From a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: BACK TO WORK FOR KAWASAKI IN SEPANG The Kawasaki Racing Team’s John Hopkins and Anthony West finally got their 2008 MotoGP campaign underway today, during the first of three days of testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. After almost seven weeks off the bike, both Hopkins and West used this opening day of testing to get themselves back up to speed aboard their 2008 Ninja ZX-RR machines. Recalibrating the brain to MotoGP speed is always a difficult process, but an inconsistent track surface with varying degrees of grip made the job even more challenging for both riders today. Hopkins quickly mastered the tricky conditions, increasing his pace with every run, but his teammate joined a list of unfortunates, including Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi, who were caught out by the inconsistencies in the track surface. On his last run of the day West lost the front going into the final hairpin, bringing his first day of testing to a premature end after crashing without injury. Despite this being an acclimatisation day for the riders, both were able to start the evaluation process on new chassis and clutch components on their Ninja ZX-RR machines. This test and evaluation program will continue in earnest tomorrow, when Hopkins and West return for an intensive second day of testing, which will include a comprehensive tyre evaluation in conjunction with Bridgestone. But while the workload promises to be punishing, the two regular race pilots will receive some welcome assistance from Kawasaki test and development riders, Olivier Jacque and Tamaki Serizawa, both of whom also completed a full schedule of testing today. John Hopkins 68 Laps – Best Lap 2’02.628 “Today was all about getting back up to speed on the bike after such a long layoff, but still we managed to test some new chassis and engine components, with positive results. Overall the bike feels improved over the bike I last rode in Jerez back in November, but we will only get to see the full potential of the new parts once we start the fine-tuning process over the next two days. Tomorrow we start tyre testing with Bridgestone, but we’ll also continue working to improve the set-up of the bike, before switching back to focus on this completely during the final day here in Sepang. It’s been a good start today, but tomorrow the real work begins.” Anthony West 56 Laps – Best Lap 2’03.387 “The first day back on the bike after a long break is always a bit of an experience. You feel like you’re really motoring, only to come back to the pit box and find out that you’re way off race pace. But it all comes back quite quickly, and I managed to improve my times with every run today. Unfortunately my day ended slightly earlier than was planned, after I lost the front at the hairpin. I turned in at the same speed as on my previous laps, but I think my line was a little bit different and I hit a bump as a result. Anyway, the front tucked under and down I went, luckily without injury. Despite the crash it’s good to finally get the season underway, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow.” Naoya Kaneko Kawasaki Technical Manager “It was a steady start today, but already we’ve had positive feedback from all four riders on the changes we’ve made to the bike for 2008. The real work starts tomorrow when we start the process of refining the set-up of the bike, and working our way through a pretty heavy tyre testing schedule with Bridgestone. Running four riders during a test like this puts the team under some pressure, but the amount of data we collect definitely makes it worthwhile, as it allows us to accelerate our development process.” 1. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Honda LCR 2’01.377; 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.487; 3. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +0.697; 4. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.039; 5. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.080; 6. Valentino Rossi (46) Fiat Yamaha +1.113; 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha Tech 3 +1.172; 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +1.181; 9. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +1.186; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini +1.245; 11. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.251; 12. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scott +1.406; 15. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.010 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP on the pace from day one Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi started the 2008 pre-season testing schedule in good form today, as both riders recorded times inside the top-four. Vermeulen completed 57 laps of the 5.5km Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and recorded a best time of 2’02.074, to give him third place on the timesheets. Team-mate Capirossi also made a strong start to his ‘official’ Rizla Suzuki MotoGP career by recording the fourth quickest lap of the track with a fastest time of 2’02.416 during his 61 laps. Both riders took the first steps in a huge test programme that will continue not only at this test, but also forthcoming events in Australia, Spain and Qatar, to make the Suzuki GSV-R as competitive as possible come the start of the racing calendar. Vermeulen and Capirossi tested new aerodynamics, electronic control strategies, and new Bridgestone constructions and compounds – as well as the new 2008 GSV-R engine – and will also evaluate a new chassis and swing-arm specification, and a further comprehensive test of the latest generation of Bridgestone tyres. Suzuki’s two Grand Prix stars were able to use the 2008 spec engine during today’s tests and although further refinements are still required, both riders noticed a big step in performance from last year’s machine. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has two more days at Sepang before it moves on to Phillip Island in Australia next week. Chris Vermeulen: “It was good to finally get back out on the bike, although I did feel a bit rusty this morning! It’s been nearly seven weeks off and when I first went out it was quite exciting for the first couple of laps because my GSV-R is a bit quicker than my Suzuki RM250 back at home! Suzuki has done a great job in the off-season and we had a lot of new parts to test on the bike. We tested almost everything and found lots of positives and found new direction in which we could go, which makes it even better. We did a lot of tyre testing for Bridgestone and they have also done a good job since we last rode the bike, so everything at the moment seems to be going well. It’s only the first day, but hopefully tomorrow we can improve on today and take more steps forward.” Loris Capirossi: “I am really happy with everything and I think Suzuki, and the test riders, have done a great job with the bike since the last test. We tried many things and we still have more settings and things to try over the next two days to get the best package for me on the bike. I know we have a long way to go still, but this was a very positive first day of 2008! It was also really good to be out in the Rizla blue for the first time as well, I am happy to be part of this family!” Sepang Test Day One Classification: 1. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 2’02.377: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.487: 3. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.697: 4. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.039: 5. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +1.080: More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: PRESEASON TESTING STARTS AT SEPANG FOR THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM Sunny and dry weather conditions, marked only by the typically torrid Malaysian temperatures (with the track reaching 56°C), allowed the Ducati Marlboro team to get their preseason testing programme underway at Sepang. After experiencing some electrical problems in the morning the team were able to make the most of the conditions to resolve them in the afternoon and both Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri could work on various aspects of the set-up of their GP8, mainly in the cycle part. The pair were also able to try some new tyres from Bridgestone and will continue to do so over the next two days. For Stoner the first day was also a chance to check his physical condition after damaging his shoulder in the team’s last session at Jerez. Even though he’s still not at 100%, the Australian was not unduly troubled by the injury. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team), best lap: 2’02’457 (36 laps) “I’m really happy because in the past, for a variety of reasons, testing hasn’t gone well at this circuit for me but today was quite a bit better. The shoulder isn’t hurting so that’s a bonus; it’s just a little weak but that’s not too much of a problem other than in the changes of direction, where we can’t go as fast as we’d like. It’s been quite hard to get my confidence back because after almost two months without riding and my two crashes in the last test at Jerez it feels a little bit like learning to ride again. We lost a bit of time this morning but that kind of thing can happen with a new bike. I’ve got total confidence in Ducati and the bike was actually running really well in the afternoon – we just have to be a little patient. The GP8 has improved in terms of power delivery, which was one of our weak points, and even though I’m not yet riding as I’d like I think we’re on the right lines. Towards the end of the session I tried the new Bridgestones and there were some encouraging things. We’ll keep working on the new tyres tomorrow and hopefully the weather can be on our side like it was today.” Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro Team), best time: 2’04.414 (52 laps) “The power delivery is better compared to the last test and even though that is something that isn’t crucial at this circuit, I think it will be when we go somewhere like Jerez. I still don’t feel completely comfortable with the bike as far as the cycle part is concerned. The Ducati has a very unique character – it reacts differently to set-up changes compared to the bike I was used to and along with my engineer we’re just trying to understand the problems I’m having at the moment. Losing time this morning when we had to programme the new engine configuration meant that I couldn’t get as many laps in as I’d wanted to but these things happen at the beginning. I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to Ducati Corse for changing the ergonomics of the bike as I requested after Jerez. Now the seat position is good for me and we can concentrate on working on the setting.” Sepang Circuit Official lap record: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2007) 2’02.108 Pole record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2006) 2’00.605 Lap times 22/01/2008 1. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 2:01.377 2. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 2:01.864 3. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 2:02.074 4. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 2:02.416 5. Casey STONER (Ducati) 2:02.457 6. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 2:02.490 7. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 2:02.549 8. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 2:02.558 9. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 2:02.563 10. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 2:02.622 11. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 2:02.628 12. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 2:02.783 13. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 2:03.264 14. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 2:03.301 15. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 2:03.387 16. Olivier JACQUE (Kawasaki) 2:03.863 17. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 2:03.954 18. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 2:04.414 19. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati) 2:05.580 20. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 2:06.000 21. Tamaki SERIZAWA (Kawasaki) 2:23.590 More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: 2008 Challenge Gets Underway For Rossi In Sepang Valentino Rossi completed a mainly positive first day of testing in Malaysia today as the first of four pre-season tests began for the Fiat Yamaha Team. Rossi’s second test on Bridgestone tyres was interrupted when he crashed entering turn two on his twentieth lap of the day, but the Italian was unhurt and completed 44 laps and some important development work. It was a typically hot and humid Sepang day and the track surface caused some problems with several riders, including Rossi’s new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, also hitting the gravel at some point. Rossi and his team concentrated on a variety of things throughout the day as they continued to work on the development of the 2008 YZR-M1, recording positive results with a new 2008 specification pneumatic-valve engine, new electronics and of course some tyre work with Bridgestone. Rossi’s time of 2’02.490, recorded on his final lap of the day, put him in sixth place, while Lorenzo was just behind in ninth with a time of 2’02.563. The time sheets were topped by Randy de Puniet, who posted a best lap of 2’01.377. Valentino Rossi Position: 6th Time: 2’02.490 Laps: 44 “It feels good to be back on the bike after the winter break, and me and all my team are feeling very motivated about the task ahead. I still have some pain in my hand but I had it checked out again last week and the fracture is okay, so I know it’s not a problem to ride. Today we continued where we left off with Bridgestone and it seems we’re making good progress, we did many laps with the same tyre and I’m pleased with things so far. Unfortunately I had a crash today; I was on an out lap and maybe I pushed a little bit too hard, too soon, with not enough temperature in the tyre and I lost the front. Luckily I was not hurt, my hand is okay and I was able to continue with the day’s work! As well as tyres we tried a new-spec engine and I was quite pleased with this, as well as with some new electronics. The surface wasn’t good today and it wasn’t possible to go so fast but I hope tomorrow it will improve and we will be able to keep improving in all areas.” Fiat Yamaha Team Davide Brivio Team Manager “It was unfortunate that Valentino crashed, as well as quite a few other riders, but he is fine, the bike was okay after some work and it didn’t interrupt things too much. The surface was quite poor and this caused problems for everyone but anyway we were able to get quite a lot of work done and overall it’s been a good first day, despite Valentino’s problem! Of course we’re working a lot with Bridgestone, continuing from the work we did in Jerez, and so far we seem to be going well. Tomorrow we might try a long-run and check the situation with the tyres over many laps, so this will be interesting.” Results 1. Randy De Puniet – Honda Lcr 2:01.377 2. Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Hrc 2:01.864 3. Chris Vermeulen – Rizla Suzuki 2:02.074 4. Loris Capirossi – Rizla Suzuki 2:02.416 5. Casey Stoner – Ducati Marlboro 2:02.457 6. Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.490 7. Colin Edwards – Yamaha Tech3 2:02.549 8. Nicky Hayden – Repsol Hrc 2:02.558 9. Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.563 10. Shinya Nakano – Honda Gresini 2:02.622 11. John Hopkins – Kawasaki Racing 2:02.628 12. Andrea Dovizioso – Jir Team Scot 2:02.783 13. James Toseland – Yamaha Tech3 2:03.264 14. Alex De Angelis – Honda Gresini 2:03.301 15. Anthony West – Kawasaki Racing 2:03.387 16. Olivier Jacque – Kawasaki Racing 2:03.863 17 Toni Elias – Alice Team 2:03.954 18 Marco Melandri – Ducati Marlboro 2:04.414 19 Niccolò Canepa – Ducati Test 2:05.580 20 Sylvain Guintoli – Alice Team 2:06.000 21 Tamaki Serizawa – Kawasaki Racing 2:23.590 More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: Lorenzo Out On Track In Yamaha Colours For First Time In Malaysia After being officially welcomed into the Yamaha fold at the Team’s presentation in Turin last week, Jorge Lorenzo was out on track in Fiat Yamaha Team colours for the first time today in Sepang. The three-day Malaysian test is the first of four pre-season tests before the Spanish rookie makes his MotoGP debut in March. It was an interesting day for the Michelin-shod 20-year-old, who completed some promising work despite an incident at turn 13, when he lost the front and slid into the gravel. Like his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a similar fate, Lorenzo was entirely unhurt and was back out on his second bike almost immediately. He completed 43 laps on a scorching Sepang day, trying out a new 2008-specification engine and also some new electronics, registering improvements with both. The Michelin rider stayed on base tyres today and will begin tyre-testing tomorrow as he continues in his task of getting to grips with his new YZR-M1. His time of 2’02.563 was good enough for ninth place while team-mate Rossi was just above him in sixth, with a time of 2’02.490. Randy de Puniet was fastest today after recording a lap of 2’01.377. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 9th Time: 2’02.563 Laps: 43 “Unfortunately I lost the front and crashed at turn 13 but it wasn’t a big fall and I wasn’t hurt at all. I went back to the pits and went out on my other bike, forgot about the problem and started improving straight away! In this way it was a positive day for me. We had the chance to test a new engine, with which I found to be an improvement compared to the previous one, and we also worked on some new electronics. I still need to improve some things about my riding style, and we need to work on the bike in the hard braking areas because I am lacking some stability there. Today we didn’t change anything with the tyres but tomorrow we will start some tyre testing with Michelin.” Fiat Yamaha Team Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “Luckily Jorge wasn’t hurt so despite his crash it was a good day’s work for us. We continued with the base set-up we had in Jerez, where he was quite fast, and it seems to work okay. The main area we need to work on is the hard braking areas, where we still have some vibration, so we need to concentrate on improving the bike for those parts of the track. We tried a new-specification engine and some new electronics and Jorge felt very comfortable with these. Tomorrow we will continue with general set-up work and also start testing new tyres with Michelin; we have a lot to do but so far things are going quite well.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Scot Racing Team: First test session for Dovizioso on 2008 Honda in hot and humid Sepang With the test ban coming to an end on 20th January, today’s first MotoGP test of 2008 got underway in the sweltering heat and humidity of Sepang in Malaysia. JiR Team Scot began their programme of development on the new Honda RCV212V MotoGP machine with their rider Andrea Dovizioso. Today the 21-year-old Italian spent the day getting acclimatised to the new machine, which he will ride during the 2008 season. Over the next three days JiR Team Scot will be acquiring as much data as possible on the new machine so they can develop the bike for the former 125cc World Champion to help him find the best machine settings before the first race of the season in March. Thanks to stable weather conditions, Andrea was able to make a total of 59 laps today 36 in the morning session and 23 in the afternoon. Testing continues tomorrow and Thursday. Luca Montiron JiR Team Scot Director “As usual there is a lot of expectation for this the first test of the year! Today marks the beginning of a new season for all of us and it’s the start of the 2008 MotoGP competition, which makes it an exciting day for all of us! For the first day on track for 2008 we have a lot of motivation and we’re looking forward to three solid days of work. The championship starts in March at Qatar, so in the next six weeks it will be particularly interesting to see how much progress Andrea will make with this new bike.” Andrea Dovizioso Rider, JiR Team Scot MotoGP (Time 12th: 2′ 02.783″. Laps: 59) “We worked a lot today on the setting of the engine brake/slipper clutch, to get a better braking ‘feel’ with the new bike. We’ve made some progress, but I think over the next few days the technicians and myself will look more at this problem to find the right solution for me, and my riding style. Everything else is very good. We all worked well together today and Michelin gave us some well-known compounds and tyres, which is important to cut down the variables when you’re testing a new machine. I think the principle difference between the 2007 and 2008 bike is how it enters into the corners and the final part of the braking zone, which as I’ve mentioned I want to improve as soon as possible. The overall feeling though is very positive and I think Honda has done a great job with this bike. The handlebar position is a little low for me at the moment and it is on the highest setting, so I know I must adapt myself to this for sure.” Gianni Berti – Technical Coordinator, JiR Team Scot “Today was our first contact with the 2008 bike and in the morning we spent a lot of time with Andrea trying to make him comfortable with the engine braking as he immediately told us that this was an area that we needed to improve as soon as possible. We tried to find the best compromise between engine braking and the chassis to make him happier, and our work on this will continue tomorrow I’m sure. We used Michelin tyres that we know well today, as it was Andrea’s first time on the new bike, but we will be trying other things from Michelin over the next few days. We know that we have to maintain a good, consistent pace on the bike over the test and we have a lot to do, but we are well on schedule with the work we need to complete by the end of the test, so it has been a very positive day.