PEDROSA CLOSES JEREZ TEST WITH FASTEST LAP In what may be a telling session before the 2007 season, Honda’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ in 2006, Dani Pedrosa, was able to better five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi in the final test session of the year held at the Jerez circuit in Spain over the past three days. With an impressive lap time of 1’39.910 today, he became the fastest rider of these last MotoGP tests before the winter testing ban comes into play on December 1st. With his World Champion teammate Nicky Hayden missing the tests due to a shoulder operation, the Spaniard ousted the Italian Yamaha rider, who had topped the timesheets on the two first test days, with a lap time 1.3 seconds quicker than the best race lap of the 2006 Spanish GP, which was set with 990cc prototypes. Suzuki continued their good performance in the end of season tests, with Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins in fourth and fifth place respectively, behind Marco Melandri who has showed an excellent adaptation to the new RC212V. New Honda rider Shinya Nakano was sixth fastest ahead of Colin Edwards on the second Yamaha. The returning veteran Alex Barros was the fastest Ducati rider of the day in eighth, ahead of his factory colleagues Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner. The teams made use of every single minute available to them until the very end of the session in order to gather as much information and data as possible before the ban, which prohibits on-track tests until January 20th. The factories meanwhile will be busy on an intense evolution process behind closed doors, working on their prototypes in order to have everything ready and in the best possible conditions for the first test sessions in Sepang, Malaysia, in January. The most significant news of the day however, was the heavy crash for Ilmor test rider Jeremy McWilliams this afternoon, causing him multiple injuries. The experienced Northern Irish rider suffered a fracture of his left femur and right collarbone, in addition to serious injuries in the fingers on his left hand. McWilliams was quickly taken to Jerez Hospital where he will undergo surgery on Monday. Jerez MotoGP Test Day 3 Lap times supplied by Jerez Circuit Timing 1. Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda 1’39.910 2. Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory 1’40.123 3. Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 1’40.524 4. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki 1’40.766 5. John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki 1’41.049 6. Shinya Nakano – Konica Minolta Honda 1’41.142 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha Factory 1’41.254 8. Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin Ducati1’41.276 9. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro 1’41.492 10. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro 1’41.595 11. Tadayuki Okada – HRC Test rider 1’43.392 12. Vittoriano Guareschi – Ducati Test rider 1’44.071 13. Jeremy McWilliams – Ilmor 1’44.661 14. Andrew Pitt – Ilmor 1’44.983 More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: FINAL 2006 TESTING SESSION CONCLUDES AT JEREZ The Jerez de la Frontera circuit, the venue for a fantastic opening round win for Loris Capirossi in the MotoGP championship eight months ago, was also the scene for the final testing session of the year which concluded today. Good weather conditions allowed the Ducati Marlboro Team and the Test Team to complete the scheduled work load. At the end of the morning, when the track surface had reached a reasonable temperature, the Italian team’s riders went out on the track for the final day of testing before the end-of-season winter ban comes into force. Today both riders were busy trying out a series of new Bridgestone tyres as well as carrying out suspension and engine development work. Loris Capirossi completed 49 laps, setting a quickest time of 1m41.492s. “It was quite a positive day today. We still need more time to develop the GP7 and adapt it better to my riding style. I still can’t get it to do what I like but the base is good and I am sure that in the month and a half before the next test in Sepang they will get to work back in the factory on the basis of the indications from this test. Today we didn’t use any qualifying tyres but instead concentrated on the new rubber that Bridgestone brought along, which proved to be suitable to the characteristics of the 800 and which I liked quite a lot. Now it’s time for some hard-earned rest after a fantastic but extremely tough season!” Casey Stoner did 52 laps of the Jerez track with a best time of 1m41.595s. “Every day we are gaining more and more experience. There are still a few things to improve but considering the number of tests before the first race in 2007 I think that we will be competitive next year. Today we focussed on the engine to help smooth out the harsh power delivery under acceleration at the rear. We saw a lot of progress throughout the day and I am satisfied with the work that we got through”. In 2006 the Ducati Marlboro Team has been on the track for a total of 80 days on 17 different circuits (10 in Europe and 7 overseas): 51 for races and 29 for testing. A vital contribution to the development work has also been made in the background but with exactly the same passion, by the Test Team, Vittoriano Guareschi and the engineers and technicians of Ducati Corse. Together, and with the indispensable support of technical