From a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI CONTINUES STRONG FORM ON SECOND DAY IN SEPANG Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi continued his impressive form on the second day of testing in Sepang today, topping the time sheets again with another very quick lap on qualifying tyres. The Italian, who turns 29 in ten days time, was also fast throughout the day on race tyres, lapping consistently in the 2’01s. Rossi had a busy day, continuing his tyre testing programme with Bridgestone, working on suspension and electronic mapping as well as trying a new cowling and putting in some practice starts. His time of 2’00.472 was set on the penultimate lap of 70 and was a fraction slower than his time from yesterday, although still inside the existing circuit pole record, which he himself still holds from 2006. Rossi’s young team-mate Jorge Lorenzo meanwhile finished the day fourth with a best time of 2’02.396 Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 2’00.472 Laps: 70 “Today was another very good day and I had a good pace and rhythm all day. We tested some different Bridgestone tyres before again trying the one I prefer, which confirmed that this is the best one for us and so we will use it for the long run tomorrow. We worked a little bit on the suspension and also on the electronic mapping and we also tried a lot of practice starts, maybe as many as ten, and we need to improve a bit in this area. I also tried a new cowling which is aimed at improving the cooling system and this had a good result. Finally I tried a qualifying tyre again and, although I made a small mistake on my lap because I was quite tired by then, it was again very positive.” Fiat Yamaha Team Davide Brivio Team Manager “At the moment we’re going very well and we’re very happy with our progress so far. Tomorrow we will concentrate on completing a long run and this will be very important to help us to see where we are. It was very, very hot today which made work quite difficult and Valentino did very well in these conditions. Now we just hope for a successful final day before we return to Europe.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: DIFFICULT DAY FOR LORENZO IN MALAYSIA Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo ran into a few problems on the second day of a three-day Sepang test today, continuing to struggle with front-end feeling going into the hard braking areas. The 20-year-old and his crew dedicated most of the day to working on the problem but are yet to find the perfect solution, although Lorenzo was able to make a small improvement on his time from yesterday. There were some positive notes however as the Spaniard tried a new chassis and reported improved stability with this. He completed 55 laps in the sweltering conditions and finished the day fourth fastest in a time of 2’02.396. Team-mate Valentino Rossi once again clocked the fastest lap of the day in a time of 2’00.472 Jorge Lorenzo Position: 4th Time: 2’02.396 Laps: 55 “It has been quite a difficult day! We’re not so fast; slower than at the last test even though we have the same bike set-up, and we need to improve. Tomorrow I think I need to try some changes to my riding style. It’s still the same problem overall, with the front-end going into the corners, although I did try the new chassis and this is helping a little bit. After the session we had a long meeting with the engineers to look at all the data and now we will make a plan for tomorrow. We have one day left so of course we will try to make the most of it and finish the test in better shape.” Fiat Yamaha Team Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “Today was a hard day’s work. We’ve tested various different set-ups and improved a little bit but we still need to make a bigger step. We had some positive points with the new chassis, which improved stability in the hard braking areas, so we will keep working in this direction. I am confident that the team can find some solutions to help us on our final day here tomorrow.” Results 1. Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team 2:00.472 2. Nicky Hayden – Repsol Hrc 2:00.900 3. Shinya Nakano – Honda Gresini 2:02.049 4. Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.396 5. Alex De Angelis – Honda Gresini 2:02.646 6. Olivier Jacque – Kawasaki Racing 2:03.513 7. Yamaha Test Rider – Yamaha Test Team 2:05.647 8. Tamaki Serizawa – Kawasaki Racing 2:06.027 9. Yamaha Test Rider – Yamaha Test Team 2:06.244 Sepang Lap Record Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007 – 2’02.108 Sepang Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 – 2’00.605 More, from a press release issued by Honda: MotoGP test Sepang, Malaysia day two of three-day test. February 6, 2008. Hayden gets RC212V chassis dialed in at hot and humid Sepang The second day of MotoGP testing at Sepang was run in extremely high temperatures and high humidity the thermometer registering mid 30 degrees with a track temperature rising from an early 46 to peak at an incredible 60 degrees at one point. Despite the sweltering conditions Nicky Hayden was an early starter managing to get in 90 laps at Sepang today completing the chassis comparison test the HRC engineers had planned for this test. The Repsol Honda team technicians managed to improve the chassis specification of the factory RC212V and find suitable Michelin rubber to suit the set up in the extreme conditions. Hayden ended the day in positive mood and with nothing more to learn he heads for home in the US for a break but eager to get to the next test at Jerez, Sothern Spain in nine days time. The Gresini Honda all new rider line-up of Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis for the 2008 season have gelled with the team technicians quickly establishing a good working relationship with the squad and have made impressive progress during winter testing. De Angelis makes no secret of the fact that the Sepang circuit is not one of his favourite’s but despite that the MotoGP debutante has knuckled down working hard refining chassis settings to try and cure a persistent niggling front end chattering problem around the 5.548 km track. De Angelis put in 57 laps today and managed to better his best lap time of yesterday. The Sanmarinese also tested qualifier tyres for Bridgestone but could not get the best from the sticky rubber with the set up he used in the high temperatures. Nakano worked on suspension set-up mainly and now finds the machine more comfortable to ride. The Japanese star then moved on to do some tyre tests for Bridgestone. But at the end of 59 laps he could not find better tyre performance than during yesterdays test – either with race rubber or qualifying tyres. Gresini Racing will remain at the track to complete the three-day test. Honda rider lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2m 00.900s 90 laps. “Not too bad all in all a positive two-days testing. The team have worked extremely hard for me from day one of testing this year, the HRC engineers and the mechanics . Today we didn’t focus on just one thing but worked on chassis comparison tests and working on tyres with Michelin. The track surface temperature was as high as it’s ever been here and we got some positive feedback on tyres in the conditions. We found a good rear that gives good grip on the edge of the tyre. The front we tried was OK but we went back to the front tyre we had used at the last test. The chassis is now OK and we will have the new engine ready for the next test. It’s been a pretty busy time and we go at it again in Jerez before the big show opens.” Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 2m 02.049s 57 laps. “We started the day on the same base set up we ran yesterday then made some changes to the suspension before testing for Bridgestone. I was more comfortable on the bike today but we did not find any tyre combinations better than we ran yesterday and I didn’t better my lap times on either race tyres or qualifyers. We have one more day of testing here so I hope we improve a little tomorrow.” Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 2m 02.646s 55 laps. “We worked mainly on the chassis today but could not improve on yesterday. We have quite a lot of chattering at this track and it made it impossible to run consistently good lap times. Later I tried the Bridgestone qualifying tyres but could not use them effectively. Tonight we will check the data to see which direction we take in testing tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: NICKY HAYDEN CONTINUES DEVELOPMENT ON HIS RC212V IN SEPANG Nicky Hayden leaves Malaysia pleased with the work carried out so far, centered mainly on the chassis and on new compounds for the Michelin tyres Nicky Hayden made an early start to his final day of testing at Sepang today and the American was quickly up to speed on the Repsol liveried RC212V Honda on a hot and humid day. The ambient temperature soared to 34 degrees with the track surface at 46 by early afternoon, rising to 60 plus degrees at one point consequently reducing the level of grip in the process. Despite the sweltering conditions the Repsol Honda team technicians managed to improve the chassis specification of the factory RC212V and find suitable Michelin rubber to suit the set up in the extreme conditions. The former MotoGP World Champion was pleased with the results achieved over the two days and will not test on the final day of the planned three-day test. He now leaves Malaysia for his Kentucky home and a well earned break before MotoGP tes ting resumes in completely different weather conditions at the Jerez circuit, Southern Spain on February 16 to 18. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 00.900s (lap 36 of 90) “Not too bad all in all a positive two-days testing. The team have worked extremely hard for me from day one of testing this year, the HRC engineers and the mechanics . Today we didn’t focus on just one thing but worked on chassis comparison tests and working on tyres with Michelin. The track surface temperature was as high as it’s ever been here and we got some positive feedback on tyres in the conditions. We found a good rear that gives good grip on the edge of the tyre. The front we tried was OK but we went back to the front tyre we had used at the last test. The chassis is now OK and we will have the new engine ready for the next test. It’s been a pretty busy time and we go at it again in Jerez before the big show opens.” Official results MotoGP 1. Valentino ROSSi (YAMAHA) 2:00:472 2. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) 2:00:900 3. Shinya NAKANO (HONDA) 2:02:049 4. Jorge LORENZO (YAMAHA) 2:02:396 5. Alex DE ANGELIS (HONDA) 2:02:646 More, from a press release issued by Gresini Honda Racing: Sepang – Positive results for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini on the second day of MotoGP’s second winter test in Malaysia: both riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis, have been able to concentrate on their targets without interruptions nor problems. Japanese rider Nakano continued testing the new brake components from Nissin, tried some new qualifying tyres and also simulated several race starts. At the end of the day he finished third overall. De Angelis instead, suffered from some slight headache, which wasn’t related to yesterday’s tumbles, and didn’t feel like pushing too hard, finishing 5th. Shinya Nakano – 59 laps , best time 2.02.049 “My Honda bike isn’t yet the final version, the engine is still 2007, but on the whole we are very satisfied. Nissin brakes are perfect and we have made some progress on the bike set-up. We now have to work hard on the qualifying tyres, what we need to do is improve the performance as there isn’t much difference with the race tyres. Tomorrow I will try some new Bridgestone tyres and try to improve my best lap time. ” Alex De Angelis – 57 laps, best time 2.02.646 “This morning I wasn’t feeling good, I had a slight headache, but doctors from the Clinica Mobile helped me recover quickly. For this reason I didn’t feel like pushing hard, better try harder tomorrow on the last day of test here in Sepang. Just like Shinya, I haven’t found the right feeling with the qualifiers yet and so I am unable to improve my best lap time, but I am confident. I simulated 8 race starts today, because MotoGP bikes are totally different from 250cc bikes: I need to get used to this so I better start practicing!” Fausto Gresini – Team Manager “The last two weeks have been very tiring for my guys. Everybody in the team, together with our two riders, has been working very hard, but all this work is extremely important, it had to be done. They sure are all tired, but still everybody is highly motivated, because the results are positive and very satisfying. Nakano has easily adapted to the Honda bike and his race pace is almost the same as official Honda’s riders. De Angelis instead, is at his debut on the MotoGP bike, but has already shown his great potentials. I am fully satisfied with the results achieved. I ask my team to make more efforts for another day before they can take a short break. Next week we will then move to Spain for the Irta tests in Jerez” Best lap times: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha-Fiat) 2.00.472 (70 laps) 2. Nicky Hayden (Honda-Repsol) 2.00.900 (90) 3. Shinya Nakano (Honda-Gresini) 2.02.049 (59) 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha-Fiat) 2.02.396 (55) 5. Alex De Angelis (Honda-Gresini) 2.02.646 (57) 6. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) 2.03.513 (50) 7. Yamaha Test Team T 2.05.647 (65) 8. Tamaki Serizawa (Kawasaki) 2.06.027 (69) 9. Yamaha Test Team P 2.06.244 (53) Records: Pole: Pedrosa (2007, Honda) 2.01.877 Fastest lap: Stoner (2007, Ducati) 2.02.108 Record: Stoner (2007, Ducati) 2.02.108 Best Lap: Rossi (2006, Yamaha) 2.00.605