CAPIROSSI FIRST AND GIBERNAU SECOND ON THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING IN JEREZ. The cold and rain that characterised most of last weekend’s test in Barcelona now remains only a distant memory as clear skies and favourable temperatures welcomed the Ducati Marlboro Team on the first day of the second official IRTA test session at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. Having set the pace throughout today’s sessions, Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau concluded the day aboard their Desmosedici GP6’s at the top of the time-sheets with first and second fastest times respectively. The Borgo Panigale flag-bearers took advantage of the good track conditions to carry out set-up and tyre tests, making steady progress in the lead up to the first, important race of the season which will take place at this circuit. Vittoriano Guareschi continued to make a significant contribution as official test rider and will work alongside Loris and Sete until Sunday. Loris Capirossi 72 laps – Best 1’40.914 “It’s been a positive day. We finally had good weather conditions and were able to work calmly all day. From the minute I went out I felt at ease on the GP6 and we were able to improve throughout the sessions, making only minor modifications to the set-up. The bike has improved a great deal and the tyres are very good. Tomorrow we hope the weather will allow us to do a race distance test.” Sete Gibernau 72 laps – Best 1’41.176 “We return to Jerez after testing here by ourselves last November and perhaps this helped us a bit today. The closer we get to the first race, the more important testing becomes. This session is extremely important because we know that we must gain ground on our competitors. Today we can be satisfied with our work as the bike is continuously improving and the tyres confirm the progress that we made in Barcelona. But, we must keep on working hard!” Weather permitting, the weekend tests will concentrate on frame, electronics and tyre set-up. Temperature: Air 20° – Track: 38° More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI BOUNCE BACK AS NAKANO GOES TOP THREE AT JEREZ The Kawasaki Racing Team were back in action at Jerez today, just four days after the race transporter carrying their Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP bikes was completely destroyed in a road traffic accident on the way from Barcelona. The bikes, which survived the crash undamaged, finally arrived at the Jerez circuit early on Thursday morning, and the Kawasaki mechanics have had to work flat out to ensure that each rider had his full complement of two bikes for this final pre-season test. Shinya Nakano started today working with his crew on machine set-up for the technically demanding, 4.423 km, Circuito de Jerez, before moving on to evaluate a range of different tyres on the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR for Bridgestone. The 28-year-old Japanese rider ended the opening day of testing with the third fastest lap time, despite being forced to finish early due to a mechanical problem with his number one machine. As well as adapting to the demands of the Jerez circuit, Nakano has also had to familiarise himself with two new crew members, drafted in at short notice to temporarily replace the two mechanics injured in Monday’s accident. Jerome Galland and Christian Boudinot arrived in Jerez on Thursday afternoon and have been on a steep learning curve as they worked to familiarise themselves with Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR, under the guidance of Nakano’s crew chief, Fiorenzo Fanali. Severe toothache denied Randy de Puniet of much needed sleep ahead of today’s test, and the 25-year-old Frenchman was still in some pain as he arrived this morning in the Kawasaki pit box. De Puniet ran top six on the timesheet during the morning, but was forced to quit the test early when the toothache, and the lack of sleep the previous night, started to make it difficult for him to maintain concentration around the technical, and very fast, Jerez circuit. De Puniet will visit a dentist this evening for treatment for his toothache, and is confident of improving his lap time significantly when he returns to the track tomorrow. Shinya Nakano: #56 – 1’41.477 (53 Laps) “It was strange without Jason and Josef in the box today, and I hope they will make a speedy recovery and that they return to the team very soon. Jerome and Christian, who joined the team at very short notice just yesterday, are fitting in well and both have done a great job. Our main focus today was again set-up, but also tyre testing with Bridgestone. Some of the rear tyres we have tested before, but we also tried new compounds here that worked well on the bike. It’s always good to finish near the top of the time sheets during testing, but we still have some work to do. Tomorrow we will continue working with Bridgestone evaluating tyres, as well as running a race simulation in the afternoon.” Randy de Puniet: #17 – 1’41.915 (57 Laps) “Last night I started suffering with a toothache and, as a result, only managed about two hours sleep all night. Today I still had a lot of pain from my tooth, to the point where it was affecting my concentration, and that’s just not safe on a MotoGP bike. So, we finished testing early and I am now going straight to the dentist, who I hope will be able to do something for my toothache. Despite the problems, it’s still been a productive day. I am happy with my lap time, as it’s only a second behind the leaders, and I am confident there is still at least half a second more to come tomorrow.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “With all four bikes in the race transporter that crashed on Monday, the team have worked flat out to make sure we were ready to start testing today. For most of the day we have concentrated on set-up for this circuit, but we’ve also done some tyre testing with Bridgestone, to identify a base compound for the opening Grand Prix here in three weeks time. Both Shinya and Randy finished the test early today; Shinya because of a mechanical problem with his number one bike, and Randy because of toothache, but tomorrow we will continue with a full day of testing.