From a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: WEST UPBEAT AFTER THREE HARD DAYS AT THE ISLAND Anthony West brought to a close the Kawasaki Racing Team’s three-day test at Phillip Island this afternoon with a final race simulation run aboard his Ninja ZX-RR. With perfect weather descending on the Phillip Island circuit after yesterday’s rain, the 26-year-old Australian managed to work his way through a test schedule made more intensive by the absence of his injured teammate. After completing more than 100 laps during the course of the day West looked visibly tired when he returned to the Kawasaki pit box for the final time. Declaring himself reasonably happy with what he and his crew have achieved over the past three days at his home circuit, West admitted that he was disappointed that this wasn’t reflected in his lap times. The past two weeks in Malaysian and Australia have been a steep learning curve for the former 250cc and Supersport pilot. Riding a MotoGP machine at 100 percent for six hours a day over three days is both physically and mentally demanding of any rider. Having undergone surgery on an old wrist injury in December, West has been limited in the training he’s been able to complete ahead of pre-season testing, with the result that the physical demands have taken their toll on the Australian. He’s also had to adapt to the mental pressure of testing, with literally hundreds of different component, tyre and setting combinations to evaluate, and their effectiveness to communicate to Kawasaki’s technical staff. It’s been a tough challenge, but one that West has risen to with his usual unflappable style. West’s Kawasaki teammate, John Hopkins, also made a brief appearance at the Phillip Island circuit today, before heading back to America for treatment on the abductor muscle he damaged yesterday. The 24-year-old Anglo-American will have an MRI scan in San Francisco on Monday, after which Doctor Arthur Ting will decide on the best method of treatment to get Hopkins back on the bike in the shortest time possible. With his teammate on his way home, Anthony West will fly from Australia directly to Japan, where he will take part in a wind tunnel test with Kawasaki’s race engineers. Anthony West: #13: 106 Laps – 1’31.957 “These last two weeks have been a tough introduction to pre-season testing for me. After the wrist operation in December, I knew I wasn’t going to have the training time that I probably needed, but I was surprised at just how physically demanding I’ve found these two tests. And when you start to tire on the bike, it makes concentrating on the evaluation process with whatever component, setting or tyre you’re testing all the more difficult. So yes, it’s been hard, but it’s also been really productive. We’ve spent a lot of time working on identifying a good base set-up on the bike, and we’ve definitely made some progress there, but there’s still more work to do before the start of the season. Obviously, I’m disappointed that my lap times weren’t what I was aiming for here in Phillip Island, but I’m sure they would have been better if I’d come here closer to full fitness. I just need to make sure I’m better prepared for the Jerez test, where I’ll be aiming to get a lot closer to the top of the timesheet. If achieving this means moving into the local gym for the next two weeks then that’s exactly what I’ll do!” Michael Bartholemy: Kawasaki Competition Manager “I think Anthony’s had a bit of a wake up call over the past two weeks. He did a good job coming into the team midway through last season and scoring points on a bike he’d never ridden before, but now he’s learning just how much work goes into developing a factory MotoGP bike like the Ninja ZX-RR ahead of the first race. He’s been hampered by the wrist operation he had in December, but I think even he’d admit that he underestimated just how hard testing was going to be physically. Now we need to look at his training program over the coming weeks, to ensure he’s at least approaching full fitness for the Jerez and Qatar tests. Hopefully we’ll also have John back for Jerez, but we’ll know more when he’s had the chance to consult with his doctor in San Francisco on Monday. The injury is not serious, but it’s one that could cause ongoing problems if it isn’t treated properly now.” Test Times: 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’28.777; 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.957; 3. James Toseland (GBR) Yamaha Tech 3 +0.977; 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scott +1.003; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha Tech 3 +1.018; 6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.439; 7. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Honda Gresini +1.661; 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini +1.951; 9. Toni Elias (ITA) Alice d’Antin Ducati +2.189; 10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Honda LCR +2.201; 14. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +3.180 More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot: Third and final ‘intense’ day at Phillip Island for JiR Team Scot Andrea Dovizioso and his JiR Team Scot squad completed their three-day test at Australia’s Phillip Island circuit satisfied with their hard work and looking forward to their next test session which starts on the 16th February in Jerez. After yesterday’s rain, clear skies greeted the teams testing at the 2.764 mile track and JiR Team Scot immediately got on with the hard work of continuing to find the right solution for the setting of the 800cc MotoGP bike as well as conducting a number of tyre tests. With their partners at Michelin, the team today spend most of the day on race tyres conducting a series of short and long runs in a bid to replicate the conditions they would find in a race to receive the maximum feedback. Former 125cc champ Dovizioso is now getting closer to the perfect feeling with his new RC212V machine and is happy to leave Phillip Island with lots of experience and information at a track which previously he’s not enjoyed riding on. The team now flies back to Europe to prepare for the last important test of the winter schedule the IRTA tests which begin at Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain on 16th February. Andrea Dovizioso Rider, JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V – Laps: 90 Time 4th: 1’29″780 “This day has been very useful to give proper evaluation of all the materials we have for our technical package. Today we did a lot of work with Michelin, testing many, many different tyre and compound options. I’m very satisfied with my relationship with them. They have reacted so fast to my feedback, so I feel our relationship will grow together. With racing tyres my pace is pretty good, but in qualifying set-up with the softer tyres I’m still suffering a little vibration, which occurs when entering a corner under engine braking. This is complicating my efforts to get a fast time on qualifying tyres. In general the feeling with the bike is fantastic, but at the next test at Jerez we will work a lot to reduce the rear-wheel hop we are getting under braking. This will be our main target. Overall, we want to be more competitive as the level of competition is very high and I want to be out front with the leaders.” Gianni Berti – Technical Coordinator, JiR Team Scot “We’re very satisfied with the results of our three-day test as this shows that the whole team has worked hard and in the correct way. Andrea is getting more feeling with the bike and at this test he has shown his qualities as a test rider, providing us, Honda, HRC and Michelin with so much information and feedback. This helps us all move in the right direction with the setting of the bike. The team in the pits is also getting more accustomed to the RC212V, which is a very sophisticated race machine. From a settings point of view we have reached a good compromise, which enabled us to focus on today’s tyre testing duties. We completed short runs on the track, but also some long and medium ones to evaluate how good the bike is and how it reacts to race conditions and various tyres. Our target is still to improve our performance on qualifying rubber, and to be more consistent with these tyres. In the three-day test here, we’ve not solved all our problems, but we’ve also had some rain and learned a lot about the bike. We’re all looking forward to the next test in Jerez after this very positive test.” MotoGP Phillip Island test Day 3 1) Casey Stoner Ducati 1’28″777 2) Nicky Hayden Honda 1’29″734 3) James Toseland Yamaha 1’29″754 4) Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1’29″780 5) Colin Edwards Yamaha 1’29″795 More, from a press release issued by Bennetts: Toseland in top three at Phillip Island British MotoGP contender James Toseland has recorded the third fastest time at a three-day MotoGP test In Phillip Island, Australia. It was the Bennetts-backed rider’s second testing session of the year and he is already proving that he can keep pace with the leading riders. Toseland was third on the timesheets on the final day of the test, just behind current champion Casey Stoner and previous champion Nicky Hayden. It was just reward for the Bennetts-supported Brit and the Tech 3 Yamaha team who have been working extremely hard over the winter to ensure that the 27-year-old can be competitive on his debut in the premier motorcycle racing class. In last week’s first test in Sepang, Toseland finished eighth on the final day of testing. He was confident that he could improve on this position in Australia as a result of his knowledge and experience of the Phillip Island circuit. “It’s been a great reference point for me to ride a MotoGP bike for the first time at a circuit I know well,” says James. “This has enabled me to really get the feeling I need from the bike and understand it much better. The team have worked brilliantly and I feel that they really understand what I need. To finish third on the final timesheet is a real bonus for me and most importantly it earns respect from everyone concerned with MotoGP.” “It’s fantastic to see James doing so well at such an early stage,” says Bennetts,” Marketing Director Mark Fells. “There’s a really high level of support for him in the UK, so from the next test in Jerez we’ll be producing an exclusive behind-the-scenes video diary with James for our website bennetts.co.uk. Visitors will see James’ post race reactions and hear his personal views on his progress through the season, which after his brilliant performance in Australia, should make for great viewing!” