Sunday’s Official MotoGP Test Times: 1. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:41.851 2. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 1:42.270 3. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:42.507 4. Marco Melandri, Honda, 1:42.797 5. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:42.823 6. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:43.117 7. Colin Edwards, Yamaha, 1:43.131 8. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:43.423 9. Alex Barros, Honda, 1:43.504 10. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:43.531 11. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, 1:43.661 12. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 1:43.709 13. Shinichi Itoh, Ducati, 1:43.736 14. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:43.911 15. Troy Bayliss, Honda, 1:43.933 16. Toni Elias, Yamaha, 1:44.683 17. Vittoriano Guareschi, Ducati, 1:45.410 18. Ruben Xaus, Yamaha, 1:45.540 19. Nobuatsu Aoki, Suzuki, 1:45.809 20. Roberto Rolfo, Ducati, 1:45.848 21. Shane Byrne, Proton, 1:46.705 22. James Ellison, Blata WCM, 1:47.678 23. Francis Battaini, Blata WCM, 1:48.298 More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN CONCLUDE TESTING AT CATALUNYA Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi completed his three-day test session at Catalunya today, learning plenty more about his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 before heading to Jerez for final preseason tests next Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Team-mate Carlos Checa had a less useful day, forced to rest the leg and shoulder injuries he sustained yesterday. “It’s been three difficult days, during which we’ve tested many new parts and a lot of new tyres,” said Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. “Things haven’t been made easier by the two crashes we had yesterday which effectively left us with only one of our two MotoGP riders for the last and most important day of the tests. At least Loris learned plenty today after taking some time to regain confidence after his fall. It’s been a tough weekend but we remain confident in the potential of the bike/tyre package because both riders confirm that they like the package. We know we will have good tracks and bad tracks, so we are ready to keep working to make things better.” CAPIROSSI FOCUSES ON TYRE TESTING Loris Capirossi had another busy day at Catalunya, running a series of front and rear tyre tests. He also took part in this afternoon’s BMW Award mock qualifying session, finishing tenth fastest and bettering his qualifying time from last year’s Catalan GP by 0.6 seconds. “On the whole these tests have been very useful to us but we’ve still got work to do,” said the Ducati Marlboro Team man who was left unscathed by his crash in yesterday’s session. “The bike is pretty good and the tyres are good at some tracks and not so good on others. Here we struggled a bit, but we are working very closely with Bridgestone and we are trying to improve our performance as quickly as possible. The Jerez tests will be very important, especially because the first race is also there, so we hope the next tests will go as well as the last session we had there in November, our first test with Bridgestone”. CHECA FORCED TO REST AFTER TUMBLE Carlos Checa had a frustrating final day at Catalunya, managing only a couple of runs before deciding he wasn’t fit to ride following his tumble in yesterday’s session. “My left leg is swollen but it’s not painful, the problem is my left shoulder,” said the Ducati Marlboro Team rider. “We tried a lot of physio but I’m not yet ready to ride, hopefully I’ll be okay for Jerez after more therapy over the next few days. We’ve struggled here, but some tracks are always worse than others and we’ve gone pretty well at the other tracks at which we’ve tested over the winter. We will now try and analyse what wasn’t right so we can improve the feeling for Jerez.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: NAKANO AND HOFMANN CLOSE ON TOP TEN AT CATALUNYA Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, finished 11th and 12th respectively in today’s qualifying shootout at the Circuit de Catalunya. The shootout was the highlight of the third and final day of the IRTA test in Barcelona. Both Nakano and Hofmann rode Ninja ZX-RR machines fitted with development versions of Kawasaki’s new big bang firing order, 990cc in-line four-cylinder motor. Both riders posted personal best times at the 4.7 km Barcelona circuit. Hofmann switched to the new big bang ZX-RR motor today as part of a strategy for the 24-year-old German to maximise track time with the new engine configuration. Hofmann had been scheduled to make his debut with the big bang motor at next week’s IRTA test at Jerez, but was delighted to make the switch one day earlier then expected. The Kawasaki big bang motor only made its track debut at Sepang in February, and is still in the early stages of a long and intensive development programme. In the morning free practice session both riders evaluated suspension and chassis set-up, as well as continuing their test schedules with the latest Bridgestone tyres. Both Hofmann and Nakano have been impressed with the increased levels of side grip offered by the latest tyre compounds. Engine development has been the main focus of this weekend’s IRTA Barcelona test and that will continue next week at Jerez, which will be the final pre-season workout for the Kawasaki Racing Team. It