MotoGP tests conclude at Sepang with Edwards and Rossi on top Wednesday 7th February – Sepang, Malaysia – MotoGP Test On the final day of the second Sepang Test of 2007, the teams present since Monday at the Malaysian circuit rounded off their week of fine tuning their new 800cc machines ahead of the season curtain-raiser next month. In a repeat of yesterday’s results, Colin Edwards was once again the fastest rider at Sepang today, in blistering form on the Yamaha M1. The factory team rider clocked a lap of 2’00.248, a time under the 990cc pole position record, set on qualifying tyres. He cut over a second off his fastest lap from yesterday. Once again, Edwards was closely followed by team-mate and five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi. The Italian joined the Texan Tornado as the only riders to go round in under 2’01, with both undertaking a race simulation on the 800cc Yamaha. Team Director Davide Brivio yesterday stated that today’s extended run was intended to see if small changes made over the previous two sessions would be crucial to race performance, and perhaps the Italian now has his answer after a combined 89 laps from his riders. Once again putting in a solid number of laps, Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet also managed to cut his times from the previous two days. The Frenchman showed no ill-effects from the minor crash he suffered yesterday, and also performed a race simulation as part of his 63 lap marathon on the Ninja ZX-RR800. Team-mate Olivier Jacque also made improvements as part of a positive three days for the Gallic duo. The Yamaha Tech 3 team decided against an extended run, with both Makoto Tamada and Sylvain Guintoli putting in 35 laps apiece. They continue to work hard with their tyre development as the only team using Dunlop rubber this season. The only Ilmor team rider at this week’s test, Andrew Pitt rounded off what may be his last solo outing before the expected return of team-mate Jeremy McWilliams. The Australian established his task this week as finding a base for the bike, and today rode more laps than any other rider. All four teams will join the remainder of the MotoGP grid next Tuesday for the first Official Test in Qatar, the scene of the opening round of the championship on March 10th. MotoGP Sepang Test: Day 3 Unofficial Times 1. Colin Edwards- Yamaha Racing 2’00.248 – 46 2. Valentino Rossi-Yamaha Racing 2’00.793 43 3. Randy de Puniet-Kawasaki Racing 2’02.071 63 4. Olivier Jacque-Kawasaki Racing 2’02.607 55 5. Makoto Tamada-Yamaha Tech 3 2’03.380 35 6. Sylvain Guintoli – Yamaha Tech 3 2’04.636 35 7. Andrew Pitt – Ilmor GP 2’07.373 – 70 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION TO SECOND SEPANG TEST FOR KAWASAKI Randy de Puniet and Olivier Jacque confirmed during three more days of testing at the Sepang circuit this week that Kawasaki’s new 800cc Ninja ZX-RR is on track for a competitive race debut at the Grand Prix of Qatar in just four weeks time. Both Kawasaki riders used three uninterrupted days of track time in Malaysia to focus on chassis and suspension set-up, as well as evaluating new tyres from Bridgestone that have been developed specifically for the new 800cc MotoGP racers. This intensive test schedule included a race simulation for both riders on each of the three days, during which they completing more than 400 laps of the 5.543 km Sepang circuit. Both riders reported a noticeable improvement as rear tyre grip deteriorated towards the end of their race simulations, with the performance drop off due to reduced rear traction seen during the last Sepang test being noticeably reduced. For Olivier Jacque, this second test provided another opportunity to prepare for his first full season in the MotoGP class since 2003. One of the most experienced riders on this year’s MotoGP grid, the former World Champion has quickly settled in to the role of factory rider again, and has built up a good working relationship with his new crew, and his new crew chief, Fiorenzo Fanali. With a year of experience on the 990cc Ninja ZX-RR and Bridgestone tyres, Randy de Puniet was again the faster of the two Kawasaki riders during this second three-day test. The 24-year-old Frenchman completed a marathon 237 laps of the Sepang circuit over the course of the test, refining both the set-up of the bike and adapting his riding style to post consistent lap times throughout. The Kawasaki Racing Team will now move on to the Doha International Circuit in Qatar for their third pre-season test, which will run from 13-15 February. Randy de Puniet: 237 Laps – Best Lap 2’02.05 “We’ve had a good three days. The consistency of my lap times has improved with each race simulation, which I’m obviously happy about. This is basically down to small changes in the set-up of the bike, but I’ve also adapted slightly my riding style to get the best from the bike as well. Ideally I would have liked to set my fastest lap of the test on the final day, but it was at least 10 degrees hotter today than it was for the first two days, which meant it just wasn’t possible. Now, after two successful tests at Sepang, I’m looking forward to riding the bike at Qatar and Jerez, where I’m confident that we will be able to confirm we have found a good base set-up on the new Ninja ZX-RR.” Olivier Jacque: 193 Laps – Best Lap 2’02.58 “It’s been a pretty exhausting test. We’ve run a few race simulations to check reliability, and that’s always hard physically in the heat here in Malaysia. But, while it has been hard work, I’m very happy with what we’ve achieved over the three days. I understand better the set-up of the bike, and also the effect that changes to the set-up have on overall performance. This is important for the future. I felt better and better on the bike with each day, and that could be seen in the improvement of my lap times, but there is definitely still more to come. I’m not pushing so hard right now, as I’m still adapting to being a racer again after spending so long as a development rider, but I know what I am capable of and I know the speed will be there come the first race. So, overall, a very positive test for us.