK CONDITION IMPROVED IN QATAR FOR THE SECOND DAY OF TESTING CANEPA FIFTEENTH PRECEDE KALLIO Marco Rigamonti – Niccolo Canepa Track Engineer The final result doesn’t show the way today’s session went. In the last two hours the track condition were getting worst and Niccolo preferred to don’t step on the circuit, especially after Pedrosa and Kallio’s falls. Until that moment we were in the top ten. For this reason we remain trustful. Niccolo, on the contrary of the last Test in Malaysia is really at calm and this is really important. He makes it to improve every time he goes out of the pit-lane. He still needs more experience as he still doesn’t know this track so well. Niccolo Canepa – Pramac Racing Rider: Today’s position in the standing doesn’t worry me. I remain serene because I basically didn’t step on track in the last two hours, when most of the riders made it to improve. After having seen Dani and Mika fall, together with my Team we preferred to end the day early to don’t take any risk so that we would be able to use in the best way possible the last day of work here. I am working well, I understood where to improve and tomorrow I will give my best again. Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Rider: In the first hours we were working well, but then in the last part of the day things weren’t going too well and I made a mistake in a left turn and I felt. I barely touched the front brake and I found myself on the ground. I suffered a hard hit but tomorrow I should be able to step on the circuit without any problem. I will try to make it up tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: POSITIVE NIGHT TEST FOR DE PUNIET AT LOSAIL TRACK Losail, 2 March: The second evening of MotoGP floodlit test at Losail circuit ended with LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet in 11th position on the timesheets with a 1’58.936 best lap time. After yesterday’s rainstorm which interrupted riders’ performance for the major part of the session, the premier class riders have been putting their new bikes through their paces since 6.00 pm local time continuing their set up process at the 5.380 km desert track. Randy completed 55 laps aboard the Bridgestone-shod Honda RC212V working on chassis and suspension regulations carrying out further development at the circuit which hosts the first round of the season. Today’s frontrunner Casey Stoner topped the board with a 1’57.139 lap time. De Puniet 11th 1’58.936: “Luckily the weather improved though a strong wind blew sand from the desert to the track so we could not repeat last year’s time. However I feel more confident than the first test session in Malaysia. We found a good base to develop and we focused mainly on setting regulations to improve my feeling in corners entries. I tested only two tyres because my target was the bike set up and not the lap time but we have some ideas for tomorrow’s last day and I think I could easily improve my position”.