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: De Puniet fastest on first day of MotoGP test of 2008 – Pedrosa sidelined by crash The first MotoGP test of 2008 got underway at the 5.542 km Sepang circuit in Malaysia today, opening day of the three-day test. In 30 degree plus conditions it was LCR Honda rider Randy De Puniet who set the pace. The Frenchman was in scintillating form all day and steadily lowered his lap time to end the first day with a time of 2m 01.377s, a massive 1.2s faster than his best ever previous lap time at the track. Second fastest was Repsol Honda factory team rider Dani Pedrosa. The diminutive Spaniard was 0.487s down on De Puniet but his day ended badly when he lost the front end entering turn 11. Pedrosa crashed at high speed sustaining a small fracture in the second metacarpal in the fall. The RC212V caught fire and was badly damaged in the crash. Tonight Pedrosa will fly home to Spain tonight where he will see a specialist physician in Barcelona first thing tomorrow morning. Nicky Hayden, MotoGP World Champion in 2006, got off to a slow start today but quickly settled into his usual fast consistent rhythm putting in a marathon 85 lap stint while working on geometry and suspension settings on the latest RC212V Honda prototype. The Kentuckian, riding the bike for the first time since a shoulder operation in early December, ended the day eighth fastest but content with his days work. Gresini Honda riders Alex De Angelis and Shinya Nakano spent the first part of the day adapting the base set up of their RC212V’s to suit the 2008 chassis. Once the riders had gained confidence in the set up the team moved on to testing rear suspension link set up in a bid to improve grip and stability while testing a range of Bridgestone tyres. De Angelis on his first visit to Sepang on the Honda RCV set impressive lap times managing to set his fastest lap of the day on a tyre that had run 16 laps. Team mate Nakano quickly found a base set up for the new for 2008 chassis and set to work on the suspension link system and testing tyres for Bridgestone. Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot RC212V Honda, was reasonably happy with the performance of the new chassis on the opening day. However, the young Italian is still experiencing problems under heavy braking into corners while the bike is vertical. The rear end of the machine becomes ‘light’ and Dovizioso is unable to use the rear brake to steady the machine over the final meters before banking into the corner. But Dovizioso was very upbeat about his potential for the second day of testing. Honda rider quotes and lap times. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 2m 01.377s 68 laps. “A very good day for us we have improved since the last test here and I was 1.2 seconds faster so I have to be happy with that. My target is to keep improving the set up of the bike and my feeling with the bike while riding each day we are here. The corner entry speed with the new chassis is definitely better and the lap time is good. Michelin gave me a good race tyre for this track and I have the rear end grip I missed last time I was here last November.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 01.864s 68 laps. “I wasn’t pushing so hard at the time of the crash. I lost the front going into Turn 11. It was quite a big crash the bike caught fire and I hurt my right hand. Today it was good to be riding again after the winter break, we were working on general set-up, getting a good feel for the bike before starting some comparison tests.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2m 02.558s 85 laps. “It’s good to be back. Coming in here yesterday it was pretty cool because I had a line of mechanics and two brand new HRC factory GP bikes waiting on me, every nut and bolt was brand new, and to me that’s pretty cool. Today didn’t go the best at the start. The chassis feels different to the prototype I tested last November. It took me a while to get a good feel from the front, though towards the end of the day we made some progress, doing some geometry stuff and a little bit of suspension. I didn’t test any tyres today, we just used reference tyres because I wasn’t going fast enough. First we had to get the bike working better. The shoulder’s better, though I still need to get some more strength in it. So that’s day one in the books. Tomorrow we’ll see if we can try the pneumatic engine and test some tyres, we’ve got plenty of work to do and it’s a long way to go to Qatar.” Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 2m 02.622s 69 laps. We started with the new chassis and found some good points the only real difficulty I had was on corner entry I couldn’t hold my line in some corners a little bit the same as last year but Bridgestone found me a good front race tyre and it improved my feeling with the bike and I set the same lap time as I did the last time we were at Sepang.