From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

FUCHS KAWASAKI CONCLUDE SUCCESSFUL JEREZ TEST

The Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team concluded their second and final day of testing at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain this afternoon, with Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann completing more than 100 laps between them as they worked their way through a punishing test schedule.

Warm weather and clear skies made for ideal testing conditions at the 4.423km Jerez circuit today, allowing both Fuchs Kawasaki riders to complete a test schedule disrupted by poor track conditions yesterday.

For Nakano, the focus of today’s test was on the chassis of his Ninja ZX-RR. The 26-year-old Japanese rider worked with his pit crew to improve the front and rear suspension settings, in a bid to improve stability of the bike under braking and control of the rear under power. In addition to the chassis work, Nakano also tested a range of new tyres from Bridgestone, declaring himself impressed with the consistency of one in particular.

Nakano’s Fuchs Kawasaki teammate, Alex Hofmann, also concentrated on refining the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR, as well as running tyre endurance tests throughout the day. The 23-year-old German rider also tested the same revised clutch components and settings tried by his teammate yesterday. Although Hofmann made some progress on the chassis front, he was disappointed not to have made a bigger improvement in this area today.

The Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team now head for France and the third round of the 2004 MotoGP World Championship, which will take place on Sunday 16th May at the world famous Le Mans circuit.

Shinya Nakano: 1:42.82 (51 laps)
“For the first part of today’s test we concentrated on the chassis, working to find a better setting on the front and rear suspension. We managed to make a small improvement to both ends of the bike, which led to better stability under braking and improved control when the rear starts to slide. After that it was on to tyre testing and I’m happy to say we identified one rear slick that worked consistently around this circuit. Overall we checked many small, but important things and the end result has not been so bad for me today. We head now for the next race at Le Mans, where we’ll have even more new components to test.”

Alex Hofmann: 1:43.78 (73 laps)
“We tested the new clutch components and settings that Shinya tried yesterday, but the main focus of today’s test has been tyre testing for Bridgestone and working to improve the set-up of the bike. The tyre testing involved a couple of endurance runs this afternoon, which are always hard work, but it was definitely worthwhile. We identified a tyre that we know would have worked well here in the race if only it had stayed dry on Sunday. Using this tyre I was able to improve upon my best time from Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions; the only dry track time we got over the course of the weekend. At the end of the day we’d made a small improvement to the balance of the bike; the front feels good now, although we still have a little work to do on the rear. While the progress made was not the big leap forward we were hoping for, it was a step forward nonetheless.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

POSITIVE TEST SESSION AT JEREZ FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM

Jerez (Spain), 4 May 2004 – The rain during the night delayed the start of the second day of testing for the Ducati Marlboro Team, who were however able to complete the test schedule in the afternoon, helped by mild weather and spring temperatures (25° C air/35°C track).

The Ducati Marlboro Team riders put to good use the data and impressions accumulated yesterday and both were able to improve their performance. The final day of testing at the Spanish circuit was positive therefore and positive indications have emerged regarding the development of the Desmosedici GP4.

Troy Bayliss continued with engine management testing, but mainly concentrated on the new Michelin race tyres and the Australian declared he was satisfied with the outcome. Out of a total of 74 laps Troy recorded a quickest time of 1’42.8″.

Further modifications to the front end allowed Loris Capirossi to continue testing with the 16.5″ tyre with which he was able to improve the feel of his Desmosedici GP4. The Italian completed 35 laps with a best time of 1.42’9 confirming, along with his team mate, that the work had been successful.

Following this successful two-day test and development session for the Desmosedici GP4, the Ducati Marlboro Team is now preparing for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, scheduled for May 16 at the legendary Le Mans circuit in France.

Tomorrow, the Ducati development team will start a two-day testing session at the Mugello circuit with official test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi.


More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing:

SETE AND COLIN TEST THE RIGHT SETTING FOR DRY CONDITIONS
Finally a dry nice day at Jerez de la Frontera.
Around 1.00 p.m the riders of the Team Telefonica MoviStar Honda motoGP started today’s test session together with other MotoGP teams such as Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Kawasaki.

Today’s work focused on studying different solutions in order to find the right setting on dry track with the RC211V.

Both Sete Gibernau and Colin edwrads worked on the setting of the bike and tyre testing. Colin Edwards crashed – without consequences – a few minutes before 6.00 p.m. while he was lapping with qualifying tyres.

# 15 SETE GIBERNAU: 71 laps – 1:42.7 his best time

“I’m satisfied with the work done today. Thanks to the nice weather we could test with dry conditions. We are going on the right direction and we understood some things about this bike tha we can use at Le Mans. For sure these two days of testing will be very usefull in preparation of next race, to be held at Le Mans in two weeks.”

#45 COLIN EDWARDS: 64 laps – 1:41.1 his best time

“Today we tested different tyres with Michelin. We also tested different kind of setting . I’m happy with the work done during these days, now I have a better feeling with the bike. I also made a lap on qualifying tyres in order to make some fast laps. I crashed at Turn 2 , without consequences. I ‘m just trying to find the limit of my RC211V. ”

Tomorrow Sete Gibernau will continue his second day of testing, whereas Colin finished today.