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Tough test for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP produces clear direction for improvement Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has completed the second 2008 pre-season test on a positive note at one of its toughest tracks on the MotoGP calendar. Phillip Island in Australia has recently proved a difficult circuit for Suzuki to conquer, but Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi both made significant improvements during this three-day test that will help their performances not just at the 4.4km Australian circuits but also at other tracks around the world. Vermeulen tested a range of Bridgestone qualifying tyres today and clocked the sixth fastest time with a lap of 1’30.216, over a second-and-a-half quicker than his qualifying time at last year’s Australian Grand Prix. He also improved on the race-tyre lap-times that he recorded at November’s behind-closed-doors test at Phillip Island. Capirossi undertook a race length simulation today, but the full evaluation was cut just short due to another rider crashing and the session being halted by a red flag. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now returns to Europe for its next test at Jerez in Spain, which will also include a televised hour-long session on Sunday 17th February. This test will also see the first time that the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R has appeared in its 2008 livery. Chris Vermeulen: “We have found some promising things with the bike today, but we still have some issues to sort out at Phillip Island it certainly seems to be our bogey track! We tested so many options over the three days and tried different things from almost every angle – we’ve definitely found some direction to help us. Our lap-times were quicker than when we came here in November so that certainly means we’re moving forward. Everything that Suzuki is doing is definitely helping so that is also a very positive step. We tried some qualifiers and that went quite well, which for me personally is a very encouraging thing as that is certainly an area I need to improve in. We now head to Spain for the next test with the season getting closer, we are still scratching our heads on a few things, but I am sure will make further steps in the next few tests in time for the start of the season. It was tough here at Phillip Island but the improvements we have made here will help us at the tracks we are already strong at.” Loris Capirossi: “I had a tough day today and did struggle a bit. I nearly completed a long run but unfortunately that was red flagged and I didn’t quite finish what I wanted to do. We still have quite a bit of work to do at Phillip Island and I would have liked to have been further up the time sheets as I don’t think it is a good reflection of all the hard work the team did this week. We tested many new parts from Japan and some worked, but also some were not quite as good. We now go to Europe and I am sure we will be very competitive after what we have learned here in Australia.” Phillip Island Test Day Three Classification: 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’28.777: 2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +0.957: 3. James Toseland (Yamaha) +0.977: 4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +1.003: 5. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +1.018: 6. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.439: 13. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.731: More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER SMASHES PHILLIP ISLAND RECORD, MELANDRI SIGNS OFF SATISFIED Casey Stoner lapped faster than any other rider in history at Phillip Island today, his stunning lap of 1’28.777 coming on the last of three days of tests at his home circuit. The reigning World Champion used a qualifying tyre on his 25th of 51 laps, although his pace during a race simulation was equally impressive. Only his flying lap registered outside the 1’30 mark as Stoner racked up 23 consecutive fast laps with relentless precision. Only the heat of the track in the scorching afternoon sun interrupted the local hero’s progress, three laps short of the intended total, but his satisfaction was still complete. Marco Melandri was also quite satisfied after spending another day working intensely on finding a good feeling with his new bike in race trim as opposed to trying for a fast time on a qualifying tyre. Today he completed a marathon 108 laps, including a race simulation. The pair now have two weeks’ rest before their next important meeting at the Jerez circuit in Spain, where the MotoGP Official Test takes place from 16th to 18th February. