ROSSI SECOND IN CHILLY JEREZ The Fiat Yamaha Team began a two-day test in Jerez, southern Spain today and Valentino Rossi made a positive start to the second winter session, finishing the day second fastest behind Dani Pedrosa. With this being the final test for the team until February, these two days are especially important in order to gather as much information as possible for the Japanese engineers to work with over the next two months, as they continue to develop the 2009-spec M1. Clear skies and a cold wind meant track temperatures were very cool in the morning and Rossi chose to wait until 1.30pm, when the newly-resurfaced track had warmed up slightly, to begin. As per the new single-tyre rule there are just two front and two rear specifications available for the test, with the riders supplied with two tyres of each specification, making eight in total. The world champion completed 20 laps on the 2008-spec bike and 20 on the new 2009 prototype M1, on which he set his fastest lap of the day in a time of 1’40.135, His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was 3rd with a best lap of 1’41.163. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’40.135 Laps: 40 “I am happy about this first day because my performance has been good from the beginning and I have been fast all day. Unfortunately it’s been quite cold and there was only three hours when it was possible to go fast, but we were able to get quite a lot of work done in this short space of time. We have tried some different things on the old 2008 bike and we were able to make some improvements and then we also tested several new things on the prototype bike, and I am happy because I did my fastest lap with this bike. Bridgestone have brought good tyres here; so far I don’t see any problems with the new rule and it seems they’re doing a good job. They have resurfaced the track and it has made a big difference; they have got rid of all the bumps and like this it’s great fun to ride around. I think we will be able to go faster now. Today was very cold, especially with the wind so now I hope it’s a bit better tomorrow and that it doesn’t rain because we have a lot more work to do and I would like to improve my lap time a bit more.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO BEGINS FINAL TEST OF ROOKIE YEAR IN JEREZ Jorge Lorenzo, 2008’s leading MotoGP rookie, began the final test of the year today at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain, alongside his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi and 12 other MotoGP riders. Cool temperatures meant track time was reduced to just a few hours in the middle part of the day, but Lorenzo made the most of the time to finish third fastest. As at the post-race test in Valencia one month ago Lorenzo has two bikes available to him here; the 2008 M1 and a test version of the bike, with some new prototype parts, but with the new single-tyre rule having now come into force he spent today on the 2008 bike, working on adapting his set-up to the new tyres. He completed 51 laps with a fastest time of 1’41.163, putting him third fastest behind Dani Pedrosa and his team-mate Rossi. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 3rd Time: 1’41.163 Laps: 51 “Overall today has been a good day, even if the cold weather hasn’t allowed us too much time on track. It’s only my second day testing since the new tyre rule and I think we’re doing a good job so far, but we still have to improve because we’re not yet sure of the perfect configuration for our bike with the tyres. We are still using the 2008 bike with the old setting at the moment, I have a test bike with some new parts but we didn’t use it today maybe tomorrow. Anyway I feel good because I can see that we have the potential to improve more. The new track surface is a lot better, there are fewer bumps and so you can go faster and ride more how you want to. This is a good improvement to the track. Tomorrow it seems there is a chance of rain but I really hope not because we have a lot to do and I would like to leave here having improved further. This is a very important test because it’s the last one until February, when we will have a new bike, so we need to gather as much information as possible for the engineers.” Test Times 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1’39.525 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’40.135 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’41.163 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1’41.390 5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 1’41.468 6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1’41.539 7. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1’41.655 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 1’41.679 9. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1’42.074 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’42.098 11. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 1’42.837 12. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando 1’42.943 13. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’43.642 14. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) JiR Team Scot Honda 1’44.360 Jerez: Record Lap: D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1’40.116 Jerez: Best Lap: J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1’38.189 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA FASTEST ON DAY ONE AT JEREZ, DOVIZIOSO ENJOYS 2009 RCV PROTOTYPE MotoGP tests, Jerez, Spain Wednesday, November 26 2008 Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso commenced their final test session of 2008 at Jerez today. Despite bitter cold and strong winds, the pair had a useful day at the recently resurfaced track, Pedrosa setting the fastest lap of the day, well inside his own lap record. Pedrosa is riding two 2009 RC212V prototype machines, while Dovizioso ran some back-to-back tests between a 2009 prototype and a 2008 spec RCV. The 2009 prototype is designed to offer riders better controllability, in both engine and chassis performance. Although track temperatures only reached 23 degrees this afternoon, Pedrosa was more than half a second inside the lap record he established during his runaway victory in last April’s Spanish Grand Prix. Dovizioso showed his enthusiasm by being the first rider on track this morning, despite the cold, and was happy with his first day on the 2009 prototype. The team will continue development and set-up work tomorrow, their final day of MotoGP action before the sport’s winter testing moratorium. Their next outing is at Sepang, Malaysia, on February 5, 6 and 7. Dani Pedrosa, fastest lap: 1m 39.525s (lap 40 of 41 laps) “They resurfaced the whole track in August and the new asphalt is very grippy and smooth, so I was able to do some good lap times despite the cold temperatures and the strong winds which we had to deal with. Today we focused mainly on the engine, but the low temperatures meant that we started quite late this morning and stopped quite early this afternoon, so I need another day of testing to give a better evaluation of the latest engine configuration which is quite different from before. We also did some work on electronics, working to improve corner-entry performance and so on, but I think we need some more time on the motorcycle to really understand this latest engine configuration.” Andrea Dovizioso,, fastest lap: 1m 41.655 (lap 48 of 48 laps) “Conditions were not perfect this morning, it was very windy and very cold, but we need to find a good feeling with the bike because it’s quite different to what I’m used to and we have many things to try and to adjust to my riding style, so we need to do a lot of laps, that’s why we were first on track this morning! I am happy because my feeling is coming better, though it’s still not perfect, of course. We tried many different things today which improved my feeling, like adjusting the clutch, for example. We did three or four exits with the 2008 bike and then moved to the 2009 prototype machine, and the feeling was immediately much better, so we stayed focused on that bike. The whole package is better with the 2009 bike, everything is better, it feels more controllable. It is a good sign that the new prototype is better first time out. Tomorrow we will continue to work on adapting the bike for my style.” LAP TIMES 1. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 1.39.525 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1.40.135 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1.41.163 4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1.41.390 5. Alex De Angelis (Honda Gresini) 1.41.468 6. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1.41.539 7. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) 1.41.655 8. Toni Elias (Honda Gresini) 1.41.679 9. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1.42.074 10 Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1.42.098 11 Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1.42.837 12 Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 1.42.943 13 Vitto Guareschi (Ducati) 1.43.642 14 Yuki Takahashi (Honda Team Scot) 1.44.360 More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM KICK OFF FINAL TEST OF 2008 AT JEREZ Jerez de la Frontera, (Spain). The Ducati Marlboro Team began their final MotoGP test session of the year today, ahead of the testing ban that gets underway on 1st December 2008 and runs until 20th January 2009. Recent Ducati signing Nicky Hayden lapped alongside factory test rider Vittoriano Guareschi, with team-mate Casey Stoner watching from pit wall. The Australian, who has stayed in Europe for the first phase of his recovery from an operation on his left wrist on the 30th October, was keen to link up with the team at the test, albeit as a spectator. An x-ray on the joint carried out in Modena yesterday was positive and Stoner will be able to start light training in around two weeks’ time. Despite bright sunshine in the south of Spain, low track temperatures prevented the riders from taking to the track until lunchtime today. Hayden was still able to rack up 69 laps, improving his feeling with the bike on each outing and ending the day as the 10th fastest rider on track. Nicky Hayden – 10th fastest – 1’42.098 (69 laps) “It has been nice to get back on the bike and get on with the job in decent conditions. The new surface is perfect, the bumps have disappeared and the grip improved with every lap. They’ve done a great job here at Jerez. I’m quite happy with my feeling with the bike. The lap times came down with virtually every outing and that’s positive, even though I’m still clearly a good way off the pace. We’ve got a lot of work ahead but the team is really close and we know that bike has the potential, so all we can do is keep working. Both tyre specs that we tried today worked well, although the softer one was obviously the preferable option in these temperatures. They’ve got no problem in terms of durability and I’m slowly starting to get used to the feeling the Bridgestones give back. Hopefully the good weather continues tomorrow.” Casey Stoner “Yesterday the doctors told me that everything is going okay with my wrist, now I must wait and see. With the new cast they did yesterday I will be able to start some training on a pushbike so that is positive. In a few days I’ll be heading back to Australia and it will be nice to be home for a while. It was a very strange feeling to be watching today instead of riding. This is probably the longest period I’ve gone without riding a bike at all since I was three years old! I’ll definitely have a lot of motivation to get back on track in February. It is good to watch the bikes on track together with my engineers and then speak about it with Filippo (Preziosi) and Nicky, to share our feelings and see what we can do to improve our machine for next season.” Jerez Circuit Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2008) 1’40.116 Jerez Pole Record: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1’38.189 Unofficial lap times, Wednesday 26th November 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’39.525 (41) 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’40.135 (39) 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’41.163 (51) 4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’41.390 (49) 5. Alex De Angelis (Honda) 1’41.468 (53) 6. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1’41.539 (50) 7. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1’41.655 (48) 8. Toni Elias (Honda) 1’41.679 (74) 9. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1’42.074 (50) 10. Nicky Hayden (Ducati)1’42.098 (69) 11. Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1’42.837 (58) 12. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 1’42.943 (40) 13. Vitto Guareschi (Ducati) 1’43.642 (36) 14. Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 1’44.360 (64) More, from a press release issued by Alice Ducati: PROMISING START FOR CANEPA AND KALLIO IN THE FIRST TEST ON THE DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP9 SAT Good day of work for the two Pramac Racing riders at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. The cold weather conditions didn’t help the MotoGP riders who were ready to step on track, in fact, the first laps have been ridden only around 12.30 after two hours and an half that the pit-lane was open. Niccolo Canepa, after finishing 50 laps, preferred to conclude his day of work around 4.30pm because of the cold breeze and the lower track temperature. Mika Kallio has instead continued to ride until 5pm accomplishing a total of 64 laps. Tomorrow another day of work is awaiting for the new Pramac Racing duo to look for lap time improvements, but most important to improve the feeling with the new bike at their disposal. Niccolo Canepa – Pramac Racing rider (Best lap time in 1:42.074, Total laps 50) “I am very satisfied by the lap times registered today because we haven’t done any modification on the chassis of the bike. We started with a good base set up and I preferred to don’t touch the bike to first understand its reactions in each part of the circuit. The bike has surely improved compared to last year. Tomorrow, if the weather conditions will allow us, we will try to make some modification on the set up of the bike to improve even more my feeling with it.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider (Best lap time in 1:42.837, Total laps 64) “This is the second time on a MotoGP bike and I can consider my self quite happy on how things went. Lap times aren’t great, but at the moment this isn’t the priority. First of all I have to know the bike better. We have done a good amount of laps and I hope to do even more tomorrow because is really important for us. I have a good relationship with the Team and I am very happy to begin this adventure.”