UNEXPECTED WEATHER SEES FIAT YAMAHA ABANDON NIGHT ONE IN QATAR A rare rain shower over the Losail International Circuit spelt an end to the first session of night testing in Qatar this evening, with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo completing just one lap each. Testing commenced under the floodlights at 1800 but the rain began as soon as Rossi and Lorenzo ventured out on track, with neither of them able to get a fast lap in. The cool night time temperatures meant the asphalt was unable to dry sufficiently from then on and, although some riders ventured back out later in the evening, the Fiat Yamaha pair decided not to risk a patchy track surface and their activities were suspended until tomorrow. Valentino Rossi Position: 14 Time: 12’31.872 Laps: 1 “Five minutes of rain really gave us a lot of problems today. First we waited and then finally we decided to abandon it. I hope tomorrow it’s back to normal because this was our worst race last year and we need the time to see where we are and continue to improve with our new package.” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 13 Time: 2’24.832 Laps: 1 “I went out and on the third lap it started to rain I couldn’t believe it! It seems strange to have rain in the desert and it’s been a nightmare for the team because we have lost a whole day. I hope it’s better tomorrow because I really want to try the new electronic system and also I need to keep working to improve with the Bridgestone tyres.” Test Times 1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’00.717 2. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 2’00.867 3. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 2’01.020 4. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 2’01.074 5. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Alice Team 2’01.328 6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’01.843 7. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) Scot Racing Team 2’03.221 8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 2’03.233 9. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 2’03.417 10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 2’03.417 11. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 2’03.652 12. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 2’08.637 13. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2’24.832 14. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 12’31.872 Losail: Record Lap C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1’55.153 Losail: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1’53.927 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: RAIN INTERRUPTS QATAR TEST FOR REPSOL HONDA TEAM Sunday 1 March, 2008 The first installment of the official MotoGP night test in Qatar was unexpectedly halted by rain today as the Grand Prix paddock assembled at the Losail International circuit near Doha. Shortly after the circuit opened at 6pm and the first riders had ventured out, a heavy shower brought proceedings to an abrupt halt. With no sun to dry the floodlit surface, wet patches remained on parts of the track until the end of the test at 12 midnight. With lap times rendered largely meaningless, Repsol Honda pilot Dani Pedrosa – along with several other riders – elected not to ride today. His team-mate Andrea Dovizioso completed 15 laps to get a general feel for the Honda RC212V, as this was his first taste of the Losail track riding the MotoGP machine – though the Italian was not riding in the closing minutes of the test when the track was at its driest. The factory Honda pair and their pit crews will return to the desert circuit tomorrow, looking to the skies and hoping for clear weather. OFFICIAL LAP TIMES Nicky Hayden 2m 00.717s 31 laps Marco Melandri 2m 00.867s 35 laps Mika Kallio 2m 01.020s 29 laps Alex De Angelis 2m 01.074s 15 laps Niccolo Canepa 2m 01.328s 26 laps Chris Vermeulen 2m 01.843s 6 laps Yuki Takahashi 2m 03.221s 18 laps Andrea Dovizioso 2m 03.233 s 15 laps James Toseland 2m 03.417 s 7 laps Randy De Puniet 2m 03.580s 18 laps Colin Edwards 2m 03.652s 8 laps Toni Elias 2m 08.637s 3 laps Jorge Lorenzo 2m 24.832s 1 laps Valentino Rossi 12m 31.872s 1 laps Dani Pedrosa 0 laps Casey Stoner 0 laps Loris Capirossi 0 laps More, from a press release issued by Honda: MotoGP test Qatar. Day one of three day test session March 01, 2009. The 2009 MotoGP teams returned to pre-season testing with a three-day session at the Losail Circuit at Doha, Qatar, venue for the opening round of the 18 round world championship. The Qatar event is unique as it is run under a state of the art floodlighting system. Despite its desert location weather conditions on the opening day were less than ideal heavy wind had deposited sand on track top. Difficulties were compounded when light rain began to fall on the dirty track surface and only 10 riders took to the track when it opened, four of them completing three laps or less! The sand-rain combination saw the riders return to their pit boxes where they remained until the track conditions improved late in the session but little was achieved on day one at Qatar. Consequently the teams will now have to cram three-day of testing into the two remaining days. Honda rider quotes and lap times. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 4th. 2m 01.074s – Laps15. “I only did 2 exits this evening but the track conditions were not good and the tyres were spoiled after five laps. Anyway, it was important to get the feeling again and be ready for tomorrow.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team Honda: 7th. 2m 03.221s – Laps18. “We started with the same setting we had in Malaysia to check the feeling and see the differences but unfortunately the track conditions were not good. The track had no grip and I didn’t want to push too much, it was better not to risk for the first day with these conditions.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 8th. 2m 03.233s – Laps 15. “It was a strange day: finding rain conditions in the desert is very unusual. It was a pity. We only did a few laps even if the track conditions were not good, but I wanted to gather some data and be ready for tomorrow. This is a demanding track, with long turns and it is important to test here, especially in preparation of the championship and the first race.