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM BEGIN FINAL RACE PREPARATIONS AT JEREZ TEST Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their final three days of pre-season testing at Jerez de la Frontera in Southern Spain today. The 4.423 km Jerez circuit, which will play host to the season-opening Grand Prix in two weeks time, provides the last chance for the World Champion and his team-mate to perfect the set-up of their YZR-M1s before the curtain goes up on the new MotoGP season. Following last weekend’s test in Barcelona, where Rossi consistently topped the time sheets and Edwards drove away with a new car after winning Sunday’s wet ‘qualifying’ shoot-out, both riders were faced with some traction problems today and are now focused on finding a solution with tyre manufacture Michelin and the Yamaha engineers over the next two days. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was the only rider to lap under the circuit record, setting a time of 1’40.910. Edwards (1’41.730) and Rossi (1’41.861) set the sixth and ninth best times respectively. COLIN EDWARDS (6th, 1’41.730, 68 laps) “After the highs of last weekend, today has shown us that we still have a bit of work to do before the first race. We started with 99% of the same settings that we had in Barcelona and we’ve only made some small changes; the bike is still working great. However we’re missing traction with the tyres and now we need to get that sorted out with Michelin. We need to find the right tyre for our bike at this track, but they’re working hard to do just that and tomorrow we should have something new to try. I think everyone’s a bit ‘tested-out’ now so it’s just a case of making one last big effort here, then we can all finally concentrate on the first race!” VALENTINO ROSSI (9th, 1’41.861, 73 laps) “It’s quite a big change coming here after last weekend as we have some problems and the vibration that we had in Malaysia and Qatar has returned. The problem is that the tyres that we have available to us here are not working correctly with our bike, so now we’re waiting for some new race tyres for tomorrow and Sunday. We hope that with this we can fix the problem. We’ve worked a lot on settings and other things today in order to find a way to improve the traction, but in reality we can’t do anything until we have a different tyre. We’re ninth so we’re not very fast! Now we have just two days to prepare before we come back here for the first race so we’re going to work very hard with Yamaha and Michelin to solve the problem.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We had some problems today to make our package work like it did last week in Barcelona, but both riders have the same problem so this make it’s easier to work on the situation. We exchanged a lot of information between Yamaha and Michelin and in the next two days we will work together to find the right solution. I am confident that with the full cooperation of everyone involved, we can overcome the problem.” Lap Times: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’40.910 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’41.176 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.477 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.499 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’41.680 6. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.730 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’41.732 8. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’41.740 9. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.861 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.915 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.984 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’42.106 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1’42.328 14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’42.558 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’42.938 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) D’Antin Pramac, 1’43.274 17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1’43.417 18. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D’Antin Pramac, 1’44.501 19. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’44.953 20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1’45.930 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 1’39.419 More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: GOOD START FOR TONI ELIAS AT JEREZ The Fortuna Honda rider signs the 5th best time of the day MotoGP action resumes at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain for the last pre-season testing session before the first race the Championship that will start on this track on March the 26th . The first day of testing was characterized by good weather conditions (19 degrees the air temperature, 31 degrees the asphalt, sunny sky). Positive day for the Spaniard Toni Elias who, starting from the base of last week test, found a good solution and could improve his rhythm. The Fortuna Honda rider signed the 5th best time of the day (1’41″680) , the second fastest among the Honda riders. On the other side of the garage, his team mate Marco Melandri continued the preparation of a good base working mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and tyre testing. TONI ELIAS ( 95 laps, 1’41″680, 5th best time): “Today we started adapting the best base found during last week test to the technical characteristics of the Andalusian track. We worked mainly on suspensions and we did tyre testing. I found myself comfortable and so I could improve my pace, lapping in the end with a rhythm of 1’41″high. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set up of the bike and we will work together with the Michelin techs. I ‘m confident that tomorrow I can do another step forward.” MARCO MELANDRI ( 88 laps, 1’42″106, 12° best time): “The bike has improved compared to last week test. Today we worked mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and Michelin tyre testing. We tested many different solutions in order to understand how the bike reacts and to collect as many data as possible that will be extremely useful in order to create the best base for the first race of the championship that will take place in two weeks on this track.” Lap Times: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’40.910 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’41.176 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.477 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.499 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’41.680 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.730 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’41.732 8. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’41.740 9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.861 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’41.915 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’41.984 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’42.106 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1’42.328 14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’42.558 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1’42.938 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) D’Antin Pramac, 1’43.274 17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1’43.417 18. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D’Antin Pramac, 1’44.501 19. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’44.953 20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1’45.930 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: MotoGP in sunny Jerez for final preseason test Today saw the premier class of MotoGP gathering in Jerez for the first of three testing sessions, which will serve as the final chance to fine-tune their 990cc four-stroke motorcycles ahead of the 2006 season. Bright sunshine ruled throughout the day, and a light breeze helped to keep temperatures around a comfortable 20 degrees. The factory Ducati team dominated proceedings on today’s first session, with Loris Capirossi clocking the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1’40.910, close to that which earned Valentino Rossi pole position in last season’s Grand Prix at the same location. With teammate Sete Gibernau second on the leaderboard and just over a quarter of a second behind, Ducati were the first of a series of teams to post strong times on Bridgestone-shod bikes, demonstrating the tyre’s suitability for the Jerez track. “It’s been a positive day. We finally had good weather conditions and were able to work calmly all day. From the minute I went out I felt at ease on the GP6 and we were able to improve throughout the day, making only minor modifications to the set-up. The bike has improved a great deal and the tyres are very good. Tomorrow we hope the weather will allow us to do a race distance test,” said Capirossi following the day’s testing. Following on from a great showing at the MotoGP Official Test in Catalunya last week, Shinya Nakano gave his Kawasaki team another welcome boost in third, after the news that one of their trucks had been involved in an accident on the way to the circuit. It was also a much better day for Honda, who had been unable to break into the top seven last week. The Spanish duo of factory rider Dani Pedrosa and the Gresini team’s Toni Elias gave much encouragement to the Japanese constructor by ending up fourth and fifth today, although they will evidently be looking to see the RC211V taking victories in the coming season and reclaiming the MotoGP crown which has gone to Yamaha for the last two seasons. In turn, Yamaha factory riders Colin Edwards and world champion Valentino Rossi both continued to show the M1’s excellent form, which helped the former win a new BMW and the latter the fastest times of the first Official Test last week. Rossi was the last to take to the track, as has become customary during preseason and ended up ninth, behind Edwards’ sixth place. Two of last week’s surprise packages, Carlos Checa and John Hopkins were again amongst the top riders. Checa taking seventh spot and Hopkins continuing to put in fast laps on the Suzuki GSV-R just eight thousandths adrift of him. Rounding off the top ten after Rossi was Kawasaki’s French rookie Randy de Puniet, who ran off the track three times and crashed twice in his quest to get his new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR around the track in the fastest time possible. MotoGP testing will continue throughout the weekend in Jerez, where all three grand prix categories have taken to the track this week. Monday and Tuesday’s 125cc sessions saw Mattia Pasini as the standout rider, with the Master MVA Aspar man clocking a best time a tenth quicker than last year’s pole and breaking Dani Pedrosa’s 2003 record for a 125cc bike at the circuit. The 250cc sessions were then dominated by Aprilia’s Jorge Lorenzo. The Mallorcan confirmed his status as one of the title favourites by topping the timesheets on both Wednesday and Thursday, amidst a commanding performance by all Aprilia representatives. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Pedrosa springs surprise on opening day of IRTA test at Jerez The final pre-season MotoGP test got underway in bright sunshine at the 4.423 km Jerez circuit in the south of Spain. Three-days of intense testing for the MotoGP teams prepare the 990cc four-stroke grand prix machines they will race in the 17-round World Championship that opens at the same Jerez circuit on march 26. Repsol Honda factory team rider Dani Pedrosa was the fastest Honda rider on the opening day of the test with fourth place, and also the fastest Michelin equipped machine on the day. Spaniard Pedrosa, the reigning double 250cc World Champion, was riding a MotoGP machine at Jerez for the very first time and worked step by step to set up the big five-cylinder 990cc grand prix machine for the demanding Andalusian track before setting fast times. Nicky Hayden, on the latest version of the Repsol Honda RC211V put in a mammoth 108-lap stint as he worked his way through an extensive opening day test programme. Hayden was pleased with the improvements made to the front end of his RCV and tomorrow he will concentrate on finding more rear wheel traction. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda) worked to find a good base setting for his RCV at Jerez spending time on total machine balance for his RCV before moving on to analysing various suspension alternatives available to him. Melandri’s Fortuna Honda team-mate, Spaniard Toni Elias worked on a range of suspension and tyre combinations for his RCV getting faster as the day wore on. Once he had found the best combination for the conditions he settled into a fast consistent rhythm and ended the day with fifth fastest time. Konica Minolta Honda rider Makoto Tamada and his team worked hard on rear suspension settings riding exclusively with the new Michelin rear tyre searching for better mid-corner speed. The popular Japanese had been the fastest Honda rider on track but after he slid off his RCV in late afternoon he called it a day. Team Roberts started the Jerez test running the KR211V Honda powered KR rolling chassis in the same specification as on the last day of the Catalunya test. The team comparing data from one circuit to the other as they build up a solid data-base of information on the all-new GP machine they will bring to the line on the opening day of the season. Honda rider Lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda:1m 41.984s – 108 laps. “We came out today and got on the pace pretty quick which I was happy about. We’ve got the front of the bike working a bit better but it’s still spinning a bit at the back so we didn’t quite get down to the lap time we’d hoped for. We got into to the low 1m 42s but we just couldn’t jump down to the 1m 41s which is where I really wanted to be to take a big step. We’re just searching for a bit of traction. Tonight we’ll put our heads together and see if we can make a bigger step tomorrow.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 41.499s – 96 laps. “This is another new track for me on this bike so we started little-by-little in the morning. Until noon we were just playing with the bike – the seating position, handlebars and footpegs. Then in the afternoon we started tyre testing for Michelin. The results were good today, though we haven’t finished and we have to do more laps and further improve the set-up of the bike.” Makoto Tanaka – Repsol Honda Team Manager “It’s perfect weather for testing today and we got along very well with today’s test menu. We had tested a lot of things in the past few tests so we analysed a lot of data and narrowed the set-up menu down to one direction for the up-coming race here. Both Nicky and Dani worked hard today. Nicky did a lot of laps and I know we need more work tomorrow to get the right set-up. Dani showed good progress here with the quickest time of the Michelin runners. We’re getting closer to the top time but still have much work to meet our target.” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 1m 42.106s – 88 laps.”The bike has improved compared to last week test. Today we worked mainly on the balance of the bike, suspensions and tyre testing. We tested many different solution in order to understand the behaviour of the bike and to collect as many data as possible that will be extremely useful in order to create the best base for the first race of the championship that will take place in two weeks on this track.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 41.680s – 95 laps. “Today we started adapting to the technical characteristics of the Andalusian track the best base of last week test. We worked mainly with suspensions and we did tyre testing. I found myself comfortable and so I could improve my pace, lapping in the end with a rhythm of 1’41″high. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set up of the bike and we will work together with the Michelin techs. I’m confident to able to do another step forward.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.558s – 69 laps. “Today we could carry out a very important day of testing apart from my fall at the end of the day. For a long time I have been the fastest Honda rider but it gives me no satisfaction because even here, as in Catalunya, the gap from the first positions is remarkable. We still have to work before I find a good feeling with my new bike, especially in the central part of the corner. In this phase, the behaviour is not as natural as I would and I think this is the reason of my slip.” Giulio Bernardelle – Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director “We have deeply verified the setting of the bike rear suspension and set-up starting from the basic solution we defined in Sepang. The telemetry data analysis showed that Makoto is fastest than last year in some parts of the track while we loose too much in the sections where riding is demanding, as we are not still able to easily cover the ideal line. In other words, Tamada is still obliged to force intensely the bike and this prevents him to be constantly efficacious. Tomorrow and Sunday we should have all the time to solve this problem.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 1m 42.33s – 82 laps. “Basically we used the same chassis we ran at Catalunya all day today running through a bunch of stuff and got better as the day went on. We are pretty close on the chassis now so tomorrow we can move forward with other things we need to work at.”