SECOND FASTEST TIME FOR MARCO MELANDRI AT LOSAIL FOR THE FIRST DAY OF TEST IN QATAR

Doha, Qatar, 1st March 2005
Temperatures: 28°C the air temperature, 35°C the asphalt temperature

After the test in Malaysia and Australia, the motoGP teams are back to work at Losail in Qatar, where the riders of the Telefonica Movistar Honda team triumphed during the last GP. The Telefonica riders are sharing the track with all Honda riders and Ducati.

Unfortunately Sete Gibernau, the winner of the GP of Qatar 2004, couldn’t test today because he is suffering from fever that he has since his arrival here in Qatar. His conditions have improved during the day and he will probably test tomorrow.

Positive debut for Marco Melandri with the RCV211V here in Qatar, he run consistently on 1:58, scoring the second fastest lap time of the day.

MARCO MELANDRI 1:58.48, 72 laps:
“I’m very satisfied of the work done today. I have lapped more relaxed and focused on myself without the pressure of making a good time and things have been easier. Today the track conditions were quite good even if I expected more grip. This afternoon the wind has disturbed a bit but at the end of the session conditions have improved. Today we made some tyre testing and small changes on the bike to understand better the bike and see how small regulations can affect it. I’m impressed by my RC211V because the bike doesn’t need many changes from one track to the other and my feeling with the bike is improving every time.”

UNOFFICIAL LAP TIMES
1. Nicky Hayden 1:58.36
2. Marco Melandri 1:58.48
3. Loris Capirossi 1:58.94
4. Carlos Checa 1:59.11
5. Max Biaggi 1:59.20
6. Alex Barros 1:59.20
7. Makoto Tamada 1:59.50
8. Troy Baylis 2:00.60
9. Roberto Rolfo 2:03.50

Losail, track details
Opened: 2004
Length: 5.400 mt
Width: 12 mt
Pole position: left
Right turns: 10
Left turns: 6
Longest straight: 1068 mt

RECORD:
pole position: Checa (Yamaha – 2004) 1:58.988
fastest lap (race): Edwards (Honda 2004) 1:59.293
2004 race: 1st Gibernau (Honda), 2nd Edwards (Honda), 3rd Xaus (Ducati)

More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda:

Ideal weather in Qatar for first day of tests for Camel Honda

Qatar today hosted MotoGP teams for the first of three test days at the Losail International Circuit, with pleasant 25ºC conditions compared to the habitual scorching weather which hits the deserts of Doha. Despite the late arrival of fuel, and thanks to the kind help from Honda colleagues Team Gresini who lent some of their supply, the Camel Honda team began their work after the lunch break, working hard on a set-up for the Losail track, both with Alex, who was quickly amongst the fastest riders, and with Troy who continues to improve his feelings with the RC211V.

Ramon Forcada Camel Honda (Alex Barros’s Technical Director)
“We have only been to this track once before, for last year’s GP, and the conditions were completely different back then, both in terms of the weather and the track itself. Nevertheless we began from the settings from October, and continued with the work on the forks which we had begun in Australia. We also tried two new fronts from Michelin and tomorrow we will do tyre tests and more set-up work.”

Alex Barros Camel Honda 1:58.90 (27 laps) 3rd fastest
“We didn’t do that many laps today, because we didn’t have that much fuel, but we still began well. The conditions are definitely better than when we came here for the race, also because the Superbikes raced here on Saturday which laid some good rubber down on the track. I felt comfortable pretty much straight away, the bike is set-up well and we went quickly straight away, even though 28 laps doesn’t give you much opportunity to test too much.”

Santiago Mulero Camel Honda (Troy Bayliss’s Technical Director)
“Today was quite a good day, Troy is already riding at his race pace from last year and he doesn’t have too bad a feeling with the bike. We started from the position we were in Australia as regards base set-up and tomorrow we will continue to work in that direction.”

Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 2:00.68  (26 laps) 8th fastest
“I’m quite satisfied with the first sensations at this track, even though we couldn’t ride too much. We have been lucky to get such good conditions, but there is still a little bit of wind around. If only it could be like this when we come back here to race, but I don’t think it will be. However we will try to make the most of these days here and tomorrow apart from the set-up work, we will work alongside Michelin to try some new tyres.”

Official Times
1. Hayden (Honda) 1:58.38; 2. Melandri (Honda) 1:58.52; 3. Barros (Camel Honda) 1:58.90; 4. Capirossi (Ducati) 1:58.94; 5. Checa (Ducati) 1:59.11; 6. Biaggi (Honda) 1:59.20; 7. Tamada (Honda) 1:59.50; 8. Bayliss (Camel Honda) 2:00.68; 9. Rolfo (Ducati) 2:03.50.

More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM BACK IN TESTING ACTION IN QATAR

Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa concentrate on the front end of their Desmosedici GP5. Testing continues tomorrow and Thursday.

Doha (Qatar), 1 March 2005 – After returning home from Australia, Loris Capirossi, Carlos Checa and the Italian team’s engineers returned to the track for more testing today in Qatar. This is the final test of the team’s winter schedule, and comes just a couple of weeks before the first of two official 2005 MotoGP championship IRTA tests scheduled for Barcelona on March 18-20.

Development work on the Ducati Demosedici GP5 is continuing non-stop and the Ducati Marlboro Team has concluded positively the first of the three scheduled days of testing at the new Losail circuit, which was inaugurated last year.

A milder climate (27° air/47° track) than that recorded in the 2004 GP helped Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa get the best out of the session, but strong winds along the long Losail straight inevitably conditioned the work of all the riders.

The circuit, which continues to offer little grip, is made up of a series of linked curves and requires high cornering speed: for this reason the Ducati Marlboro Team engineers focussed mainly on the front end set-up of the bike.

Numerous tests were carried out with different suspension and front geometry settings. Loris and Carlos also shared the work with the front race tyres brought by Bridgestone, each rider trying out several different types.

Loris Capirossi ended the first day of testing in Qatar with a best time of 1:58.92 in his total of 45 laps. 
“I have to admit that it wasn’t bad for the first day of testing” commented the Italian rider. “Today we concentrated on different suspension set-ups, in particular at the front of the bike. The track is in virtually the same condition as it was during last year’s GP and I hope that it will improve in the next couple of days”.

Spanish rider Carlos Checa, who set pole position at this circuit in 2004, ended the first day of testing with a total of 65 laps to his name, the quickest being 1:59.14.

“I lapped pretty close to the time I set last year and as it was only the first day, I was quite pleased with that” declared Carlos at the end of the day. “Today we did a lot of work on the front suspension and on my riding position. In the afternoon the track had already improved from the morning, and hopefully this trend will continue for the next two days.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team will continue testing at Qatar on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 March.