Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP World Championship
IRTA Test
Catalunya, Spain
3/27/04

Testing Lap Times:

1. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 2:02.757, 32 laps
2. Shinichi ITOH, Honda, 2:06.453, 15 laps
3. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 2:12.093, 17 laps
4. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 2:16.264, 9 laps
5. Vittoriano GUARESCHI, Ducati, 2:16.386, 16 laps
6. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 2:17.175, 5 laps
7. Gregorio LAVILLA, Suzuki, 2:18.239, 8 laps
8. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 2:24.356, 4 laps


More, from a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

RAIN PREVENTS ANY ACTION TODAY AT CATALUNYA

Barcelona, 27.03.04 The weather was undoubtedly the main protagonist at the official MotoGP tests today. The track was opened at ten o’clock as usual, but just prior to this the skies themselves had opened, and rain fell without pause throughout the entire day, with temperatures barely above six degrees Celsius. A big crowd had made the way to the circuit for the tests, only to be left disappointed; with still a day left for the riders to practice tomorrow, most of them chose to spend the day in the pit garage and wait for Sunday. At first everyone waited, and looked at the clouds above in the hope that the situation would improve, but at lunchtime it was clear there would be no change and the d´Antin MotoGP riders decided to leave their Ducatis ‘parked up’.

Neil Hodgson said through a smile: “This is more like English weather than Spanish! It’s cold, it’s raining, and to be honest we don’t get very far by going out on track in these conditions. It would have been good to make something of today, but not with this weather, so we’ll wait until tomorrow. The forecast isn’t great, but anyway, I think we’ll go out whatever tomorrow.”

Rubén Xaus also had no doubts: ” With the temperatures here it’s worth nothing to go out today. The GP here is in June, and even if it rained then, it would never be as bad as this, so for us it seemed absurd to consider going out. The only riders to really have ridden are the test riders. I think everyone will go out tomorrow, even if it rains, and with this little bit of wet practice we’ll have enough to get our bearings. It’s a real shame because we needed to get on clocking up the miles, but what can you do?”


More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

WET WEATHER CONTINUES AT CATALUNYA

Torrential rain greeted Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, as they arrived at the Circuit de Catalunya this morning to start the second day of the annual three day IRTA test session at the 4.727km Spanish track.

After sitting out the morning session hoping for a break in the weather, Nakano and Hofmann eventually took to the track early in the afternoon, with the rain still falling and Bridgestone wets fitted front and rear on their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR machines.

For Nakano and Hofmann, today marked their first outing on Bridgestone wet weather tyres. Low track temperatures and standing water on parts of the circuit meant that conditions weren’t ideal even for wet weather testing, but both Fuchs Kawasaki riders took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the characteristics of the treaded wets, as well as the wet weather set-up of their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR machines.

While the weather forecast for tomorrow’s final day of testing promises more inclement weather, both Nakano and Hofmann are hopeful that conditions will improve enough to allow them to continue with their dry weather test programme.

Alex Hofmann: 2:12.10 (17 laps)
“The cold conditions meant it was difficult to evaluate the Bridgestone wets fully today, but at least now we’ve tried them for the first time. The rain also gave me an opportunity to make sure that the seat pad on the new bike doesn’t become too slippery in the wet and that the anti-fog system on my helmet works properly. These are only small things, but it’s better to make sure they work now, rather than discovering that there is a problem in the first wet race of the year. Although it was worth going out today, I couldn’t stay out for so long because my fingers were going numb with the cold after just four or five laps. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow for the first timed practice session of the new season.”

Shinya Nakano: 2:16.24 (9 laps)
“This was my first time out on the Kawasaki in wet conditions, and the Bridgestone wets are also new for me. It was difficult to test the tyres in today’s conditions, as I didn’t really feel that confident in the corners, but the grip down the straight was good, with the rear tyre finding traction and not spinning. Obviously I am hoping for better weather tomorrow because we need to get more dry laps if we are to complete our test programme. But, if the rain continues then I will definitely carry on riding, as I want to try a few different wet set-up options.”


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

IRTA MotoGP tests, day 2, Saturday March 27 2004

Track temperature: 7 degrees
Ambient temperature: 8 degrees
Humidity: 61%

WEATHER PLAYS HAVOC WITH TEAMS’ TESTING PLANS

A day of constant rain combined with unseasonal cold upset the carefully laid plans of the MotoGP teams here at the Montmelo track near Barcelona. A surprisingly large number of race fans huddled in the grandstands to watch only a handful of riders brave the conditions to test wet tyres and wet-weather set-ups.

Bridgestone tyres test-rider Shinichi Itoh (Pramac Honda RC211V) was the only Honda runner to make any laps in the atrocious conditions using the low track temperature of 7 degrees on soaking tarmac as an extreme examination of his Honda RC211V’s ability to find grip and speed in a wintry environment.

Repsol Honda riders Alex Barros, who was fastest yesterday, and Nicky Hayden sensibly decided not to risk either themselves or their RC211Vs on the saturated track. They will look forward to brighter conditions forecast for the final day of this three day IRTA test tomorrow. The rain is expected to ease, but the track temperature, so crucial to tyre performance, will remain an unknown quantity until tomorrow.

Camel Honda duo Max Biaggi and Makoto Tamada both elected to sit out today’s session and they look forward to a better day tomorrow and the chance to compete for a sports car in a special 40 minute period where the fastest rider in the session collects the prize.

Both Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) and Colin Edwards (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) took the view that there was little point in risking riding in these conditions. In weather that would prove of little real value to test in owing to the very cold track temperature of 7 degrees, which is rarely encountered anywhere else, with the exception of Austalia’s Phillip Island.