is just three weeks to the opening race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. Shinya Nakano: #56 – 11th (1:43.661) “I am a little disappointed. I pushed very hard to make this time and this was the maximum result that was possible today. The new big bang engine is the right direction, but it is obvious we still have more work to do, especially on corner entry stability with the engine braking system. The 2005 Ninja ZX-RR is ahead of last year’s screamer motor, but everyone else is going much faster at the moment” Alex Hofmann: #66 – 12th (1:43.709) “After two and a half years of riding the Kawasaki ‘screamer’ motor in testing and races, I was very happy to have a new feeling under me when I switched to the big bang motor today. This concept is the way to go, making it easier and more consistent to produce fast times. It was motivating for me to make the switch today, but also obvious that our rivals have not been sleeping in terms of performance. At the moment the big bang probably lacks some top end power, but I’m sure that will come as development continues.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “Even though the big bang engine development programme is later than we had hoped for, this result shows that we’ve made a significant improvement in engine performance. The Ninja ZX-RR has closed the gap to the leading group and we hope to make a further step forward at the IRTA tests in Jerez next week. Overall I am happy with the progress to this point, and I’m confident there is a lot more to come from this version of the Ninja ZX-RR engine.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Top six finish for Team SUZUKI MotoGP Team SUZUKI MotoGP completed the Official MotoGP test at the Spanish Circuit de Catalunya today with John Hopkins recording an impressive top-six finish in the televised official session to demonstrate the potential of the new 2005 GSV-R. Hopkins continued with his fantastic form of the previous two days to record a time of 1:43.117, putting his ever-developing Suzuki GSV-R into sixth place in the timed classification. Hopkins was at one stage running in second position on race tyres, reinforcing his position as the fastest Bridgestone-shod rider on track all weekend. Kenny Roberts Jr crashed out in a high speed corner, but the 2000 500cc Grand Prix World Champion showed his determination by picking himself up and running back to the pit-lane to get his second GSV-R and continue the session. Roberts Jr’s best time of 1:43.911 placed him provisionally in third place early in the test, but he lost so much track time after his crash he was unable to do any laps on a qualifying tyre and finished the session in 14th place. The fastest time was set by Spaniard Sete Gibernau on his home-track – he drives home with a new car for his exploits. Team SUZUKI MotoGP now travels to Jerez in Spain for another Official MotoGP test next week, before the season starts there on April 10th. John Hopkins: “I’ve had another fantastic day. The GSV-R is running well and I was really pleased with my own performance and that of my team over the three days. Bridgestone has worked to provide us with a great rear tyre and is working hard to improve the front. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t win the car, but if I had maybe my motivation would have gone down for the next test – as it is I am still right up there.” Kenny Roberts Jr: “Fundamentally I made a basic mistake today that caused me to crash. I was using race tyres and race trim as I was struggling with grip levels for qualifying. I wasn’t really interested in lap times – just to be consistent. The tyres had just gone into double digits for laps done and on the second-to-last corner the wind got under the bike and unloaded the front end as I was turning in, from then on I was just along for the ride. “Overall I am pleased with the test and the Bridgestone tyres are improving all the time. We should be more competitive in Jerez as the nature of the circuit will suit the GSV-R more.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “We’ve had another great test overall, I’m delighted with the whole team. Everyone has worked really hard during the entire test and has shown massive commitment to improving all aspects of Team SUZUKI MotoGP. “Bridgestone has made a huge effort again this weekend and now has a good direction to improve the tyres further for this circuit. Suzuki’s improvement is obvious with the GSV-R consistently being the best performing Bridgestone-shod bike on the circuit. “The two riders both showed their consistency and commitment to the team, which was epitomised by Kenny running back to the pits to get another bike, but still narrowly missing out on the chance of a fast qualifying lap. John improved all weekend and performed at a very high level – he thoroughly deserved a top-six place. “I’m now looking forward to Jerez and further testing before we can get down to some proper racing in April.” Kunio Arase – Development Leader in charge of the GSV-R: “It has been very pleasing for me to see the latest version of the GSV-R perform on the track. We at Suzuki worked hard to improve the power and controllability of the bike and to see it being used at the test was very rewarding. “I was able to record more data which will assist me with the further improvements we still have planned. Kenny, John and the two Chief Technicians, Tom O’Kane and Stuart Shenton, have been very helpful to me and I think we have a good direction for the future.