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 10th. 2m 03.580s – Laps 14. “I can go to sleep with a good feeling. In fact I was not happy when I left Sepang because I hadn’t found the right position on the bike. This evening we only did 18 laps because of the rain, but they were enough for finding a good position on the bike, so I’m confident for tomorrow.” Toni Elias, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th. 2m 08.637s – Laps 3. “We decided not to test because the track was dirty, so we decided to spare the tyres for tomorrow. We hope tomorrow it will be fine and we can use the whole session at its best.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Did not test. MotoGP Official Night Test at Qatar – Day One 1. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team – 2’00.717 (29 laps) 2. Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team – 2’00.867 (31) 3. Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing – 2’01.020 (27) 4. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini – 2’01.074 (15) 5. Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing – 2’01.328 (21) 6. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP – 2’01.843 (5) 7. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team – 2’03.221 (18) 8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda – 2’03.233 (15) 9. James Toseland, Tech3 Yamaha – 2’03.417 (6) 10. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP – 2’03.580 (14) 11. Colin Edwards, Tech3 Yamaha – 2’03.652 (5) 12. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini – 2’08.637 (3) 13. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team – 2’24.832 (1) 14. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team N/A (0) 15. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda N/A (0) 16. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team N/A (0) 17. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP N/A (0) More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DESERT STORM AS RAIN HITS QATAR: NICKY HAYDEN QUICKEST AS STONER SITS IT OUT The first day of a three-day test for the Ducati Marlboro Team got underway after a minor setback in Losail, where the desert landscape was hit by rain! With a scheduled start of 6pm local time, the session was interrupted almost immediately by a red flag after a light downpour, which lasted barely ten minutes. Several riders, Nicky Hayden included, got a handful of laps in before returning to join the rest of the riders watching the weather from pit-lane. At around 9pm a group of rider representatives, including Stoner and Rossi, convened with the circuit officials to discuss the state of the track not only because of the rain but also because of the sand that had blown onto the surface beforehand. With the section between turns 11 and 12 still damp, the riders continued to wait and at around 10:30pm track action resumed, although Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Capirossi and Stoner decided to wait for better conditions tomorrow. Nicky Hayden completed a total of 31 laps, including the fastest of the day. As usual the American was prepared to make the best of the conditions, testing some electronic updates and a new fork. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team), fastest lap: 2’02.717 (on lap 29 of 31) “I haven’t seen rain in Qatar in all my life and I never thought I would! But today we’d barely got the bike on track and it started to come down. We had to spend a long time in the garage because even though a part of the track had dried out there was a section that stayed damp for a while. The track conditions were tricky and there wasn’t much feedback, which meant we couldn’t do the work we had planned. We’ve got a few different things to try so hopefully the weather is better tomorrow so we can get some work done.” Losail Circuit Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati 2008) 1’55.153 Best pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha 2008) 1’53.927 Unofficial lap times 01/03/2009 1. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 2’00.717 (31 laps) 2. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) 2’00.867 (35) 3. Mika Kallio (Ducati) 2’01.020 (29) 4. Alex De Angelis (Honda) 2’01.074 (15) 5. Niccolò Canepa (Ducati) 2’01.328 (26) 6. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2’01.843 (6) 7. Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 2’03.221 (18) 8. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 2’03.233 (15) 9. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2’03.417 (7) 10. Randy De Puniet (Honda) 2’03.580 (18) 11. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2’03.652 (5) 12. Toni Elias (Honda) 2’08.637 (3) 13. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2’24.832 (1) More, from a press release issued by Pramac Ducati: FIRST DAY OF WORK WITH RAIN IN QATAR KALLIO THIRD, CANEPA FIFTH
Fabiano Sterlacchini Pramac Racing Technical Director This day of testing has been unluckily ruined by the rain, but the track condition were the same for everyone and we have done a good job. This gives us a lot of trust for the rest of this testing session. The track by the end of the day was almost dry but the grip wasn’t the best. We hope that tomorrow it will be warm again and the track will get in the best condition possible. Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Rider I don’t want to be too enthusiastic about this third best lap time, but I can consider my self pretty satisfied for the work done today. I hope to find the track completely clean tomorrow to understand our true potential. I had really good sensation with the bike. The objective for the next two days it will be to try to remain in the top part of the classification. Niccolo Canepa – Pramac Racing Rider This was the first time for me on this track under this impressive floodlights system. It was beautiful, a pity that the rain has limited our work. I am anyway satisfied thanks to the good lap time registered. I need to ride for as many laps as possible and I hope that in the next two days we will find optimal weather condition. It has been a good start for me, surely better compare to the last test in Malaysia.