The overall order at the top of the timesheet remains the same as yesterday. But with only three days of testing now remaining before the season’s curtain-raiser MotoGP at Welkom in South Africa on April 18, the pressure is really on to find baseline set-ups and consistent speed in a short timeframe.

“For us the wet is not a problem,” said Alex Barros’s Crew Chief Ramon Forcada. “It’s the cold. The Grand Prix here is in the middle of June and we’ll have temperatures perhaps 20 degrees higher – perhaps more, so we’ve gathered no useful data. We had to be careful today too, Alex is making a strong recovery from his shoulder operation and it would be so easy to make a stupid mistake for nothing.”

Trevor Morris, Nicky Hayden’s Crew Chief said, “That was a frustrating day hoping for a break in the weather – which never came. With the first round of the Championship only three weeks away it would have been mad to take any risks for no real purpose. Nicky really wanted to ride and I know these sorts of situations are difficult, but let’s hope for better weather tomorrow.”

Juan Martinez, Sete Gibernau’s Chief Mechanic felt the same way. “It’s not worth risking anything,” he said. “We decided not to test because of the cold which would give us no real indicators of how the bike would perform here with normal grip levels.”

Colin Edwards’ Chief Mechanic Fabrizio Cecchini said. “We are working on the set-up of the new bike of the new bike and it’s almost meaningless to go out in these conditions. Tomorrow there will be 40 minutes of timed practice and it will be like a qualifying session – even if the weather’s bad.”

Camel Honda Team Principal Sito Pons was realistic about the day’s outcome. “This would have been the perfect opportunity to see the potential of all the participants and to get a better idea of our level too. But in conditions like these it makes no sense to do any testing – which is why hardly anyone went out.”

Makoto Tamada’s Team Manager believed his rider derived some benefit from today. “Makoto spent quite a bit of time with his technicians in the pits working out how to run the test programme with only three days left. We played safe and we hope the weather gets better.”


More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda Racing Information:

Cold and wet at IRTA tests in Catalunya

Driving rain never let up today at Montmelò. Although the rain was bad enough, the bitter cold made things really hard for the riders out on the track. Most of the riders preferred to keep out of the danger zone, so for most of the day there were indeed very few bikes on the circuit. The weather looks highly uncertain for tomorrow too, with a forecast drop in the temperature suggesting there may even be some snow.

Technicians and riders of the yellow-blue camel Honda team preferred not to run any of the risks that today’s weather would have entailed, so the work programme was put off until the next few days. Even if tomorrow proved to be impossible too, there will still be two days of tests in Jerez next week, further down in the south of Spain where it’s hoped the spring will have arrived.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“In conditions like this, it makes no sense to do any testing, and indeed almost nobody went out onto the track. It’s a pity these tests have been ruined by such difficult weather conditions. This would have been the perfect opportunity to see the potential of all the participants and get a better idea of our level too. I’m also sorry for the public, for all the fans out here in Catalunya. Even so, from 2 to 3 o’clock tomorrow there’ll be the official presentation of the championship live on television. And the trophy for the fastest lap will be awarded, so I think the spectators will at least get some satisfaction.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin tyres)
“Really there’s not much to say: we didn’t even get out onto the circuit. If it had just been rain, possibly I might have done a few laps to get the rain configuration worked out, but really it’s far too cold here and it’s not worth taking any risks. I’ve seen the forecast and they’re saying we may even get sleet tomorrow: I just hope we don’t. If the worse comes to the worst, we’re still got two days in Jerez.

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“The weather’s really bad, so we decided to play safe and we didn’t let Makoto Tamada out onto the track and take any risks. Even so, Makoto spent quite some time with his technicians down in the pits working out an increasingly busy work programme for the three days left – obviously hoping the weather’ll get better.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone tyres)
“I preferred not to go out and run any risks. But I do know that Bridgestone went ahead with the development work on their tyres with their official test rider. What can I say? I just hope the weather gets better. We’ve been waiting so long for these tests, and the wait’s just getting longer.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonia Movistar Honda/Gresini Racing:

Rain and Cold weather for the second day of Irta Test.

Test Irta – Catalunya, Saturday
No action at the Catlunya circuit today because of the rain and cold temperatures. The weather spoiled also the second day of the long-awaited motoGP test.

The Team Telefonica MoviStar Honda decided to be safe and not to lap on a cold and wet track.

Juan Martinez, Sete Gibernau’s Chief mechanic: “Today we decided not to test mainly because of the cold weather. Around midday, in fact, the air temperature was 9°C and the asphalt 11°C, lapping with these temperatures give us no indication about the correct setting for the new bike, it’s not worth risking.”

Fabrizio Cecchini, Colin Edwards’ chief mechanic: “Cold temperatures and heavy rain spoiled today’s test session. We are working on the set-up of the new bike and it has no meaning to go out in these conditions. Tomorrow there will be 40 minutes of timed practices and it will be like a session of qualifying practices, so we will go out even with bad weather.”

Fausto ! Gresini, Team manager: “with these temperatures the tyres do not reach the right temperature so we cannot work on the development of the bike. We have preferred to be safe, especially in preparation of the first race of the season. We look forward to the sun to warm us up and the spectators.”

Unfortunately according to the weather forecast, tomorrow the weather will not improve: rain and even snow are expected.

In case of bad weather the BMW 645 Ci worth Euro 80,000 offered as a prize from BMW for the best Qualifier may be postponed. The timed session is scheduled tomorrow from 14.05 to 14.55.