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 2m 02.783s 52 laps. “We worked a lot today on the setting of the engine brake/slipper clutch, to get a better braking ‘feel’ with the new bike. We’ve made some progress, but I think over the next few days the technicians and myself will look more at this problem to find the right solution for me, and my riding style. Everything else is very good. We all worked well together today and Michelin gave us some well-known compounds and tyres, which is important to cut down the variables when you’re testing a new machine. I think the principle difference between the 2007 and 2008 bike is how it enters into the corners and the final part of the braking zone, which as I’ve mentioned I want to improve as soon as possible. The overall feeling though is very positive and I think Honda has done a great job with this bike. The handlebar position is a little low for me at the moment and it is on the highest setting, so I know I must adapt myself to this for sure.” Alex De Angelis, Gresini Honda: 2m 03.301s 47 laps. “Today was the first time I have ridden the RCV as I was not at the November test. I felt today was good because I didn’t have to change much on the new chassis set up. I didn’t try to change anything until I set a god lap time then we started to try out things. Today I did have a little front end chatter but it was much less than the last test at Jerez. The Bridgestone tyres worked really good today. I did a 20 plus lap run and set fastest lap on lap 16 so that was very positive.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: DANI PEDROSA, INJURED IN MALAYSIAN PRACTICE SESSION The Spanish rider, second best time today, has fractured his right-hand wrist after a fall on his new RC212V. Nicky Hayden set the eighth best lap time. The Repsol Honda Team was back in action at Sepang today following MotoGP’s traditional winter break. Riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden got to grips with the latest version of Honda’s RC212V in typically tropical Sepang conditions, with ambient temperature reaching 35 degrees and track temperature 56 degrees. Pedrosa set the second fastest lap today but his day ended late in the afternoon when he slid off at Turn 11, injuring his right hand. The 22-year-old, who was runner-up in last year’s World Championship, was taken to a local clinic where x-rays revealed a small fracture in the second metacarpal. Tonight Pedrosa will fly home to Spain where he will see a specialist in Barcelona. 2006 MotoGP World Champion Hayden spent the day getting a feel for the latest RC212V, riding more laps than anyone else and setting the eighth fastest lap. This is the first time that the 26-year-old has ridden a MotoGP bike since he had surgery to fix a lingering right-shoulder injury on December 1. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 02.558s “It’s good to be back. Coming in here yesterday it was pretty cool because I had a line of mechanics and two brand new HRC factory GP bikes waiting on me, every nut and bolt was brand new, and to me that’s pretty cool. Today didn’t go the best at the start. The chassis feels different to the prototype I tested last November. It took me a while to get a good feel from the front, though towards the end of the day we made some progress, doing some geometry stuff and a little bit of suspension. I didn’t test any tyres today, we just used reference tyres because I wasn’t going fast enough. First we had to get the bike working better. The shoulder’s better, though I still need to get some more strength in it. So that’s day one in the books. Tomorrow we’ll see if we can try the pneumatic engine and test some tyres, we’ve got plenty of work to do and it’s a long way to go to Qatar.” Dani Pedrosa, fastest lap: 2m 01.377s “I wasn’t pushing so hard at the time of the crash. I lost the front going into Turn 11. It was quite a big crash the bike caught fire and I hurt my right hand. Today it was good to be riding again after the winter break, we were working on general set-up, getting a good feel for the bike before starting some comparison tests.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: The Repsol Honda Team was back in action at Sepang today following MotoGP’s traditional winter break. Riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden got to grips with the latest version of Honda’s RC212V in typically tropical Sepang conditions, with ambient temperature reaching 35 degrees and track temperature 56 degrees. Pedrosa set the second fastest lap today but his day ended late in the afternoon when he slid off at Turn 11, injuring his right hand. The 22-year-old, who was runner-up in last year’s World Championship, was taken to a local clinic where x-rays revealed a small fracture in the second metacarpal. Tonight Pedrosa will fly home to Spain where he will see a specialist in Barcelona. 