SECOND AND LAST DAY OF TESTING FOR TONI ELIAS AT BRNO As scheduled the Spanish rider of the Fortuna Honda team concluded today this test session while his team Marco Melandri finished yesterday. Positive day of testing for the Spaniard who was the fastest rider this morning on wet track, while this afternoon he carried on some set up testing in order to improve his feeling with the bike. TONI ELIAS (1’59″8): “This morning we found a good set up on wet conditions and I could be immediately fast. Then in the afternoon on dry conditions I worked on weight distribution and tested some set up solutions. We still have a lot of work to do but I’m confident because we are working in the right direction.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: TWO-DAY TEST IN BRNO GIVES YAMAHA CONFIDENCE FOR FLYAWAYS The Camel Yamaha Team concluded two days of testing in the Czech Republic this afternoon, following on immediately from Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix, in which Valentino Rossi finished second. Testing alongside most other MotoGP teams in the paddock, Rossi and team-mate Colin Edwards completed two full days of work despite some bad weather today, looking to maximise the potential of the YZR-M1 before the forthcoming run of ‘flyaway’ races in Malaysia, Australia and Japan. Rossi, currently third in the championship standings, is one of several riders still in a position to challenge for the title with five rounds remaining. The main focus for both riders during the two days for was to fine-tune the set-up of the M1, concentrating especially on improving rear grip and the stability of the bike through the corners. Both riders also tested a variety of Michelin tyres, with Edwards also putting in some wet-weather testing on Tuesday morning. Rossi set the fastest time on both days of the test with a best lap on Monday of 1’57.315, whilst Edwards was 14th on Monday and 4th today with a best lap of 1’59.140. Whist improving the M1 was the number one priority for the team, Rossi also had his first chance to ride the prototype of Yamaha’s 2007 800cc bike. The Italian completed four laps with the bike on Monday and had planned another short run today, but more rain in the late afternoon curtailed this and he was forced to stop after just a couple of laps. VALENTINO ROSSI (Monday 1st, 1’57.315, 47 laps. Tuesday 1st, 1’58.117, 49 laps) “Yesterday I finished very happy with the results and today I am even more pleased with the progress we’ve made. We’ve tested some new tyres brought here by Michelin and we’ve also worked a lot on the stability of my bike. We’ve concentrated a lot on setting and I definitely feel that the bike can turn better now when the throttle is open. We had a lot of things to test during these two days so we didn’t have time to do a long run, but anyway my race pace was good throughout. Overall I am very happy with the work we’ve done on the M1, after this test we have a clear idea about the way we need to continue for the rest of the season and I think we’re in good shape. Yesterday I tried the new 800cc bike for just a few laps and my first impression is quite good. I did only four laps yesterday and I hoped to do some more this afternoon, we asked for ten minutes extra track time at the end of the day but unfortunately it started to rain after a few minutes so we had to stop.” COLIN EDWARDS (Monday 14th, 1’59.158, 53 laps. Tuesday 4th, 1’59.140, 50 laps) “It’s been a busy couple of days work; we’ve got through a lot and I think we’ve got a better idea as to why things didn’t go so well last weekend. We’ve played around a lot with the setting and found some good things for the next few races. Testing here last year we made the bike perfect and then it didn’t work so well in Japan, so we know that what works in Brno doesn’t necessarily work everywhere else, but we’ll go from here in Sepang and see what happens. It was unfortunate that the weather wasn’t great today because it stopped some of our plans, but we did get to do some wet-weather testing for Michelin which is always useful. They’ve got some good new stuff and it definitely seems that they’re making big steps forward with their wet-weather tyres.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Today, like yesterday, our priority was to find the best setting for our bike for the last five races. In these last two days we have tested various different settings, particularly yesterday, and today we have also focused on testing some new tyres for Michelin. I think we have made a very good job and we have got excellent information from our riders, which will be very important to help us to be competitive until the end of the championship. Generally speaking, I am very happy with both Valentino and Colin’s work during this test session”. Test Times Monday 21st August: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’57.315 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’57.653 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’58.043 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, 1’58.172 5. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’58.487 6. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’58.542 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’58.563 8. Kenny Roberts JR (USA) Team Roberts, 1’58.567 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’58.757 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’58.758 14. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’59.158 Tuesday 22nd August: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’58.117 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’58.421 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1.58.528 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’59.140 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1’59.884 6. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2’00.597 7. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2’01.074 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2’01.744 9. Shinichi Itoh (JPN) 2’02.100 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 2’13.759 More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: MotoGP test Brno, Czech Republic, August 22, 2006. Final day of two-day test. Hayden ends two-day Brno MotoGP test in confident mood MotoGP World Championship leader Nicky Hayden completed a successful two day test at the 5.403km Brno circuit. Hayden, from Kentucky, put in 67 laps on his Repsol liveried evolution RC211V Honda in changeable weather conditions. The riders endured heavy rain in the morning before the track dried as the day wore on providing tyre supplier Michelin with an ideal opportunity to test the newly developed rain tyres and a range of slick rubber in preparation for the last five races of the 17 round championship series. Hayden was impressed by the performance of his new chassis on both wet and dry surfaces and lapped at a constant fast pace in all conditions. He was particularly pleased with the consistently high level performance over twelve lap runs. The championship leader headed for home in buoyant mood. He holds a 25-point lead in the series and the former AMA Superbike Champion is confident that the latest version of the RC211V will improve each time he rides the machine as he strives to win his first world championship title. Hayden’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa did not test today. The reigning double 250cc World Champion, who holds second place in the MotoGP title chase, will not race the evolution machine this season. Pedrosa prefers to race the conventional RC211V he has campaigned all season. The Fortuna Honda team tested with just one rider. Italian Marco Melandri completed his test programme on the opening day of the two-day test but team-mate Toni Elias put in a solid days work in both wet and dry conditions. The young Spaniard has limited experience of the RCV on a wet track and took advantage of the wet conditions before midday to improve his feeling for the RCV in adverse weather. He quickly established a fast smooth rhythm to set the fastest time on the slick track surface. When the track dried Elias and his technicians continued working on the overall balance of the machine in a bid to establish base line chassis and suspension settings that will wok for him from start to finish in the race. Elias has struggled in the opening laps of the races while riding with a full fuel tank. During the Czech GP on Sunday his speed and lap times improved as the fuel level dropped allowing him to run the second half of the race at close to his optimum potential. He ended the day content with the progress the team have made. Kenny Roberts Junior had hoped to continue testing with the updated chassis of his Honda powered KR211V but the conditions prevented the team completing their test programme. Roberts ran four laps on the wet track before calling a halt to the test. The teams and riders will now have a two week break returning to the track on September 10 for the Malaysian GP at the Sepang circuit close to Kuala Lumpur.. Honda rider lap times and quotes: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 58.428s. “It’s been a really positive couple of days. This morning we got some rain so we did a couple of runs to confirm that the things we learned yesterday were ok in the wet. And we also tested a few Michelin wet tyres, which felt pretty good too. This afternoon I did a long run, put in some consistent laps and everything went well which is a good sign because for these last five races we’ve got to be ready. I’d like to say thanks to my team because Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 1m 59.8s “This morning we found a good set up on wet conditions and I could be immediately fast. Then in the afternoon on dry conditions I worked on weight distribution and tested some set up solutions. We still have a lot of work to do but I’m confident because we are working in the right direction.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 2m 16.577s Casey Stoner, LCR Honda, and Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda did not test today.