partners Bridgestone and Shell Advance, they have continued with the development work and helped with the cross-over of knowledge from the track to the production line. Everyone has made a contribution to the results of the 2006 season, the best yet for Ducati in MotoGP: 4 fastest laps, 3 pole positions, 9 podiums and 4 wins. Temperatures: air 20°C / track 22°C More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Impressive form continues for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP at Jerez Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Racers Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins recorded the fastest times on race tyres during the final day of the Jerez test in Spain today, Vermeulen setting a time marginally outside the current lap record, with team-mate Hopkins narrowly behind him. Vermeulen’s time of 1’40.766 was set during Bridgestone race tyre development tests and his quickest lap was only bettered by riders using qualifying tyres. The Australian star worked hard all day long, trying many different chassis and engine settings and conducted thorough Bridgestone tyre tests during his 84 laps. Hopkins’ time of 1’41.049 was an improvement on his best lap-times from the previous two-days. The Anglo-American also conducted comprehensive tyre tests during his 81 laps and is confident of further improvement when testing resumes next year. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now begins an enforced six-week test ban, but the effort will not stop for the team as it works on all the data gathered at the last three tests to improve the GSV-R800 in readiness for next year. Vermeulen and Hopkins will resume their testing schedule at Sepang in Malaysia on Monday 22nd January, as the MotoGP circus prepares itself for the 2007 MotoGP World Championship beginning at Qatar in March. Chris Vermeulen: “Today was the best day weather-wise for us and we got through a lot of stuff. I did over 80 laps and we learnt a lot of things. I did some long tyre runs for Bridgestone and tried many different engine and chassis settings and got some positive outcomes. Personally it is the fastest I have ever been round Jerez and it was great to spend more time on this circuit. We gathered a lot of information here and the guys have a lot to work on during the test ban. They will hopefully be able to prepare an even better bike for us and we’ll come back even stronger in Sepang.” John Hopkins: “Once again I’d say it’s been a really good test for Suzuki. I’m pleased with the way things have gone this week. On the last day we’ve made some big improvements to the bike and got through a lot of stuff. We worked hard with Bridgestone and I think we got the maximum out of the tyres and the bike here. We’ve tested strong at all three tests so far and I can happily say we are like I’ve said before in a better position than we ever have been since I’ve been at Suzuki. It looks like it could be a really competitive season for us next year! Now it’s time to go home and put in the hours on the bicycle and the treadmill and get myself ready to race next year!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It’s been another great test for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP and a positive end to a good season’s work. The GSV-R800 has performed as well as it did in Valencia and Sepang, and the durability was perfect. Today especially, both guys got through masses of work. Neither rider used qualifying tyres, but if they had I’m sure they would have been at the top of the timesheets. As it is, we were pleased to maintain consistent lap-times and speed and make sure that we have the best basis we could possibly have for when we arrive at Sepang in January to continue the development of the new bike.” Jerez Unofficial Lap Times Day Three: 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’39.910: 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +0.213: 3. Marco Melandri (Honda) +0.614: 4. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.856: 5. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.139: 6. Shinya Nakano (Honda) +1.232: 7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +1.344: 8. Alex Barros (Ducati) +1.366: 9. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +1.582: 10. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +1.685: Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1’39.064 More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: YAMAHA SIGN OFF FOR 2006 WITH A POSITIVE FINAL DAY IN JEREZ The long 2006 MotoGP season finally drew to a close for Yamaha today as the team rounded off the year with a final day’s work in Jerez, before the start of the winter testing ban tomorrow. Rossi and Edwards spent their last day on track continuing with general development work of Yamaha’s new prototype 800cc motorcycle, testing different chassis, new suspension settings and a variety of new tyres for Michelin under sunny Spanish skies. The fastest lap of the day was set by Honda rider Dani Pedrosa with a time of 1’39.910, followed closely by Valentino Rossi who set a time of 1.40.123 on his 69th and final lap of the day, nearly half a second under his own lap record pace. Edwards was seventh fastest in the unofficial time sheets after a best lap of 1’41.254 from 41 laps. After 17 races and more than 30 additional days of testing this year, Rossi, Edwards and the entire Yamaha MotoGP set-up will now head home for the winter holidays. They will reconvene for the first test of 2007 in Sepang, Malaysia on 22nd January. VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd – 1’41.254, 69 laps) “We had a very good test today; it’s been very productive for us because we were able to check many different things for our new bike. We continued to test tyres with Michelin in order to find the correct direction for their development and we also kept working with the chassis and were able to try some different suspension settings. We’ve got some very good information for the Yamaha engineers and now they will work hard over the winter in order to have everything ready for the next test in January. The weather was good today, warm and sunny and in these conditions it was fun to ride on this track, which is one of my favourites. This has been an important test and I am really pleased with the level that we have got to in a short space of time. Of course we still have a lot of work to do, but now it’s finally the end for this year and it’s time to have a rest so we can come back ready to fight in January!” COLIN EDWARDS (7th 1’41.254, 41 Laps) “I had a small technical problem near the end of the day so I had to stop a little bit early, but other than that it’s been another good day all round. We tested quite a lot more front tyres but honestly the best tyre package we found was what we tried first thing in the morning straight out of the box; that felt pretty good! Other than that we just kept on playing around with the general set-up, trying to learn as much as possible about the new bike. We tried a different chassis today, it’s one Valentino’s been testing and it’s definitely the best one so far. We weren’t really looking for times but we ran pretty consistently in the low 41’s all day and I definitely felt like I could have found a bit more if I’d needed to push hard. Overall it’s been a really good test and I am pretty excited about the new bike; we’ve come on in leaps and bounds in just the six days I’ve ridden it. Now I am heading home and looking forward to a nice relaxing Christmas with the family before we get going again in January!” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We’ve been able to do a great job throughout these November tests and everyone has worked very hard. All three tests have been very important for us in order to get as much information as possible for Yamaha to work with over the winter, the engineers have done a good job with the bike and now they will put everything together over the break. In January we will have our final 2007 bikes and then we can start our real preparation for the long season ahead.” Unofficial Lap Times: Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 1’39.910 VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 1’40.123 Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 1’40.524 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1’40.766 John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1’41.049 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda, 1’41.142 COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, 1’41.254 Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati, 1’41.276 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 1’41.492 Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati, 1’41.595 Tadayuki Okada (JPN) Honda Test Rider, 1’43.392 Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Test Rider, 1’44.071 Jeremy McWilliams (GBR) Ilmor, 1’44.661 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor, 1’44.983 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1’39.064 More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: DANI PEDROSA TOPS THE JEREZ MOTOGP TIME SHEET The third and last day of the MotoGP saw Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa put in the fastest time overall for the test, the final MotoGP action of an amazing senior class season. Pedrosa, MotoGP ‘Rookie of the year’ in 2006 scorched around the 4.423km Jerez circuit, in Southern Spain at 1m 39.910s the only rider to break the 1m 40s barrier. In bright sunny weather Pedrosa slowly worked his way through a range of chassis settings before switching to development work on the new 800cc engine, then tyre testing for Michelin. The former double 250cc world champion, who also won a 125cc title, put in an a gruelling 94 lap session culminating with a time attack on qualifying rubber that delivered him the fastest lap time of the three-day test. The Gresini Honda squad were the busiest men at Jerez today. Crew chief Antonio Jiminez and the mechanics made several changes to the geometry of the RC212V eventually finding a base set up to work from. With the improved chassis suspension settings the team got down to serious tyre testing with Bridgestone. Melandri, a former 250cc world champion and five time MotoGP race winner ended the day in buoyant mood and looking forward to the next series of MotoGP tests which begin at Sepang, Malaysia on January 22. Shinya Nakano took a big step towards finding the ideal base line set up for his Konica Minolta Honda. The Japanese rider completed 70 laps working on chassis and suspension before moving onto tyre testing for Michelin. The Honda 250cc teams also completed a successful three-days of testing 2007 chassis developments at Jerez. Repsol Honda team rider Shuhei Aoyama spent the day testing the latest version of the RS250RW chassis powered by a 2006 engine that HRC brought to Spain. The Japanese rider chasing increased corner speed and stability. While Aoyama tested new parts his team mate for 2007, Julian Simon was making his 250 debut at