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna: Gibernau eases to BMW Award at MotoGP Official Test Sete Gibernau drove home from the Catalunya circuit in a brand-new BMW Series 1 car this afternoon after storming to the fastest lap in a dramatic 40-minute televised session that provided the climax to the three-day MotoGP Official Test. Cheered on by an unexpectedly substantial crowd of some 32,000 people, the local hero smashed his own pole position record by 0.7 seconds with a stunning lap of 1:41.851, leaving closest rival Valentino Rossi trailing in his wake and becoming the third rider in three seasons to win the BMW Award MotoGP test. “My objective here wasn’t the car but to come and work hard for the new season,” said Gibernau. “Over the past three days we’ve found a good set-up for the bike and worked very well with Honda and Michelin. My pace has been fast and consistent and that is a credit to the hard work done by the team all winter. That is the most important thing about this weekend although it was nice to finish with the fastest time particularly for the fans, who came out in force to support us today.” Rossi’s challenge to win a BMW for the second consecutive year faded with his final lap, which came less than two minutes before the end of the session but fell 0.419 seconds short of Gibernau’s remarkable effort. By that time the Spaniard was already back in his box and watching the television screens as a moment of drama unfolded in the neighbouring Honda garage. Max Biaggi, the fastest rider over the first two days of action, was preparing to launch a final ‘pole’ attempt with freshly-fitted qualification tyres but his RC211V failed to start and the Italian was left stranded. With Gibernau’s two main rivals out of the reckoning, the main challenge in the dying stages of the session seemed to be coming from his team-mate Marco Melandri, who was just 0.099 seconds down through the first section of the circuit on his final lap. However, the Italian dropped vital time in the next three sections and looked certain to settle for a creditable third place. Unfortunately for him Nicky Hayden had other plans and, despite being unable to challenge for the BMW, a fast final lap from the American relegated Melandri to fourth. Whilst the MotoGP Official Test continued after the 40-minute BMW Award session, there were no major movers at the top of the time sheets although Biaggi did make up for his disappointment with a series of fast laps which moved him up to sixth in today’s standings. Biaggi’s effort dropped the impressive John Hopkins to seventh place on a mixed day for Suzuki, with their second rider Kenny Roberts having crashed out of the afternoon timed session and causing extensive damage to his GSV-R machine. However, Biaggi’s fastest time from yesterday’s session was enough for second place on the combined time sheets from the test whilst Alex Barros, who was ninth today, ended fourth overall after also setting his quickest time yesterday. Carlos Checa missed out on the action today after injuring his shoulder in a crash on Saturday, whilst his Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi was unable to repeat his performance from two seasons ago, when he set the quickest time and took home the BMW, finishing the session tenth fastest. More, from a press release issued Camel Honda: Alex and Troy satisfied with tests in Barcelona The third and final day of tests in Barcelona was a real mix of excitement and technical intrigue. The forty minutes of officially timed testing brought a buzzing public to the Catalunya circuit stands, but the most important part for the teams of course, was the time reserved for the usual technical tests. Alex was unable to make the most of the soft tyre during the qualifying time, but leaves Barcelona very satisfied with the tests, which have seen him improve both his race pace and fast lap performances constantly over the three days. Troy improved on his time from yesterday, using race tyres in the late afternoon and with the asphalt cooled down, so he was understandably pleased. The next appointment for the MotoGp teams is in just four days’ time in Jerez for another three days of tests, and subsequently on the 10th of April, for the start of the 2005 season. Sito Pons Camel Honda “I was delighted to see the grandstands full today, and I think that the crowd enjoyed this competitive test. Obviously, what mattered though were the tests to set up the bike at this track, and through the whole of the three days here they were good for us. Alex also demonstrated that he has a good race pace here, as he did in Malaysia, Australia and Qatar. I’m sure he will be in great shape for the start of the season in three weeks time. Troy continues to work determinedly and in the next test in Jerez he will be able to make a direct comparison between his feelings on the bike now and his feelings back in December. In Jerez not only does the winter testing come to an end, but the first race will be run there also; so it is an particularly important session.