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team), best time: 1:28.777 (51 laps) “We did the race simulation with one of Bridgestone’s new tyres and it went really well, even though we had to come in three laps early. The track temperature today was actually higher than it was for the race here and you could tell. Even so we managed to lap consistently in low 1.30 and that shows how well they’re working in Japan. I’m also really happy with the qualifying tyre, which is the same as last year. It is a good thing that bike is not completely different to 2007 because it has allowed is to find an excellent base to start the season from already. The new version of the engine has a better delivery, especially at the bottom end, and that has allowed me to set fast times more consistently, as well as increasing tyre life. It has been a good test session but now I’m happy to have a couple of weeks to rest and train in the gym. The shoulder feels okay, it is just a little bit weak and sore because I haven’t been able to work on it as much as I would have wanted but now we can do that.” Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro Team), best time: 1:31.377 (108 laps) “This final day has been particularly intense for me and my crew. We’ve continued to work on the balance of the bike and then did some tyre tests The front is okay but I’m having some grip issues on the rear. At the moment there isn’t much difference between using a new tyre and an old one so we’ve got plenty of room for improvement in this area. In the afternoon I did a long run and even though the lap times weren’t special we learnt a lot. We know what we need to go forward and what can give us better grip to improve our speed through the corners. We’re on the right tracks and I’m sure that in the next test at Jerez we’ll take another step forward. For now a bit of relaxing will do me good because the last two weeks have been really hard work.” Phillip Island info Circuit Record: Marco Melandri (Honda – 2005) 1’30.332 Best pole: Nicky Hayden (Honda – 2006) 1’29.020 Fastest lap GP 2007: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’30.801 Pole 2007: Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’29.201 Unofficial lap times 01/02/2008 1. Casey STONER (Ducati) 1:28.777 (51 giri) 2. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1:29.734 (102) 3. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 1:29.754 (89) 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 1:29.780 (90) 5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 1:29.795 (56) 6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 1:30.216 (73) 7. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 1:30.438 (91) 8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 1:30.728 (89) 9. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 1:30.966 (97) 10. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 1:30.978 (115) 11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 1:30.983 (58) 12. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 1:31.377 (108) 13. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 1:31.508 (75) 14. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 1:31.957 (90) More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone MotoGP: Phillip Island Test Debrief Friday 1 February 2008 Preparations for the 2008 MotoGP World Championship have continued apace for the majority of Bridgestone Motorsport’s line-up of teams and riders at the demanding Phillip Island circuit this week. A three-day test session drew to a close at the Australian circuit today (Friday) with reigning world champion and last year’s Australian GP winner Casey Stoner once again staking his claim to the top of the timesheets with an exceptional time of 1m28.777s. The circuit best lap at Phillip Island stands at 1m29.002s, set by Nicky Hayden in 2006. With Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda Gresini and Alice teams all participating in the test, it has been a busy week for Bridgestone and its on-track crew of engineers and fitters, whose focus has been on validating the results gathered from last week’s Sepang test in Malaysia. In excess of 2,000 combined laps have been tallied by all Bridgestone riders over the course of the busy three days, which will give valuable data to Bridgestone’s engineers for further improvements to the latest generation of tyres. As per their testing plan, Yamaha and Valentino Rossi did not test