2006 MotoGP World Champion Hayden spent the day getting a feel for the latest RC212V, riding more laps than anyone else and setting the eighth fastest lap. This is the first time that the 26-year-old has ridden a MotoGP bike since he had surgery to fix a lingering right-shoulder injury on December 1. Dani Pedrosa, fastest lap: 2m 01.377s (lap 65 of 68) “I wasn’t pushing so hard at the time of the crash. I lost the front going into Turn 11. It was quite a big crash the bike caught fire and I hurt my right hand. Today it was good to be riding again after the winter break, we were working on general set-up, getting a good feel for the bike before starting some comparison tests.” Nicky Hayden, fastest lap: 2m 02.558s (lap 64 of 85) “It’s good to be back. Coming in here yesterday it was pretty cool because I had a line of mechanics and two brand new HRC factory GP bikes waiting on me, every nut and bolt was brand new, and to me that’s pretty cool. Today didn’t go the best at the start. The chassis feels different to the prototype I tested last November. It took me a while to get a good feel from the front, though towards the end of the day we made some progress, doing some geometry stuff and a little bit of suspension. I didn’t test any tyres today, we just used reference tyres because I wasn’t going fast enough. First we had to get the bike working better. The shoulder’s better, though I still need to get some more strength in it. So that’s day one in the books. Tomorrow we’ll see if we can try the pneumatic engine and test some tyres, we’ve got plenty of work to do and it’s a long way to go to Qatar.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: 2008 Challenge Gets Underway For Yamaha In Sepang Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi completed a mainly positive first day of testing in Malaysia today as the first of four pre-season tests began for the Fiat Yamaha Team. Rossi’s second test on Bridgestone tyres was interrupted when he crashed entering turn two on his twentieth lap of the day, but the Italian was unhurt and completed 44 laps and some important development work. It was a typically hot and humid Sepang day and the track surface caused some problems with several riders, including Rossi’s new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, also hitting the gravel at some point. Rossi and his team concentrated on a variety of things throughout the day as they continued to work on the development of the 2008 YZR-M1, recording positive results with a new 2008 specification pneumatic-valve engine, new electronics and of course some tyre work with Bridgestone. Rossi’s time of 2’02.490, recorded on his final lap of the day, put him in sixth place. Valentino Rossi – Position: 6th Time: 2’02.490 Laps: 44 “It feels good to be back on the bike after the winter break, and me and all my team are feeling very motivated about the task ahead. I still have some pain in my hand but I had it checked out again last week and the fracture is okay, so I know it’s not a problem to ride. Today we continued where we left off with Bridgestone and it seems we’re making good progress, we did many laps with the same tyre and I’m pleased with things so far. Unfortunately I had a crash today; I was on an out lap and maybe I pushed a little bit too hard, too soon, with not enough temperature in the tyre and I lost the front. Luckily I was not hurt, my hand is okay and I was able to continue with the day’s work! As well as tyres we tried a new-spec engine and I was quite pleased with this, as well as with some new electronics. The surface wasn’t good today and it wasn’t possible to go so fast but I hope tomorrow it will improve and we will be able to keep improving in all areas.” Davide Brivio – Team Manager “It was unfortunate that Valentino crashed, as well as quite a few other riders, but he is fine, the bike was okay after some work and it didn’t interrupt things too much. The surface was quite poor and this caused problems for everyone but anyway we were able to get quite a lot of work done and overall it’s been a good first day, despite Valentino’s problem! Of course we’re working a lot with Bridgestone, continuing from the work we did in Jerez, and so far we seem to be going well. Tomorrow we might try a long-run and check the situation with the tyres over many laps, so this will be interesting.” After being officially welcomed into the Yamaha fold at the Team’s presentation in Turin last week, Jorge Lorenzo was out on track in Fiat Yamaha Team colours for the first time today in Sepang. The three-day Malaysian test is the first of four pre-season tests before the Spanish rookie makes his MotoGP debut in March. It was an interesting day for the Michelin-shod 20-year-old, who completed some promising work despite an incident at turn 13, when he lost the front and slid into the gravel. Like his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a similar fate, Lorenzo was entirely unhurt and was back out on his second bike almost immediately. He completed 43 laps on a scorching Sepang day, trying out a new 2008-specification engine and also some new electronics, registering improvements with both. The Michelin rider stayed on base tyres today and will begin tyre-testing tomorrow as he continues in his task of getting to grips with his new YZR-M1. His time of 2’02.563 was good enough for ninth place. Randy de Puniet was fastest today after recording a lap of 2’01.377. Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 9th Time: 2’02.563 Laps: 43 “Unfortunately I lost the front and crashed at turn 13 but it wasn’t a big fall and I wasn’t hurt at all. I went back to the pits and went out on my other bike, forgot about the problem and started improving straight away! In this way it was a positive day for me. We had the chance to test a new engine, with which I found to be an improvement compared to the previous one, and we also worked on some new electronics. I still need to improve some things about my riding style, and we need to work on the bike in the hard braking areas because I am lacking some stability there. Today we didn’t change anything with the tyres but tomorrow we will start some tyre testing with Michelin.” Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager “Luckily Jorge wasn’t hurt so despite his crash it was a good day’s work for us. We continued with the base set-up we had in Jerez, where he was quite fast, and it seems to work okay. The main area we need to work on is the hard braking areas, where we still have some vibration, so we need to concentrate on improving the bike for those parts of the track. We tried a new-specification engine and some new electronics and Jorge felt very comfortable with these. Tomorrow we will continue with general set-up work and also start testing new tyres with Michelin; we have a lot to do but so far things are going quite well.” First day of action for new-look Tech 3 in Sepang The Yamaha Tech 3 MotoGP team began their 2008 campaign under hot Malaysian sun at the Sepang circuit today for the first of three days of testing. New riders James Toseland, the 2007 World Superbike champion, and Colin Edwards, a former two-time Superbike number one, completed 74 laps between them and posted best lap-times to rest 13th and 7th respectively from a full complement of MotoGP teams and riders. The first shakedown test of the year saw the Briton and American getting re-accustomed to their machinery after two sessions towards the end of 2007 and before the forced winter break. The pair worked on the data accumulated last time at Sepang and Jerez in Spain to begin building the competitive basis of their M1 motorcycle for this season. Colin Edwards – Position: 7th Time: 2:02.549 Laps: 29 “We are not quite on the new stuff yet but we are slowly morphing into the next version; we will have a new chassis for tomorrow,” commented Edwards who rounded the fast layout for 29 laps and is currently preparing for his fourth season with Yamaha in MotoGP. “We started out getting the setting right and backing up what we found out from the last November test. Everything went well in the morning. We did not test anything special from Michelin but more the good tyres we had selected from the last outing.” Edwards was third quickest early on but relentless sunshine baked the asphalt in the afternoon and caused some problems, even prompting a slow-speed spill for the Texan. “After lunch the temperature on the ground went up to sixty degrees or something crazy like that and then things became difficult,” he recounted. “It was hard to stop the bike and I had perhaps the most stupid crash I’ve ever done. I was braking for the hair-pin and the bike stepped sideways. I tried to manage it straight, but it flicked back again and high-sided me in a straight-line. I was fine and the bike was the one we were going to change the chassis on anyway. We still have some work ahead.” Toseland a MotoGP debutant and the only British rider in the premier class of the world championship understandably circulated the breezy but sizzling Sepang circuit for as much track mileage as possible. He lapped 45 times in what was his third outing on the Yamaha M1. James Toseland – Position: 13th Time: 2:03.264 Laps: 45 “Today was pretty good even if it did take me a bit of time to get back into things after the break. My quickest time here in November was 2:03.5 and then I was mostly in the 04s and 05s. On my last run today, when the track was at its hottest, I was constantly in the low 03s, so we have made progress and I am pretty pleased with that,” he said. “We have got some new forks which are quite stable under braking,” he added. “Along with an increase in engine performance this is the main thing that I noticed compared to the old bike. The new rear swinging arm was working well and I did not feel as much chatter around this track as I did before. The bike is not hugely different so far but the subtle changes are a step in the right direction.” With all the manufacturers on the 2008 MotoGP grid represented at Sepang, the test gave the team a decent chance to set their benchmarks against the opposition they will battle through the eighteen round calendar that begins on March 9th in Qatar. The French crew will continue work on Wednesday and Thursday before shipping out to Phillip Island in Australia for further development next week. Results 1. Randy De Puniet – Honda Lcr 2:01.377 2. Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Hrc 2:01.864 3. Chris Vermeulen – Rizla Suzuki 2:02.074 4. Loris Capirossi – Rizla Suzuki 2:02.416 5. Casey Stoner – Ducati Marlboro 2:02.457 6. Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.490 7. Colin Edwards – Yamaha Tech3 2:02.549 8. Nicky Hayden – Repsol Hrc 2:02.558 9. Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.563 10. Shinya Nakano – Honda Gresini 2:02.622 11. John Hopkins – Kawasaki Racing 2:02.628 12. Andrea Dovizioso – Jir Team Scot 2:02.783 13. James Toseland – Yamaha Tech3 2:03.264 14. Alex De Angelis – Honda Gresini 2:03.301 15. Anthony West – Kawasaki Racing 2:03.387 16. Olivier Jacque – Kawasaki Racing 2:03.863 17 Toni Elias – Alice Team 2:03.954 18 Marco Melandri – Ducati Marlboro 2:04.414 19 Niccolò Canepa – Ducati Test 2:05.580 20 Sylvain Guintoli – Alice Team 2:06.000 21 Tamaki Serizawa – Kawasaki Racing 2:23.590 Sepang Lap Record Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007 – 2’02.108 Sepang Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 – 2’00.605