From a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: After claiming his 100th premier-class podium with a strong second place in the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday, it was straight back to work for Valentino Rossi and the Fiat Yamaha Team as they undertook a full day’s testing at Jerez today. With just two races under their belts since joing forces with Bridgestone, the primary focus of Rossi’s crew still remains developing the union between the 2008 Yamaha M1 and the Bridgestone rubber. Yesterday’s podium proves they are on the right track but today offered a chance to spend some uninterrupted hours concentrating on just this, with satisfying results all round. Setting was improved in general and Rossi was pleased with some of the new compound tyres he tried, both front and rear and including qualifying tyres. He completed 85 laps in total and his best lap, set with a qualifying tyre, put him second in a time of 1’39.117. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo also had a good day after his third place yesterday, topping the time sheets with a best lap of 1’38.679. The team will now have a short break before heading to Estoril in Portugal in ten days time, confident that they are in good shape at this early stage of the season. David Brivio Team Manager “Today gave us the chance to spend a whole day working closely with our engineers and Bridgestone on tyres and general bike setting. It’s still early days in the Bridgestone-Yamaha relationship so we are still focusing on adapting these two elements in order to create the best package. We got some good feedback today and it seems we improved the feeling in both areas. It’s been very important to stay this extra day because the first two races have been quite intense for everyone, so it’s good to have time to test in relaxed surroundings without the pressure that comes during a race weekend. We were able to go through things step by step, analyse the details and take on board some information which we hope will be useful in Estoril and beyond. We worked with different front and rear compounds today, and we also tested some qualifying tyres. Of course we’re always looking to improve the setting and today we were also abe to improve the stability of the bike in the fast corners. Valentino is happy with the days work and now he and all of the team will have some well deserved rest before the next race.” Test Times 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’38.679 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’39.117 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1’39.218 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1’39.484 5. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1’39.569 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’39.747 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’40.034 8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1’40.116 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1’40.389 10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1’40.394 11. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1’40.534 12. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’41.308 13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1’41.396 14. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1’42.132 15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1’42.240 16. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1’42.562 17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1’42.624 Jerez: Lap Record D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1’40.116 Jerez: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1’38.189 More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO LEADS THE WAY WITH EXECELLENT DAY’S TESTING IN JEREZ The Fiat Yamaha Team’s young Spanish rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who boasts an outstanding record of two pole positions and two podiums from his two MotoGP starts, put in more impressive work today during a one-day test in Jerez. After joining his team-mate Valentino Rossi as part of a Fiat Yamaha double podium yesterday, he posted the fastest time of the day and completed a total of 94 laps. Another day of Andalucian sunshine today provided Lorenzo and his crew with the chance to work on general setting and their all-important tyre testing programme with Michelin amid slightly more relaxed surroundings. The Mallorcan continued to show his ability and fast rate of progress, not only topping the time sheets on a qualifying tyre but lapping consistenly fast on race tyres. His best time on a race tyre was 1’39.59, over half a second faster than the fastest lap record recorded in yesterday’s race and he was the only rider to dip under the 1’38 mark on a qualifying tyre. After another successful week in his fledgeling MotoGP career, Lorenzo now has a short break before the next race at Estoril in Portugal on the 11th April. Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “It was a another really good day today; Jorge’s progress is almost unbelievable for us to watch and every day is enjoyable. The most impressive thing today is that we were able to improve on Jorge’s race pace from Saturday, which was the best pace of the whole weekend. We continued to work on set-up and improved the front feeling with the help of a new fork setting, and with race tyres today he was very consistent and very fast. We also refined some engine mapping and through this it seems that we’ve been able to obtain improvement with tyre wear. Michelin had planned a very interesting tyre test for us today with Estoril in mind and we found some good things, especially concerning the rear tyre. Jorge has done a great job at just his second race and today’s test gave us a chance to check out some important things that will help us at the next race in Estoril. We’re already looking forward to the next challenge but for now I want to thank all the team and Yamaha for their hard work; they deserve a good rest before Portugal!” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: POSITIVE TESTS FOR STONER AND MELANDRI AT JEREZ The Ducati Marlboro Team concluded their visit to Jerez de la Frontera on Monday with a day of tests that both Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri rated as highly positive, despite the Italian having ended the session early due to a crash. Melandri was not seriously injured in the crash, escaping with damage to a nail on his left hand, and was just disappointed that he didn’t get to complete an otherwise satisfactory day of set-up work that had only just begun to bear fruit. Casey Stoner was much happier, however, having improved his feeling with the front and giving himself extra confidence for the next round of the season, the Grand Prix of Portugal on April 13th. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team), fastest lap on race tyres – 1’40.588; with qualifying tyres – 1’39.218 (59 laps) “We’ve done a few different tests on the setting and with the tyres and I’m pretty happy with how it’s gone. We tried some different front tyres that gave me a better feeling than I had in the race yesterday, especially under braking, so I can say it was a really positive test. It’s a bit of a shame because with just a few small changes to the set-up we had yesterday the situation has improved a lot and we could have had a much better race if we’d gone with this in the first place. The test on qualifying tyres didn’t go quite as well because on the best one I ran wide in one corner and without that I would have knocked a few tenths off my best time. It has been the best day we’ve had at Jerez and it’s left me with a good feeling going to Estoril!”. Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro Team), fastest lap on race tyres – 1’41.396 (32 laps) “The day started well and we were working with some success on finding more rear grip when I lost the front and crashed on the way into the final bend. It happened suddenly and my hand got trapped underneath the handlebar. I was lucky not to break any bones in my fingers but it’s still really painful because the nail on my middle finger has ripped in half. I don’t think it will be a problem for Estoril though. Unfortunately we had to call time on a day that was proving to be important and positive. We had a few things still to try, including the tyre that Casey liked. The changes we’ve had chance to test have been good and I’m sure we’re on the right track to improve my feeling with the Desmosedici” 31 March unofficial lap times 1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’38.679 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’39.117 3. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’39.218 4. Randy De Puniet (Honda) 1’39.484 5. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1’39.569 6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 1’39.747 7. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1’40.034 8. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’40.166 9. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’40.389 10. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1’40.394 11. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1’40.534 12. Alex De Angelis (Honda) 1’41.308 13. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1’41.396 14. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1’42.132 15. Toni Elias (Ducati) 1’42.240 16. Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) 1’42.624 More, from a press release issued by Honda: Randy De Puniet fastest RC212V rider at post Jerez GP MotoGP test The Honda MotoGP riders stayed on at Jerez for a planned two-day test following the grand prix raced at the 4.423 km Andalusian circuit. Frenchman Randy de Puniet was the fastest of the six Honda riders present, setting fourth fastest time on the opening day of the two day test. De Puniet, who crashed on lap three of the grand prix, worked to improve the front end feeling of the RCV before working on the rear suspension in a bid to improve traction. The second fastest Honda man was Shinya Nakano. The Japanese star is beginning to find his feet at San Carlo Gresini Honda and after finishing ninth in yesterday’s race continued his recent improvement. Nakano and team-mate Alex De Angelis spent the greater part of the day testing tyres for Bridgestone. The Repsol Honda Team of Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden worked hard on perfecting machine set up following data gathered from yesterday’s race. Pedrosa ‘s victory in the grand prix gave him the lead in the championship but he knows he has much work to do if he is to maintain his points lead in the coming races. The young Spaniard missed virtually all pre-season testing due to a broken hand and today’s work on the base set up was vital as he strives to learn as much as possible about the 2008 RC212V. Hayden spent time working on the clutch of his RCV in a bid to improve his corner entry speed then got to work with tyre supplier Michelin testing a range of new tyres prepared for the test by the French manufacturer. Pedrosa and Hayden ended the day eighth and ninth respectively on the time sheet using race tyres while the seven riders ahead of them all set their best times on qualifying rubber. Andrea Dovizioso and the JiR Scot Honda team technicians dedicated their day analyzing every aspect of machine and rider performance over the race weekend. The former 125cc world champion is one of MotoGP’s hardest working riders and is determined to understand the behavior of the RCV from lap one to the finish of the race, and the performance of the Michelin tyres he is racing with for the first time in his career. Honda rider quotes and lap times. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 39:484s (lap 88 of 97). “It was a very long day for us. I made 88 laps in total and tested many things. This morning we lost some track time to fix a front-end problem. Then we will focus our work mainly on suspensions regulations and tyres testing: we found some good solutions but we still miss some adjustments to make a step forward. Anyway we improved the rear traction and, in the last two laps of the day, I tried many starts. I think we got a good base for next GP at Estoril track.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.166s (lap 60 of 69) “Today we worked on basic setup to help us get more familiar with the bike, to know our package better and to find the best direction so we can continue improving. It’s the kind of work we usually do at preseason tests but we weren’t able to do this year because of my injury. It was a necessary job with a lot of stops in the pits but I think it was very useful. We also started working on tyres with Michelin and we will focus on tyre testing all day tomorrow. It will be a very important day, crucial for our development programme.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.389s (lap 25 of 80) “We learned some stuff today, we were able to run pretty decent and consistent laps using reference tyres and we got some good data, so quite a positive day all in all. We had nothing major to test, just some different clutch options to get into the corners a little bit better and some general setup options, looking for a bit of edge traction to help save the tyre over race distance. We’ll come back again tomorrow, get another full day and just work our way through some more options.