in Australia this week. Q+A with Shinji Aoki – Bridgestone Motorsport Assistant Manager Motorcycle Race Tyre Development How has work at this week’s Phillip Island test differed from Sepang last week? “The test programme for this week’s Phillip Island test has been similar to what we carried out in Sepang with a focus on evaluation of our latest specification race and qualifying tyres. We have worked over the winter on developing race tyres with new shape and construction which will form the basis of our work for the course of this season. The results from Sepang were quite encouraging but it has been important this week to validate this performance level at Phillip Island, a more technically demanding and high-speed circuit which places greater stress on tyres.” Have you been pleased with the results? “As in Sepang, I believe we can be satisfied with the results from these three days in Australia. Our riders have completed a lot of laps and we have received a lot of data which will be important for the next development stage. Some riders have carried out long-run tests to assess the durability of these tyres, which have given us a reasonable indication of what fine-tuning is still required. Casey’s times today were very impressive, not only in terms of his lap time on a qualifying tyre, but also on race tyres he has been exceptionally fast and consistent.” What is the next stage of development? “Our focus now turns to the coming two tests in Qatar and Jerez, where we anticipate cooler weather to what we have faced in Sepang and Phillip Island. This will give us the opportunity to evaluate the compound performance with lower track temperatures. We will then have a more complete picture as to what work needs to be carried out on our compounds ahead of the first race of the season which is now just over one month away. Based on these first two tests, we will also continue to look at our qualifying performance which is still behind that of our rivals, whose riders appear to make a big leap in lap time from race tyre to qualifier.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: HAYDEN AND REPSOL HONDA SECOND FASTEST ON THE ISLAND The Northamerican and his team say goodbye to the trainings in Australia and head again to Malaysia to continue with the next week tests Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda completed their second 2008 preseason test today, the American ending this Phillip Island session with the second fastest lap time. After yesterday’s rainfall, today’s conditions were perfect: sunny with ambient temperature at 1 9 to 22 degrees and track temperature at 35 degrees. Hayden and his hard-working crew dedicated the day to fine-tuning chassis set-up and evaluating Michelin race tyres, though like most other riders he did his best lap on qualifying tyres. The team will continue its preseason work at Sepang, Malaysia, next Tuesday and Wednesday, February 5 and 6. Hayden was the team’s lone ride throughout this test, team-mate Dani Pedrosa recuperating in Europe from a hand injury sustained at Sepang last week. The date for Pedrosa’s return to action has yet to be fixed. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 1m 29.734s (lap 71 of 102) “We ended up not too bad but it’d be nicer to be faster on race tyres. To be honest, it’s been a frustrating couple of days here. We got into the 31s about the fourth exit from the pits on the first day and really we haven’t been able to go any faster since then, except with the qualifiers, which were good. We’ve chased our tail a bit and I haven’t really found a batch of race tyres I like. I struggled a lot when I was here for last year’s race, but I did find something I liked. I didn’t have that option this week, so I can’t say I’m completely happy with the combination of bike, rider and tyres. We tried the pneumatic-valve engine and the conventional spec engine in the new chassis at this test. We did a lot of tyre testing with Michelin using the conventional engine. The chassis did some good stuff but not enough through this fast stuff here. We left Sepang last wee k in a positive way and it’s still early days, there’s a lot of work still to be done. Now we go back to Sepang for two days, we’ve got a few days off and then keep trying to chip away at it.” Official results MotoGP 1. Casey STONER (DUCATI) 1:28:777 2. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) 1:29:734 3. James TOSELAND (YAMAHA) 1:29:754 4. Andrea Dovizioso (HONDA) 1:29:780 5. Colin EDWARDS (YAMAHA) 1:29:795 More, from a press release issued by San Carlo Honda Gresini: PHILLIP ISLAND – The final day of MotoGP tests in Australia saw Team Honda Gresini working hard on the RC212V Honda bike set-up. Some improvements from yesterday’s best lap timing were set with race tyres, but not with qualifying tyres. The team is now ready to move back to Malaysia where another three-day testing session is to take place next week, before returning to Europe. ALEX DE ANGELIS, 91 laps, best time 1.30.438 “Today I made many laps on my bike and even simulated a race: it was a tough session and one of the longest in my entire career, but in the end I managed to improve slightly my lap time from yesterday, which is positive. This shows we are competitive and I believe that, with Bridgestone helping us, we will soon be able to do better. I am aware there is still lots of work to do, but I have proved to be a top rider already and this is a great satisfaction for me!” SHINYA NAKANO, 89 laps, best time 1.30.728 “Also today we have worked hard on different bike set-ups: our RC212V Honda bike is a very competitive machine and I believe we will be able to achieve good results during this year’s championship. We concentrated on race simulation but tested qualifying tyres as well; we now expect to receive new material from Bridgestone and are confident in their total support.” FAUSTO GRESINI, team manager, stated: “It has been a very positive three day test for my team: the bike is competitive and both my riders have proved to have a good pace with race tyres. With qualifiers instead, we didn’t produce satisfying results so we will have to work harder on this aspect. These tests gave us the chance to try different material and understand where we need to make some progress. On the whole I am very pleased with my team’s work and my rider’s results on track. We can now move to Malaysia for the last winter tests next week, with great enthusiasm.” Best lap times: 1. Stoner (Ducati) 1.28.777 25° (51 laps) 2. Hayden (Honda HRC) 1.29.734 71° (102) 3. Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3) 1.29.754 51° (89) 4. Dovizioso (Honda Scot) 1.29.780 84° (90) 5. Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) 1.29.795 56° (56) 6. Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1.30.216 49° (73) 7. De Angelis (Honda Gresini) 1.30.438 67° (91) 8. Nakano (Honda Gresini) 1.30.728 89° (89) 9. Elias (Ducati Alice) 1.30.966 94° (97) 10. De Puniet (Honda LCR) 1.30.978 64° (115) 11. Guintoli (Ducati Alice) 1.30.983 45° (58) 12. Melandri (Ducati) 1.31.377 18° (108) 13. Capirossi (Suzuki) 1.31.508 75° (75) 14. West (Kawasaki) 1.31.957 16° (90) More, from a press release issued by Honda: Hayden and Repsol Honda end Phillip Island MotoGP test second fastest on final day The final day of the three-day MotoGP test was held in near perfect conditions with bright sunshine and track ambient temperatures of 22 degrees and track temperature at 35. The Honda RC212V riders ended the final day with much to be pleased with, not only with good lap times the teams have learned a lot about the machinery they will campaign in the fast approaching season that opens at Qatar on March 9. American Nicky Hayden ended the final day with second fastest time overall today on his Repsol Honda factory team RCV. But the former MotoGP World Champion knows there is still a lot of work to do before the first GP. Hayden spent the final day fine tuning the chassis of the RCV and testing a range of race tyres for Michelin feeding the French manufacturer with vital data for the three remaining test before the season begins in earnest. Andrea Dovizioso continued his impressive pre-season testing with the JiR Scot Honda and ended the test in very positive mood. The team focused their attention on tyre testing for Michelin and put in several short and long runs testing various tyre combinations in order for Dovizioso to understand how the RCV responds and behaves on different types of tyres and varying degrees of wear. The team leave for home in high spirits eager to get to their next planned test at Jerez later this month. The Gresini Racing duo of Alex De Angelis and Shinya Nakano now head for Sepang, Malaysia where the aim to build on the successful test here in Australia. Both men have worked very hard with their technicians and have good base settings to work from as their consistently fast lap times indicate. The two men dedicated the entire day to testing tyres for Bridgestone. De Angelis put in 91 laps of testing, the longest and hardest day of testing he has ever experienced but he goes on to Sepang in confident mood feeling much more at home aboard the big 800cc four-stroke after a career spent on lightweight two-stroke machines. Team mate Nakano ran race simulation tyre tests for Bridgestone today and found time to test new qualifying rubber brought to the test by the Japanese manufacturer. LCR Honda rider Randy De Puniet and his technicians had a frustrating final day. The team worked on the electronic management system of the RCV and then moved on to suspension and tyre testing chasing traction. De Puniet was impressed with the improvement feeling more at home on the machine and faster but the improved feeling was not reflected in lap times De Puniet shaving just two-tenths of a second off his previous best lap time. Honda rider lap times and quotes. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 29.734s 102 laps. “We ended up not too bad but it’d be nicer to be faster on race tyres. To be honest, it’s been a frustrating couple of days here. We got into the 31s about the fourth exit from the pits on the first day and really we haven’t been able to go any faster since then, except with the qualifiers, which were good. We’ve chased our tail a bit and I haven’t really found a batch of race tyres I like. I struggled a lot when I was here for last year’s race, but I did find something I liked. I didn’t have that option this week, so I can’t say I’m completely happy with the combination of bike, rider and tyres. We tried the pneumatic-valve engine and the conventional spec engine in the new chassis at this test. We did a lot of tyre testing with Michelin using the conventional engine. The chassis did some good stuff but not enough through this fast stuff here. We left Sepang last week in a positive way and it’s still early days, there’s a lot of work still to be done. Now we go back to Sepang for two days, we’ve got a few days off and then keep trying to chip away at it. Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 1m 29.780s 90 laps. “This day has been very useful to give proper evaluation of all the materials we have for our technical package. Today we did a lot of work with Michelin, testing many, many different tyre and compound options. I’m very satisfied with my relationship with them. They have reacted so fast to my feedback, so I feel our relationship will grow together. With racing tyres my pace is pretty good, but in qualifying set-up with the softer tyres I’m still suffering a little vibration, which occurs when entering a corner under engine braking. This is complicating my efforts to get a fast time on qualifying tyres. In general the feeling with the bike is fantastic, but at the next test at Jerez we will work a lot to reduce the rear-wheel hop we are getting under braking. This will be our main target. Overall, we want to be more competitive as the level of competition is very high and I want to be out front with the leaders.” Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 1m 30.438s 91 laps .”Today I made many laps on my bike and even simulated a race: it was a tough session and one of the longest in my entire career, but in the end I managed to slightly improve my lap time from yesterday, which is positive. This shows we are competitive and I believe that, with Bridgestone helping us, we will soon be able to do better. I am aware there is a still lot of work to do, but I have proved to be a top rider already and this is a great satisfaction for me!” Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 1m 30.728s 89 laps. “Also today we have worked hard on different bike set-ups. The RC212V Honda bike is a very competitive machine and I believe we will be able to achieve good results during this year’s championship. We concentrated on race simulation but tested qualifying tyres as well; we now expect to receive new material from Bridgestone and are confident in their total support.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 30.978s 115 laps. “It was a hard day for me as I made 115 laps and tested many things. We continued our suspension set-up development on race tyres in combination with Michelin. Honestly my pace on those tyres is pretty fast and compared with yesterday my lap times have been more consistent today. However I still struggle on qualifiers as I miss rear grip. I know I can be faster on qualifiers so we will focus on it at Jerez de la Frontera in a few weeks. In Spain we will receive also the 2008 engine and I am looking forward to riding there.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Dani missed the Phillip Island test due to an injured right hand. No date has yet been fixed for his return to the track. More, from a press release issued by Alice Team Ducati: POSITIVE LAST DAY OF TEST FOR THE ALICE TEAM The Alice Team riders Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli sensibly improved theirs best lap time in the last day of winter testing on the Phillip Island circuit. Since the first laps both riders have registered interesting performances. In the final hours of the day, both Toni and Sylvan, have tried some qualifying Bridgestone tyres that allowed them to improve their respective best lap time even more. The Alice Team leaves the Australian circuit satisfied of the work done, ready for the IRTA Test in Jerez de la Frontera which will be next February 16th, 17th and 18th. Sergio Verbena – Track Engineer “This morning we have stepped on the track with a race setting and we have taken off a second compare yesterday’s best lap time. After having evaluated the situation we were in, we decided to try different tyres solutions to understand which ones were more suitable for our riders. We have found a good solution and for this reason we are very happy. Then, in the late afternoon, we