From a press issued by Yamaha:

POSITIVE CHECA AND MELANDRI THIRD AND FIFTH FASTEST IN JEREZ

Fortuna Yamaha Team duo Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri recorded the third and fifth fastest times at today’s final day of the three day MotoGP IRTA tests in Jerez, Spain. All fifteen of the MotoGP riders rode in long awaited sunny but slightly windy conditions, having lost a day to wet weather yesterday. Despite three tests since December at the Spanish circuit, this was just the third day that the Fortuna Yamaha Team were able to test in sunshine.

Checa continued testing his fuel injected Yamaha YZR-M1, setting his best lap time of the three days with 1:42.861. The Spanish rider concentrated on testing endurance tyres for Michelin in the latter part of the day and was satisfied with the progress made, “The lap time was not the most important thing for us today, as I was testing endurance tyres for Michelin for 16 laps. I still can’t find the feeling I want and need with the bike to win a race. I am having some problems with rear grip and overall balance. I would like to be able to control the rear tyre with the throttle, and at the moment I can’t do that. It’s quite hard to be optimistic now about this track, however we will keep working and I have confidence that we can improve in the areas we need to.”

Marco Melandri completed 68 laps with a best time of 1:43.2, bettering his time of 1:43.8 from Friday’s session.

“I have had a really good test,” commented the 250cc World Champion. “I am very happy with this weekend but I made a bit of a mistake right at the end. Until the last hour of the test we had used the same set-up of the fuel injection bike but towards the end of the session I wanted to try a change to the front geometry. I then felt too much weight at the front on turn 11 and took a tumble. It was also very windy at that moment inside the corner and so was easy for me to slide off. Generally I am extremely happy – with my time and with my feeling on the bike. I wasn’t focusing on the time but managed to improve on Friday’s time, and I felt better here than at all my previous tests with the M1. I even changed my riding line slightly today. Now we are going to Estoril where I think it will be quite difficult as there are many slow corners there, which were maybe easier on a 250cc bike than on a four-stroke.”

Melandri’s crew chief Fiorenzo Fanali was delighted with his new rider’s progress, “We have helped Michelin a lot today with tyre testing and were very happy to do so, then we decided to try something a bit different with the geometry in the last hour of the test. Unfortunately after we added more weight to the front Marco took a tumble so we will now go back to the old set-up for Estoril. I am quite happy with Marco’s performance in the last few days. He is sensitive to all the changes we make to the bike, and is good at communicating those feelings to us.”

Team Director Davide Brivio summed up the test positively, “Both riders have set good times, despite Marco’s small crash. Carlos has tried many different settings, we have faced some problems with the fuel injection system but at this stage of development it is quite normal. At the end of the session he was able to go consistently and at a good pace. We have a good base for him but there is room to improve more. Marco has now tested the fuel injection bike for the first time, and the new chassis. The next test will be useful for him to get more used to this bike. He was close in his times to all the top riders, so we are very pleased with the performance of both our riders today.”

The Fortuna Yamaha Team now travel to Portugal to take part in the next MotoGP IRTA group tests at the Estoril circuit on the 26th and 27th February.


LAP TIMES
1. Alex Barros, Gauloises Yamaha Team 1:42.640

2. Colin Edwards, Alice Aprilia Racing 1:42.818

3. Carlos Checa, Fortuna Yamaha Team 1:42.861

4. Troy Bayliss, Ducati Marlboro Team 1:42.890

5. Marco Melandri, Fortuna Yamaha Team 1:43.236

6. Shinya Nakano, D’Antin Yamaha 1:43.302

7. Loris Capirossi, Ducati Marlboro Team 1:43.541

8. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki Grand Prix 1:43.910

9. Noriyuki Haga, Alice Aprilia Racing 1:44.218

10. John Hopkins, Suzuki Grand Prix 1:44.740


More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha D’Antin:

YAMAHA D’ANTIN TESTS
JEREZ
February 23, 2003

GOOD WORK FOR TEAM YAMAHA D’ANTIN IN JEREZ

Today had concluded first IRTA tests, organized by the MotoGP teams association in Jerez circuit. Fortunately today, the last day, riders could ride their bikes with the sun shining, but the windy conditions has been the main problem in the way to get good lap times. Team Yamaha d’Antín leaves the Spanish track satisfied with the work done during the three days. They have improved the settings of the new Yamaha YZR-M1, the bike they will use in the opening GP next April 6 in Suzuka, Japan. The set-up of the electronic fuel injection system and chassis adjustments have been the main focus of the team during the three days.

Yamaha d’Antín Team Director, the former rider Luis d’Antín, was happy with the work done as he commented after the tests, “Overall, everything has gone quite well, the tests have been positive because it was the first time we had 2003 bike. Basically we have focused in set-up the injection and chassis, and also we have been testing many tyres from Michelin. We also have been getting used to the rider and vice versa. Our target is get the 100 percent for the opening race in Japan.”

During the three days of testing Shinya Nakano has completed almost 200 laps in Jerez circuit and he is happy with the progress. “The focus of these tests was the bike of 2003. Get the right chassis and injection set up was the hardest work, but yesterday we found a good set-up. Today I’ve been riding comfortable, but I still at 80 percent of my possibilities. We have to find the other 20%.”

Team Technical Director, Naoya Kaneko thinks the same as his rider. “We have test a lot of things and we have changed the settings many times, and now we know what we have to improve. Shinya has bettered his times in Jerez, but we still need a little bit to be prepared.”