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “Our main focus has been on the performance of our bike over race distance. We have run several race simulations over the three days and we’ve seen significant improvements as a result of set-up changes and new tyres from Bridgestone. The fact that we had three uninterrupted days of testing, with the riders out on track from ten in the morning until six at night, means that we’ve also managed to collect plenty of data that we will now feed into our development process. Yes, we still have some work to do ahead of the first race, but this second successful test confirms that we are definitely moving in the right direction with the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Ilmor GP: Ilmor GP Sepang Test Summary London 07.02.07: Following the success of the recent test in Almeria, where despite being hampered by bad weather the team made significant progress, Ilmor GP had high hopes for the test in Sepang where they joined the likes of Kawasaki and Yamaha out on the track. Whilst prioritising further work on the engine calibration over the test the team also undertook an important tyre test with new supplier Michelin. Over the three days Andrew accumulated a total of 166 laps of the 5.54k Malaysian track. The test in Sepang has left the team with a huge amount of data to be analysed ahead of the test in Qatar and whilst everyone remains realistic, Ilmor GP are hopeful that further progress will be made at the Middle Eastern circuit. Andrew Pitt was alone once again in testing the Ilmor GP bike, although making a quick recovery team mate Jeremy McWilliams was unable to join him in Malaysia. Following extensive physiotherapy and a rigorous training schedule Jeremy will be joining the team at the test in Qatar later this month. Andrew Pitt, Ilmor GP Rider: “The past few days haven’t been easy, we’ve all been working extremely long hours and we haven’t made as much progress as we hoped. I think everybody acknowledges the steep learning curve we are currently undertaking but it’s difficult not to get frustrated when everyone is working so hard. We are definitely moving forward and I’m hoping to have a couple of days to rest before Qatar, it will be good to share some of the testing with Jeremy out there.” Mike Janes, Ilmor GP Team Manager: “A big positive for us here in Sepang has been the tyre testing with Michelin. I’m pleased with the progress we’re making on that front, Michelin have been very helpful and we’re learning a lot about the tyres – our new working relationship with Michelin has started well and promises well for the future. We have tried out a few different tyre configurations and can now begin characterising the bikes sensitivity to the various tyres. “Although things aren’t progressing as fast as I would like, we have made one or two positive developments with the bike in other areas, having worked through some big changes to the set-up over the past three days. However, we’re all aware that we have a lot of work to do before the start of the season and Mario and I are realistic about what can be achieved in the time frame we have. Nonetheless, everyone will be working flat out ahead of Qatar with the aim of maximising the opportunity of testing there just prior to the race. On another positive note, the team are working really well together, despite the long hours we have inflicting on them over the past three days!” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Factory Racing Team: Edwards Smashes Pole Record in Sepang Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi proved they are more than ready for the challenge ahead with their new 800cc Yamahas by clocking some outstanding times today, on the third and final day of testing in Sepang. Both took the chance to try new Michelin qualifying tyres and Edwards stunned his crew by dipping well under the current pole position record, set by Rossi at last year’s race on the old 990cc Yamaha, with a lap of 2’00.248. Rossi also came close to his own pole record with a time of 2’00.793. Both riders spent the day continuing to work on set-up and tyre-testing before completing long runs, enabling them to see the benefits of their latest developments under race-like conditions. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will now pack up and head east for the next stage of testing in Qatar on February 13th-15th. It will be the first time this season that the entire MotoGP class will be on track together and Rossi and Edwards are looking forward to seeing how their 800cc bikes fare at a new track alongside a full field of their competitors. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 2’00.248 Laps: 46 “We started off this morning by testing a couple more front tyres and a different bike setting, just generally playing around with a few things. At the end of the morning we tried another new rear tyre which was pretty good too, and then we had two qualifiers to try. I came in from the first one thinking that I’d probably done a low 2’01; I’d made a couple of small mistakes and thought I could have been faster, so I couldn’t believe it when it was around the 2’00.6 mark. The next qualifier was pretty unbelievable and the bike just felt perfect, so I’m really pleased with that time. The long run was pretty interesting”¦I’d already done about 30 laps in the morning session and I was feeling pretty tired, I went off a bit too hard at the start and was giving it all I had, it was feeling great but then after about 14 laps I was seeing double! I slowed it down for a bit but there wasn’t much point pushing it so I came in a bit early. Anyway things were still improved from the last time here so we were happy. Overall it’s been a really great test; the bike is unbelievable, better than ever even with less power!” Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 2’00.793 Laps: 43 “It was another really positive day for us, and I am so happy because the bike is feeling great. During these three days we have worked a lot on the suspension set-up, in order to fix the problems we had in braking, and I think we’ve done a very good job on that. We’ve been pretty fast all week, quicker than during the January test, and the long run today was faster too which is important. I am also pleased that Colin is going so well, he made a fantastic time today, he’s very fast! We also worked again today on the engine mapping, as I said yesterday; fuel consumption is going to be crucial for everyone this year and we can’t afford to make mistakes! I am sure that we can still improve in every area and now we have the chance to carry on like this in Qatar next week, where we will also have the first race in one month. Next week will be a very important test!” Davide Brivio Team Director “We leave Sepang in the certainty that we’ve made a very good test and we have improved the situation with both riders. Colin has made a great improvement since January’s test and I think that no one has ever ridden so fast here in Sepang as he did today! This shows that the 800cc bikes are already faster than the 990s! We are working very well and the general development of the new bike is going very well. Now we go to Qatar for the next test and we know that will be a very important test for two reasons: first, we will be testing in a different circuit, so we will have the chance to confirm what we’ve learnt here at another track and second, we will meet all the other teams there and will be able to see our level alongside them.” Unofficial Lap Times 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2’00.248 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2’00.793 3. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2’02.071 4. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2’02.607 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2’03.380 6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2’04.636 7. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 2’07.373 Sepang Lap Record (990cc) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 – 2’02.127 Sepang Best Lap (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 – 2’00.605