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 1:43.274 (51 laps) 9th fastest “As I predicted yesterday, today was a little strange, split up by a timed test session which broke our work rhythm. In that period I used a soft tyre too, but it was a little too cold and the fast time didn’t come for me. Nevertheless I think that we could have done more or less as well as Valentino, so congratulations to Sete for his fast lap. Afterwards we continued to test various tyres, picking out a front which could be good but which definitely needs more tests. We will try it in Jerez again. Even though today didn’t go perfect, in general I’m satisfied with how things are going. As regards the new flag to flag ruling, the fact that they have decided to allow us to change the bike instead of just the tyres doesn’t change much for me, but as long as my colleagues are happy, things are okay like that.” Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 1:43.775 (76 laps) 14th fastest “I think that the times don’t necessarily reflect the situation exactly because the day was a little weird. There were those who used a soft tyre in the timed session and those who did afterwards, those who made the most of it and those who didn’t, and there were also those who improved their time from yesterday using race tyres. I’m one of the latter, and I’m particularly happy because I did it towards the end of the day, when the track was a lot cooler. Apart from continuing with the set-up, I have found a front tyre that gives me confidence, so I’m anxious to get to Jerez to confirm these positive feelings.” More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards both made considerable progress on the final day of the Catalunya IRTA test in Spain today. Whilst Rossi made a key breakthrough with the set-up of his 2005 version YZR-M1, finishing this afternoon’s 40-minute televised session with the second fastest time, Edwards continued to refine the excellent base set-up he has found for his machine over the three days of tests. The adjustments made by Rossi’s team of mechanics, expertly led by Jeremy Burgess, gave the World Champion the opportunity to improve his best time from yesterday by over a second and challenge for the top spot in the dramatic afternoon session with a final best lap of 1:42.270. However, it was Honda rider Sete Gibernau who eventually drove away in the prize of a new car after setting a lap of 1:41.851 in front of 32,000 home supporters. Rossi’s effort was enough for the third fastest time over the three days, with his Honda rival Max Biaggi having lapped just one hundredth of a second quicker during yesterday’s session. Despite not improving on his best time today, Edwards was seventh fastest in the televised session and ended the test ninth fastest overall, giving him plenty of reason to look forward to the next IRTA sessions, which begin at Jerez on Friday 25th March. VALENTINO ROSSI (1:42.270, 50 laps) “I’m happy because we did a great job here today during the test. Yesterday and Friday we had some problems and we didn’t really understand why. We tried to follow a different way but it wasn’t right. Today was much better. I made a small mistake in my hot lap in the qualifying session and I was second, but anyway I feel much happier. The bike was much better to ride and felt good on the race tyres. It’s fun to ride again, which is an important thing for me. We’ve still got a lot of work to do so hopefully we can continue in the same way at Jerez and find a good base setting for the circuit.” COLIN EDWARDS (1:43.131, 52 laps) “I’m not disappointed with today but I have to say I’m not totally happy either. The main focus of the day was to run through a whole bunch of stuff that we could then either eliminate or proceed with. That’s what these tests are for and from that point of view it was positive. We’ve also done a lot of work on the tyres and at the moment I would say we’ve got a top five bike on our hands. Next week we’ve got to keep working, test a bunch more settings and make sure we’ve got the number one bike in time for the first race.” DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR “We didn’t win the car but today concluded a good test for both our riders. After a lot of hard work Valentino finally came up with a good set-up, which allowed him to ride the bike as he wants to and start enjoying himself again. Colin had already found a good base set-up over the first couple of days and today we tried a few things to refine it even more, although we don’t want to change too much from what he already has. It will be interesting when we get to Jerez next week because we will find out if it is a good, consistent setting that will serve him for the whole season. Next week’s test will be crucial because we have to make absolutely sure we are ready for the start of the season. The important thing is that we are at our maximum level at 2pm on April 10th” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Gibernau steals the show on final day of IRTA MotoGP test at Barcelona. Sete Gibernau was the star of the show on the final day of the three-day IRTA MotoGP test at Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona. The 4.727km track is Gibernau’s home circuit and he put his local knowledge and his Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V to good use. The Spaniard was in superb form all-day and claimed fastest time of the weekend in front of the 32,000 race fans in attendance. Gibernau claimed top honours in today’s 40 minute televised ‘Shoot out’ timed practice session setting a lap time of 1:41.851, an absolute track record for a MotoGP machine, and a massive 0.7 seconds faster than his pole position time for the 2004 GP at the track. The Telefonica MoviStar Honda team leave Barcelona for the final pre-season test, at Jerez next week, in confident mood. Gibernau’s performance