The team Yamaha d’Antín now goes to Estoril circuit in Potugal to take part in IRTA tests session on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

NEW SUZUKI MEETS THE RIVALS AT JEREZ

Team Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins concluded three incident-free days of testing at the Spanish GP circuit of Jerez today – with the all-new 2003 GSV-R Suzuki racer making further progress in the fast-forward development programme before the start of the season on April 6.

It was only the third test for the radically changed V4 990cc racer, marking the halfway point of the six-test schedule that started in January, when the factory surprised the team with the all-new machine. Engine and chassis have both been significantly changed compared with last year’s first GSV-R, as the design evolves towards the goal of winning races again for the factory that claimed the premier-class World Championship in 2000.

2000 World Champion Kenny Roberts set his best time today, the third day of open-to-all testing, improving on his best race lap time set here last year, in spite of unfavourably cool and windy conditions. Hopkins set his best time on the first day of testing, which was cloudy and overcast. The second day was spoiled by rain. Today was sunny but still cool, with a strong wind giving riders problems and causing several crashes.

Roberts completed 68 laps today, to bring his overall total to 131 over the three days. The Californian son of a legend’s best lap time of 1:43.918, was less than a second off the circuit lap record. He was placed eighth-fastest.

Hopkins ran 65 laps today, and a total of 173, with a best time of 1:44.652. The rider from California (but of English parentage) is new to the Suzuki team and to the new-generation 990cc four-strokes. His debut season last year was on a 500cc two-stroke.

All the rival teams except Honda attended the tests. Suzuki move on now to private tests in Valencia before rejoining the final IRTA test at Catalunya in mid-March.


KENNY ROBERTS – 1:43.918
We’ve worked hard here, when the weather allowed it. I can’t say I’m happy with the lap time. We need to get the base settings right before we can start to use the bike to its full, and we need the factory to help us. We have more tests and more parts coming. The bike has the potential. We need to unlock it, and we’re all determined to do that.


JOHN HOPKINS – 1:44.652
We made some steps here, but we still have many things to sort out. We need to make bigger steps in the upcoming tests in order to be where we want to be for the first race. The bike is still so new, and there are still so many things to get set right. We’re concentrating on one thing at a time, and that one thing leads to another. Here my main difficulty has been that the bike doesn’t turn well. I’m losing time into the turns and in the middle of the corner. We need a good ground plan for the upcoming tests, but my crew chief Stuart Shenton, away sick, will be back, and that should help us. Though I have to say my guys worked 110 percent here. It’s a great team.


GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
This was only the bike’s third time out, and the first time with the rival machines. We learned a lot. Obviously there’s a lot of potential that we still need to find, and after the excitement of getting the new bike in January it’s a little disappointing. But we tested almost everything here that we needed to test. Now the factory will take the data and look for improvements in the areas we need. It’s never easy to take something so brand new and get the best out of it. It takes time, and we still have some more time. The factory has already proved how committed they are; the team feels the same. We’ll keep on working. This is gritty stuff for the riders. Doing development work at this sort of IRTA test where the others have their machines better sorted can be testing for a rider’s mental stamina.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati:

PRESS INFORMATION

BAYLISS ON RACE PACE, CAPIROSSI FALLS IN WINDY CONDITIONS

IRTA tests, Jerez, Spain
Sunday, February 23, 2003

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi battled strong, gusting winds at Jerez today as they completed their first group test session on the Desmosedici V4. Despite less than perfect weather throughout the three days – low track temperatures on Friday and rain yesterday – both men believe they have made important progress.

Bayliss was particularly happy at the end of the day, having completed an impressive race simulation with Michelin’s latest 2003 tyres. Capirossi however had a more torrid time, falling twice in the afternoon, the first when he was caught out by a gust of wind.

“We dedicated today to testing Michelin’s new tyres, doing almost no other work on set-up”, said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “Troy did a long run at a good pace but we weren’t so lucky with Loris. He lost the front twice. Both guys found the latest rear tyres very promising, and Troy also found a better front tyre.”

Bayliss, whose average pace during the race simulation was an impressive 1:43.5, was delighted with progress and keen to continue testing at Estoril next week. “The whole test has gone pretty good, we’ve kept moving forward,” said the former World Superbike Champion. “This is my third time at this track, so I expected some good times. We’ve made good progress and we’ve got some more ideas for the next test, and that’s what it’s all about. The track could’ve been better today, but I’m quite happy with the long run we did at the end of the afternoon. We’ve run Michelin’s new tyres and they feel good, the engine feels good too and we only did a little bit of playing around with the suspension today.”

Capirossi was happy enough with progress, despite two minor falls, the wind also claiming other victims during the day. “After two crashes I decided to concentrate on testing tyres and settings, because conditions weren’t right for trying to go really fast,” said the Italian, who nevertheless proved that he had lost none of his confidence by setting his fastest lap of the day on his penultimate lap. “Despite the crashes, everything has gone well from a set-up point of view, but unfortunately there was too much wind for me to give a good lap-time performance.”

Bayliss and Capirossi continue the Desmosedici test programme at Estoril, Portugal, next week, and then take Ducati’s MotoGP project to the next level at Catalunya, Spain, in mid-March, when they will ride their definitive 2003 bikes for the first time. The 16-round MotoGP World Championship commences at Suzuka, Japan, on April 6.