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 1m 40.394s (Lap 55 of 55) “The race yesterday brought us back sharply to the reality of life in MotoGP. We had no illusions after Qatar, but after the Jerez race we have analysed with great attention to detail every point of the race and our approach during practice to each technical element of our set-up. The main objective for the team and I is to look more closely at the data acquired during the race and practice sessions and analyse it still further. I have worked a lot on my riding style and on the data, then I’ve also looked at how things have changed during the race. In race configuration on a single lap I’m fast, but I must improve my performance and make a more consistent rhythm during the whole race. In qualifying trim we have to move forward a great deal and I must learn how to use the qualifying tyres to their maximum.” Top 10 lap times. 1. Jorge LORENZO (YAMAHA) 1:38:679 2. Valentino ROSSI (YAMAHA) 1:39:117 3. Casey STONER (DUCATI) 1:39:218 4. Randy DE PUNIET(HONDA) 1:39:484 5. John HOPKINS (KAWASAKI) 1:39:569 8. Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA) 1:40:166 9. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) 1:40:389 10 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (JiR Team Scot) 1:40.394 More, from a press release issued by Team JiR Scot Honda: Very important day of testing for Andrea Dovizioso Following on from yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix, JiR Team Scot dedicated today to yet more testing as they try to improve their performance still further. The focus of today for Andrea Dovizioso was to explore the performance of qualifying tyres, the overall setting of his technical package and to look at the different ways he rides his Honda RC212V in qualifying and race trim. The results of the day showed that the team has to work very hard on matching the various configurations of the 800cc MotoGP machine to Andrea’s various riding styles during practice, qualifying and the race. Team and rider know they must increase their experience quickly, but as they’ve come through 125s and 250s together Andrea and the team know that their potential together is very high. Cirano Mularoni Team Manager, JiR Team Scot “After yesterday’s race, today we have analysed all the aspects technical and otherwise of our bike. The result of yesterday’s race does not satisfy us, or our objective for the championship, but I think Andrea was very positive during the race because the start was difficult and he pushed very hard right until the end of the race. For the future we must work hard to gain knowledge more quickly during all the sessions. Despite our result here in the race, I look to the future with optimism because I know very well the spirit of Andrea and that he responds well when the team pushes him hard.” Andrea Dovizioso Rider, JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V – 55 laps 10th fastest time: 1’ 40.394″ “The race yesterday brought us back sharply to the reality of life in MotoGP. We had no illusions after Qatar, but after the Jerez race we have analysed with great attention to detail every point of the race and our approach during practice to each technical element of our set-up. The main objective for the team and I is to look more closely at the data acquired during the race and practice sessions and analyse it still further. I have worked a lot on my riding style and on the data, then I’ve also looked at how things have changed during the race. In race configuration on a single lap I’m fast, but I must improve my performance and make a more consistent rhythm during the whole race. In qualifying trim we have to move forward a great deal and I must learn how to use the qualifying tyres to their maximum.” Gianni Berti Technical Co-ordinator, JiR Team Scot “We have done a lot of work in the pit-box today and analysed a great deal the way the RC212V is used and ridden during the race by Andrea. We didn’t touch the suspension settings, but we did make a few minor adjustments because Andrea was then in a condition to verify the result by trying different riding styles and comparing the data. The qualifying tyres at the moment are our critical point and we have to work further on this with our technical partners to improve our position on the grid for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: REPSOL HONDA BACKS UP SUPERB JEREZ GP WITH MORE HARD WORK The winner of the Grand Prix, Dani Pedrosa, completed a second and final morning training session with his team-mate Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden were back to work at Jerez today following yesterday’s Spanish GP which Pedrosa won in brilliant style, Hayden building momentum with a fine ride to fourth. Pedrosa, whose first win of the year moved him into the World Championship lead, used the day to improve his knowledge of his RC212V with which he had limited preseason testing time due to a broken hand sustained in January. Hayden evaluated new parts and new settings, working hard to continue the impressive progress he made over the Spanish GP weekend, during which he raced a new chassis for the first time. Both riders used only race tyres today, while the fastest seven riders used qualifying tyres for their best laps. Quotes MotoGP Dani Pedrosa >> fastest lap: 1m 40.166s (lap 60 of 69) “Today we worked on basic setup to help us get more familiar with the bike, to know our package better and to find the best direction so we can continue improving. It’s the kind of work we usually do at preseason tests but we weren’t able to do this year because of my injury. It was a necessary job with a lot of stops in the pits but I think it was very useful. We also started working on tyres with Michelin and we will focus on tyre testing all day tomorrow. It will be a very important day, crucial for our development programme.” Repsol Nicky Hayden >> fastest lap: 1m 40.389s (lap 25 of 80) “We learned some stuff today, we were able to run pretty decent and consistent laps using reference tyres and we got some good data, so quite a positive day all in all. We had nothing major to test, just some different clutch options to get into the corners a little bit better and some general setup options, looking for a bit of edge traction to help save the tyre over race distance. We’ll come back again tomorrow, get another full day and just work our way through some more options.” Results MotoGP 1. Jorge LORENZO (YAMAHA) 1:38:679 2. Valentino ROSSI (YAMAHA) 1:39:117 3. Casey STONER (DUCATI) 1:39:218 4. Randy DE PUNIET(HONDA) 1:39:484 5. John HOPKINS (KAWASAKI) 1:39:569 8. Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA) 1:40:166 9. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) 1:40:389