Jerez following a four-years in 125 grand prix racing. Simon worked diligently riding as many laps as possible on the 250.testing different suspension chassis setting combinations in an effort to understand the characteristics of the more powerful machine. Simon was the fastest 250 rider on the final day of the test surprising many with his consistent high pace over his marathon 68 lap stint today. Humangest Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was a busy man on the final day running through an extensive test programme before the session stopped at 18.00. The Italian, former 125cc world champion, was the only 250 Honda rider to test both engine development parts designed for the 2007 machine and the new chassis. While the chassis performed better on corner entry and exit than its predecessor Andrea feels the mid-corner performance needs to improve and is confident HRC will provide for that before the next scheduled 250cc test in February. The winter testing ban which runs from December 1, 2006 until January 20, 2007 now comes into force. The Honda MotoGP teams will resume testing at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia on January 22, 2007. Honda rider lap times and quotes: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 39.910s 94 laps “Today we worked on just about everything again chassis, engine, suspension and tyres. We began with chassis and engine testing in the morning and then concentrated on testing tyres for Michelin. I used a qualifying tyre to set my fastest lap time and this is good because it’s important to see how a new bike like the RC212V behaves on qualifiers too. Of course there’s still plenty of work to do before the season starts but this was a positive test for us. Now I will relax a little over the winter break, before getting ready for the January tests.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 40.530s 76 laps. “The team did a great job today I think they made five changes to the geometry during the day – they hardly stopped to take a snack! For me it was very important to find the base geometry we will use this season once we found a setting I was comfortable with we moved on to suspension testing and then tyres. In the morning OI as not so happy but after lunch we really saw an improvement and we made a big step forward. This is not the bike I will use so I’m looking forward to riding my own RC212V at the Sepang test in January. The HRC engineer and the Bridgestone staff are very close to my team they make me feel important they want to help me any way they can and this gives me great confidence for the season.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 41.142s 75 laps. “I am much more confident on the bike today than I was yesterday. Today I spent time working with various gearbox ratio changes to find the best base to work from. When we found that we moved on to suspension work and tyre testing. We had a little front-end chatter early on but fixed that with suspension settings. Overall I must say this test has been very positive. I know we can improve and I have to improve myself. But I go back to Japan for a holiday with my family very pleased that we had a test within this year. The team now have time to work on the machine before we test at Sepang in January.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 44.153s 68 laps. “My overall impression of the 250 Honda at this test has been very good. I am working with a very experienced team and this gives me motivation. The bike has great potential I rode the 2006 machine to gain experience and it was OK, I like the way the chassis behaves. After I was happy with the 2006 bike I tried the new chassis for a few laps and liked that also. The engine power is so much stronger than the 125 but the only difficulty I had with the increased power was trying to get the bike to hold the fast line in the corners, you have to be more physical with the bike. In general my feeling about the 250 is positive, I like the tyres and my lap time was not so bad. No crashes so everything was good. Now I am looking forward to the next test when I will get more time on the new chassis and test the 2007 engine parts.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 44.502s 45 laps. “The new chassis is better than the 2006 model the big difference is the mid-corner performance it feels so much better. Corner entry is slightly better but we are working in the right direction. Now we can move on to testing engine parts at the next test.” Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda 250: 1m 44.723s – 75 laps. “We worked a lot on the chassis and engine today and I am quite pleased. The new chassis is better in some ways, corner entry and exit but the front feels very light on the exit from the corner. We have to improve my mid-corner speed but I’m sure we can. The other Honda (Aoyama) was better in the middle of the corner. I am not so comfortable on this chassis as I was with the old one so I have to find a better feeling with the bike. I like some of he engine parts we tested here. No big difference in the power but the engine has a lot more revs, it doesn’t run into a wall now I can over rev and this helps with the new quick gear shifter we had the whole process is so much smoother. But for me the most important thing was the engine carburetion, this engine is so much better. Last year we had to be very precise on carburetion or we had problems I’m very pleased with the new set up.” Unofficial lap times: 1. