GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM TEST Phillip Island, Australia Wednesday, March 9, 2005 Ambient temperature: 20 degrees Track temperature: 27 degrees Humidity: 60% TRICKY TESTING CONDITIONS FOR YAMAHA IN GLOOMY PHILLIP ISLAND Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were back in action for their fourth test of the year in Phillip Island, Australia, today. Unfortunately, low temperatures and some rain made for difficult testing conditions and the team were unable to work as effectively as they had hoped. After heavy rain yesterday, it had eased to a slow drizzle today before stopping mid-morning. However the sun failed to appear and as a result the track never dried out properly and remained slippery throughout the day. Despite the bad weather, Rossi and Edwards completed a total of 51 and 60 laps respectively, albeit with slightly slower lap times than at the last Phillip Island test two weeks ago. The riders focused mainly on testing tyres for Michelin and working on the set-up of their YZR-M1s. Edwards was slightly faster than Rossi, setting a best lap of 1:31.27, while the World Champion finished the day with a fastest time of 1:31.38. After three tests this year alongside most of their fellow MotoGP competitors, for this test the Yamaha Factory Team riders are joined only by the Spanish Fortuna Yamaha Team duo of Ruben Xaus and Toni Elias. Xaus was third fastest, completing 78 laps with a best time of 1:33.02, whilst Elias completed 80 laps and set a fastest time of 1:33.19. Colin Edwards (1:31.27, 60 laps) “The track conditions were really bad; it was so slick because it had rained all day yesterday. I did 60 laps but a lot of that was just trying to lay down some rubber on the track. We worked a bit on set-up and tried some tyres, but it was cold and therefore difficult to get the tyre temperature high enough to do much useful work. We were doing good things two weeks ago here but we didn’t have the same feeling today, but I am sure things will improve with the weather!” Valentino Rossi (1:31.38, 51 laps) “Today the weather was bad cold and raining so we couldn’t test as we wanted. We worked a bit on bike settings and tested some tyres, but with the weather like this it was difficult to judge any changes. It was much colder than the last time we were here, and this is why the lap times are slower. I hope tomorrow the temperature will improve and then we can do some proper testing.” Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director “Unfortunately the weather didn’t allow us to test properly, but we’ve got two more days to continue and we expected that we might lose one day to the rain. The forecast is better tomorrow. Despite all this, we were able to do some work and get some feedback from set-up changes and the tyres we’ve been testing for Michelin. However we need higher temperatures to confirm these things tomorrow.” Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1:31.27 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:31.38 3. Ruben Xaus (Yamaha) 1:33.02 4. Toni Elias (Yamaha) 1:33.19 More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: FORTUNA YAMAHA CONTINUE TEST PROGRAMME IN AUSTRALIA Fortuna Yamaha today completed their first day of tests at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia just days after their most recent session at the same venue. Team riders Rubén Xaus and Toni Elías continued with their process of adaptation to their Yamaha YZR M1 machines in cold weather conditions. Fortuna Yamaha rider Rubén Xaus followed his intense programme with 78 laps of the Australian circuit with a best time of 1:33.02. Rubén, who is still learning his new bike, worked mainly on the overall set-up of the bike. His team-mate Toni Elías also tested different set-up configurations for his YZR M1 although his main objective for today was again to cover as many kilometres as possible as he looks to fully adapt to the premier-class machine. Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi completed 51 laps with a best time of 1’31.38 whilst his team-mate Colin Edwards was slightly faster, with a time of 1’31.30 after 60 laps. Rubén Xaus, (1:33.02, 78 laps) “After resting for a few days I was looking forward to getting back on the bike again today. We’ve continued with the testing programme we had planned and we have to keep working in this way. The team is doing a great job and I am very happy.” Toni Elías (1:33.19, 80 laps) “I am happy although the track was around 1.5 seconds per lap slower than before because of the low temperatures we’ve had to deal with today. We’ve tested a few things in areas we knew we had to improve on after the recent tests at this same circuit and I think we’re on the right path. I’m happy because I’m getting a little closer every day!.”