have tried some qualifying tyres and we improved again our lap times. We have done well and we are going back home very satisfied.” Toni Elias – Alice Team Riders (9th best lap time in 1:30.966 – Total laps 97) “We have improved overall. We are not totally ready yet, but after three days of work we’ll go back to Europe happy of the results achieved. We have found the right way to follow and we must keep to work hard. In the first part of the day we worked on the chassis of the bike making some adjustments and at the end we found a good compromise. In the afternoon I also tried some qualifying tyres and I have to admit that I was pleased with how I felt on it.” Sylvain Guintoli – Alice Team Rider (11th best lap time in 1:30.983 – Total Laps 58) “The day has begun in the right direction for us. After just a few laps I sensibly improved my best lap time obtained yesterday. We were really fast. We tried many tyres solutions and I found a front tyre which I really liked. Today we have taken a further step forward and we have to continue this way. In my best lap time with qualifying tyres I have done well, maybe I could push a bit more, but I preferred to don’t risk to make any sort of mistakes.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: James Toseland third as Tech 3 Yamaha finish on high note James Toseland produced arguably the most outstanding performance on the final day of testing in Phillip Island today as the Tech 3 Yamaha team successfully concluded the long haul phase of its pre-season testing campaign. Making only his fourth appearance for the Tech 3 Yamaha team, Toseland took full advantage of his vast Phillip Island track knowledge to finish with the third fastest time of 1.29.754. His best was set on a Michelin qualifying tyre, with only world champions Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden lapping faster on the final afternoon. Toseland was one of only five riders to break the 1.30 barrier over the three days. Toseland also gained more crucial experience by completing his first full race simulation on board the 2008 Yamaha YZR-M1. He lapped consistently in the 1.31 bracket during his 27-lap run, as he assessed new front and rear suspension settings and a revised electronics set-up in full race conditions. His best lap on race tyres today was a 1.31.012. American Edwards was fifth quickest today, also using a Michelin qualifying tyre to set his best time of 1.29.795 in sunny but windy conditions at the 4.445km circuit. Experimenting with chassis set-up to try and improve rear grip, Edwards was satisfied enough with progress to stop just before 2pm having completed a distance run of 20 laps. Just five days of testing remain for Toseland and Edwards in Jerez and Qatar, before the new season’s spectacular start under floodlights in Doha on March 9. James Toseland 3rd 1.29.754 – 89 laps “I’m really happy. I was always looking forward to coming here with my track knowledge and its nice to see the difference where I stand in the order with that experience. To be at the sharp end of the times and see my name up there has put a bigger smile on my face. Knowing the track I can be on the same line each lap and that’s helped me relay my feedback on the bike a lot more precisely to my team. On other tracks I’ve been finding my way round as well as trying to make a lap time. I was happy with my pace in the race simulation but those extra five or six laps over what I’ve been used to in superbike were a bit strange. My body just isn’t used to that distance but I felt good and wasn’t too tired at the end. It is all good experience and its all coming together nicely. I will sleep well tonight on the plane after this performance. Even one of my mechanics said that it is so good to see an English rider at that end of the timesheets rather than at the other end. And the best thing is I can only get faster and stronger. I’m still waiting for some new parts from Yamaha, so there is still plenty of room for improvement, also from Michelin. Everybody is working hard and I’m riding on a wave at the moment.” Colin Edwards 5th 1.29.795 – 56 laps “I did a long run to give Michelin some information to see what the tyres could handle. The 20 laps I did I was 20 seconds faster than in the race last year which is positive. This track is a little bit strange because you spend so much time on the side of the tyre trying to build up speed. And that’s where Michelin needs to concentrate their efforts so we can generate a little bit of speed. But I’m more motivated than ever because I can see my team and Yamaha working, but to see Michelin put in the same effort and work just as hard adds a lot of motivation. Everybody is working equally hard with me and for me. These guys are putting in the hard days at the moment and I’m really happy with my team. After these six days of testing in Sepang and Phillip Island I’m excited and I’m really looking forward to the first race in Qatar.”