was backed-up by new teammate Marco Melandri who ended the day in fourth place. Both men had run extensive tyre endurance tests in the morning preferring to work on long term interests rather than set up their RCV’s for a one lap fast time. Repsol Honda factory team rider Nicky Hayden continued his upward swing in pace and consistency to boost his confidence as the season nears. The American put in his fastest ever lap at Catalunya in the timed session, half a second faster than his qualifying time at the last Catalan GP. Teammate Max Biaggi had been fastest man on the opening two days and looked set to hold his dominant position today but his carefully laid test programme was disrupted when he crashed on an oil spill in the morning. Biaggi was back up to speed in the shoot out. He pitted with five minutes remaining and mounted new tyres for a shot at fastest lap. But it was not to be his day. His RCV refused to fire up, an electrical block connection had dislodge in the crash and Biaggi was relegated to sixth fastest – poor reward for his superb overall performance during the three days. Makoto Tamada took his Konica Minolta Honda to fifth best place, despite adopting a more cautious approach to his day. Tamada tested Michelin qualifying tyres but could not push as hard as he had hoped in the TV shoot out. The Japanese star leaves for Jerez confident he has the machine and technical staff to make an impact when the championship begins at Jerez on April 10. Camel Honda rider Alex Barros could not match his time of yesterday but pronounced himself pleased with the results of his three-days testing. The Brazilian tested a variety of Michelin front tyres today in the elusive search for optimum front-end grip. Troy Bayliss, on the second Camel liveried RC211V, was equally pleased. Bayliss has made steady if not spectacular progress since joining Camel Honda and put in another valuable days work. The Australian has taken time to build his confidence with the front end of his RCV but at Barcelona he took a big step forward and heads for Jerez convinced he has mastered the problem. Honda rider lap times and quotes. Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1:41.851 (38 laps). “I’m really satisfied with the results of this test. We’ve completed all the work we had planned for here and the result is very good. Last night I got together with the team to prepare the endurance; I think that to plan for the fastest lap would have been a mistake. Setting the fastest time was simply the fruit of all the hard work we had done previously. We are still having a few problems on corner entry when the tyres have gone off so that’s why I did a race simulation with used tyres. That’s the area I’m most interested in working on so that we can get to Jerez with the best possible motorcycle. I’m happy to have taken the pole, especially for all the people here who have given me such superb backing. I hope they enjoyed themselves.” Nicky Hayden; Repsol Honda: 1:42.507 (75 laps) “Overall today has been the best of the weekend. I was real happy to be fighting with the front guys and was trying real hard. Everyone was saying they don’t care about the car man it was a new car we were fighting for I was really pushing. I’ll have to settle for some nice easy payments at my Pa’s garage. I should be okay for a ride this summer thanks to Second Chance Auto’s.Joking aside, it feels good to be up there. There are still three more days to go before we start a race weekend proper and it’ll be show time. The team’s really pulling hard, there’s a great spirit with the new group and I think we’re in pretty good shape.” Marco Melandri, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1:42.797 (51 laps). “We’re leaving another circuit in positive mood because we’ve continued to work in a very focused way over these three days. I like the bike a lot, it’s very different to the Yamaha and it allows me to ride with more confidence. We did an endurance race as planned and in the official session in the afternoon I gave everything I had to set the fastest lap. I’m a bit disappointed not to have fought for ‘pole’ because I’d promised to give the car to my mechanics but fourth place isn’t bad at all. We’ll keep working in Jerez.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1:42.823 (67 laps). “For the first time I have used a different type of qualification tyres and I had to be more careful than usual. The first time I went out I didn’t push my bike that much and during my second try I felt better even if I didn’t find the right feeling with the anterior tyre which didn’t allow me to give my best. But apart this I can consider my self fulfilled since during the weekend of testing I have been really close to the best lap times. Too bad for the car.” Luca Montiron – Team Manager Konica Minolta Honda “We are very satisfied for the work done in the past three days of work. Makoto has tried some new soft tyres solutions and of course he still has to totally adapt to them. With a bit of patience he will find the right confidence so that he will be able to give his best with the bike and the tyres. The next test will be fundamental for our team because afterwards there will be the first Grand Prix of the season, but what has shown Makoto in the past three days gave us the right hopes for our adventure in the MotoGP World Championship 2005. The next three days of testing will be useful to develop furthermore the bike and allow our rider to obtain the necessary confidence to compete always with the fastest group.” Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda: 1:42.977 (87 laps) “I said I was not here for the superpole, but to be true I’m very disappointed because I didn’t even have a chance to take up the challenge. My motorcycle shut off just a few minutes before the end of the session when I pitted to get a qualifying tyre. The fault was down to a part that costs just a few euros. I can’t believe this happens! In the morning session I fell on oil left on the track by another bike and my mechanics had to rebuild my bike in a very short time. These things cannot happen; especially this year when we only have one hour for all qualifying. We still have a lot of hard work to do because we still need to grow stronger. I trust my team. We can make it!” Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 1:43.274 (51 laps) “As I predicted yesterday, today was a little strange, split up by a timed test session which broke our work rhythm. In that period I used a soft tyre too, but it was a little too cold and the fast time didn’t come for me. Nevertheless I think that we could have done more or less as well as Valentino, so congratulations to Sete for his fast lap. Afterwards we continued to test various tyres, picking out a front which could be good but which definitely needs more tests. We will try it in Jerez again. Even though today didn’t go perfect, in general I’m satisfied with how things are going. As regards the new flag to flag ruling (the new wet race rule announced by the FIM today), the fact that they have decided to allow us to change the bike instead of just the tyres doesn’t change much for me, but as long as my colleagues are happy, things are okay like that.” Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda, 1:43.775 (76 laps) “I think that the times don’t necessarily reflect the situation exactly because the day was a little weird. There were those who used a soft tyre in the timed session and those who did afterwards, those who made the most of it and those who didn’t, and there were also those who improved their time from yesterday using race tyres. I’m one of the latter, and I’m particularly happy because I did it towards the end of the day, when the track was a lot cooler. Apart from continuing with the set-up, I have found a front tyre that gives me confidence, so I’m anxious to get to Jerez to confirm these positive feelings.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Sixth place for Suzuki-Star John Hopkins and much more to come With a strong sixth place at the BMW Award, the first official contest of the MotoGP category within a three-day test session of the blue ribbon class of motorcycle racing, Suzuki star John Hopkins confirmed the remarkable progress in the development on his bike and his Bridgestone tyres. Hopkins rode his bike to a best lap time of 1:43.117 minutes, just five positions and 1.28 seconds behind BMW award winner Sete Gibernau, who received the keys to a brand-new 1 series BMW, after blitzing the field with a best time of 1:41,851 seconds. Whereas Hopkins promised Bridgestone and his team that there was more to come in near future, Ducati star Loris Capirossi had mixed emotions after having to settle for tenth place. The Italian, who had stunned the competition with a best lap time on the very first testing session of the year in January in Malaysia, didn’t quite find the same feel and confidence for the front end than in all the previous test sessions. Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, who are both running latest generation “big bang” engines with revised firing order on their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR prototypes, finished the contest head-to-head in 11th and 12th position. Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) took 14th place, Capirossis Ducati team-mate Carlos Checa missed the contest due to an injured shoulder. John Hopkins Team Suzuki MotoGP 6th position “I am ecstatic about how everything went. There might have been a slight lack in terms of front end grip, but if this is all we were able to detect, it’s excellent and shows the huge improvements that have been made since the end of last year. Bridgestone made a rear tyre so great that it is pushing the front, so after building an unbelievable rear tyre, all they have to do now is build an unbelievable front tyre, too! Whereas Bridgestone was ahead with their qualifying tyres last year, it looks as if our competitors have caught up now and had a little advantage on this track. But this doesn’t worry me. Bridgestone’s level of progress is so much steeper than of anybody else that they will be able to respond very quickly. My bike is much better, too, and there is still more to come for the first race. I am quite confident that soon we will be able to race with the front runners!” Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team 10th position “Bridgestone and we had a fantastic start into the new season with our best time in Sepang, and on all the other tracks overseas, we were able to confirm that we would be competitive. Things were a little bit different here in Barcelona, because I just didn’t have the same confidence in the front end. The Bridgestone tyres work very well on some tracks and not quite as well on others, and here in Barcelona it might have had to do with the new track surface, and with the ever-changing temperature and grip conditions during the three days. Nevertheless, I am very happy to work with Bridgestone, because they work very hard to find answers whenever we have questions, and respond in amazing time to whatever requirements we have. I have no doubt that together we will make it to the top!” Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team 11th position “Our tyre performance was probably not quite as good here as on all the other tracks we tested on during the winter, but that’s not my main concern at this moment the Bridgestone guys work at an amazing pace, and come up with new things all the time. For us, it’s more important to further improve our whole package. The big bang engine that we tested in February for the first time is definitely the right direction to go for the future, because it makes it so much easier to control the bike on the exit of the turns. But we need more speed at the moment, the front runners are simply too fast for us!” Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “We started our pre-season testing program with a bang in Malaysia in January, and we were able to confirm the strong results of Loris Capirossi and Ducati in February in Australia. When we then went to Qatar, our results weren’t quite good as expected. The Doha track was slippery, and maybe there are some similarities to the Catalunya circuit that was re-surfaced a few months ago, and that also didn’t give us the results we all had hoped for. We all congratulate John Hopkins, who was amazingly fast on his Suzuki. Now we are going to Jerez where we had some promising tests three weeks ago, and I am confident that there we will be able to show our true potential!” Bridgestone Results: 6. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1:43.117, 10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 1:43.531, 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki 1:43.661, 12. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki, 1:43.709, 14. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, 1:43.911, Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati (did not start) More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: The MoviStar rider completes his test programme at Catalunya and tops it off with the BMW Award Sete Gibernau came out stronger than ever from the first official MotoGP Test of the preseason, which ended with the third and final day at the Circuit de Catalunya today. The MoviStar Honda rider spent the morning concentrating on a race simulation, which confirmed his high expectations, and was the fastest rider in an official times session in the afternoon. Gibernau also took victory in the BMW Award, which presented the winner with a BMW Series 1 car, but insisted that the prize was simply a reflection of the good job done by the whole team with the Honda RC211V. Marco Melandri was equally pleased with his performance and is now looking forward to arriving at the first Grand Prix of the season with the best possible set-up. The Italian would have enjoyed nothing better than to challenge his team-mate for the fastest time in the session but in the end he was more than happy with fourth place. The MoviStar Honda team concentrated solely on endurance tests during the morning, with Sete clocking an excellent time of 1:42.999 on used tyres after ten laps. Improving the bike’s corner entry once the tyres have begun to slide is now one of the team’s main focuses ahead of the first Grand Prix. Sete ran up fourteen consecutive laps before the timed session and was confident about his rhythm. He then set an incredible time of 1:41.851, the fastest ever lap by a motorcycle at the Circuit de Catalunya, to take ‘pole’. The Spaniard’s day ended with a further five laps late in the afternoon. Marco Melandri’s best lap was 1:42.797, less than a second off the pace of his more experienced team-mate, a time which confirms his swift progress on a bike he is still getting to know. All the riders will be back on track together next week at the Jerez circuit for the second MotoGP Test, which is potentially even more interesting with the first Grand Prix of the 2005 season taking place there just two weeks later on the 10th April. SETE GIBERNAU (1:41.851, 38 laps): “I’m really satisfied with the results of this test. We’ve completed all the work we had planned for here and the result is very good. Last night I got together with the team to prepare the endurance; I think that to plan for the fastest lap would have been a mistake. Setting the fastest time was simply the fruit of all the hard work we had done previously. We are still having a few problems on corner entry when the tyres have gone off so that’s why I did a race simulation with used tyres. That’s the area I’m most interested in working on so that we can get to Jerez with the best possible motorcycle. I’m happy to have taken the pole, especially for all the people here who have given me such superb backing. I hope they enjoyed themselves.” MARCO MELANDRI (1:42.797, 51 laps): “We’re leaving another circuit in positive mood because we’ve continued to work in a very focused way over these three days. I like the bike a lot, it’s very different to the Yamaha and it allows me to ride with more confidence. We did an endurance race as planned and in the official session in the afternoon I gave everything I had to set the fastest lap. I’m a bit disappointed not to have fought for ‘pole’ because I’d promised to give the car to my mechanics but fourth place isn’t bad at all. We’ll keep working in Jerez.”