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda: 1m 39.910s. 2. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha: 1m 40.123s. 3. Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 40.530s 4. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki: 1m 40.766s. 5. John Hopkins, Suzuki: 1m 41.049s. 6. Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 41.142s. 7. Colin Edwards, Yamaha: 1m 41.254s. 8. Alex Barros, Ducati: 1m 41.276s. 9. Loris Capirossi, Ducati: 1m 41.492s. 10. Casey Stoner, Ducati: 1m 41.596s. 11. Tady Okada, Repsol Honda: 1m 43.392s. 12. Vittorio Guareschi, Ducati: 1m 44.071s. 13. Julian Simon, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 44.153s. 14. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 44.502s. 15. Jeremy McWilliams, Ilmor SRT: 1m 44.661s. 16. Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda 250: 1m 44.723s. 17. Andrew Pitt, Ilmor SRT: 1m 44.983s. More, from a press release issued by Pramac D’antin: CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRESSION FOR ALEX BARROS AT JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA ALEX BARROS worked conscientiously and meticulously through the testing program scheduled for his second outing on his DUCATI GP7, continuing his adaptation to the bike and focusing on the overall bike set-up. The PRAMAC D’ANTIN rider pressed on to further understand the characteristics of the new bike, and slightly modified his riding style. The Brazilian completed 65 laps today, clocking a best time of 1’41.276 using qualifying tires. It’s a good return fro BARROS who rode his BRIDGESTONE-shod DUCATI GP7 to a respectable eight position while concentrating on learning the subtleties of his new machine. The next Winter Test scheduled for the PRAMAC D’ANTIN team will take place at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia from January 22nd to 24th, 2007. ALEX BARROS #4 (1’41.276, 65 laps): “Overall, the Jerez test was very positive. I am satisfied with the feeling we achieved in concert with the new technical package. We defined a good balance of the front suspension settings, while we can still improve the rear. The BRIDGESTONE tires were amazing, especially the qualifying one with which I clocked my today’s best time. I am very happy to have this quality of material at my disposal. We can truly say we reached our objectives of discovering and understanding the new GP7, and defining the general settings of the bike. We will go to Malaysia for the next test with a good base set-up, and with clear ideas on how to improve the total package. I would like to thank PRAMAC and DUCATI, for giving me all their support to carry out these important tests”. FABIANO STERLACCHINI – Alex Barros Track Engineer: “We are satisfied with the comprehensive result of our last day of testing. We worked steadily on the geometry of the machine to try and understand all the possibilities we have for chassis settings. We improved the general balance of the bike, first concentrating on the front, and later, the rear. BARROS altered his riding style a little bit, and in this way, gained a better time lap. The data gathered during the Jerez test will be analyzed, and we will use it as our base to begin the Malaysian tests with. Conditions: Dry / Air: 20°c / Ground: 22°c More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta: CLOSED TODAY THE 2006 SEASON FINAL TESTS The MotoGP activity on track definitely closed today with the last day of test at Jerez de la Frontera with mild temperatures perfect to test the new 800cc. Shinya Nakano covered a total of 69 laps setting the fastest lap in 1’41.142″. The KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team technicians could carry out their working programme completely continuing the development of the new Honda RC212V, equipped with Michelin tires, the Japanese rider will use next season. At the end of the Spanish three days test, both technicians and riders are completely satisfied with the work done, especially for the big quantity of data obtained that will be extremely useful to plan the work of winter preparation. Shinya Nakano KONICA MINOLTA Honda Rider (1’41.142″ 69 laps) “This morning we started focusing our job on the gear box and trying to find the ideal suspensions setting without pushing to be fast. In the afternoon, our efforts were oriented to the research of the best set up and then we tested different types of tires. I feel satisfied of the fastest lap time I got. The first contact I had with the new working group was good; during next winter, we will have all the time to refine our collaboration. On the whole, I am happy about how things have gone during this first experience in the KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team. Shortly I’ll fly to Japan and spend time with my family and friends; on half December I’ll attend a “Training Camp” with my personal trainer, afterwards I’ll spend the time left recovering energies for the demanding 2007 pre-season activity.” Giulio Bernardelle KONICA MINOLTA Honda Technical Director “We are happy we found the conditions to carry out all we planned for this Spanish test session and for the working method and the professional competence Shinya demonstrated to have. Today, in particular, we programmed a large amount of tires and suspensions tests and at the beginning of the day we had to finish the gear box and engine set up we started yesterday. For this reason, we obtained the right conditions to permit Shinya to push only late in the afternoon, when the temperature on track was already lowered.”