BUSY SECOND DAY OF TESTING AT JEREZ FOR THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM Yesterday’s weather forecast proved to be right and conditions were much improved on the second day of testing at Jerez. After waiting for the track to become completely dry, Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner went out after noon to get testing with their Desmosedici GP7 machines underway. In the presence of Ducati Corse Director General Filippo Preziosi, engineers and riders today investigated the potential of a new engine management configuration, different to the one used in the previous tests with the GP7. This delicate and difficult task is fundamental in identifying the right path for the new bike’s development. Loris Capirossi completed a total of 34 laps of the Jerez track, ending up with a quickest time of 1m42.244s. “We spent most of the day working on the new software, which however is not quite ready. We were unable to devote much time to tyres and set-up and as a result obviously could not set any quick times. However we found out a lot of information and it is normal that in this period we are exploring new ways of development. Tomorrow if the weather holds good I think that we can go much better”. Alongside the Borgo Panigale ‘veteran’, Casey Stoner continued to get to know his new team and his new bike. The young Australian did 52 laps of the track, setting a quickest time in 1m41.702s. “It was a very busy day and we had a lot of things to test. Late in the afternoon we made considerable progress and I am very pleased with that as well as with the way the team works. We’ve still got a lot of work to do with the new bike but it’s got a lot of potential and I am convinced I can go a lot quicker. I am very satisfied and hopefully tomorrow the weather will be good again so we can continue the work we started today”. The Ducati Corse test team and test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi are also at Jerez together with the factory squad. The Italian rider completed 50 laps today, helping with the development of the bike with which Loris and Casey will take on the Japanese manufacturers in next year’s championship. The forecast for the third and final day of the last test session before the winter testing ban is for further sunny weather at the Andalusian circuit. Temperatures: air 19°C / track 23°C. More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: SECOND TEST DAY FOR MARCO AT JEREZ Today the MotoGP riders busy at Jerez de la Frontera for the last test session of the year could profit of the sunshine to carry on the programme scheduled for today Marco Melandri, the Gresini Honda rider, at his debut on the new 800cc V-four Honda, completed 52 laps. The Italian rider started an intensive programme to know the bike and understand its behaviour before starting to work on the geometry of the machine MARCO MELANDRI (1’42″44, 52 laps): “Today the weather was good so we could start an intensive programme to understand the bike. I can say that it was my first day on the new bike. We started working on the geometry of the machine to try and understand the possibilities we have for chassis settings. We tried some things on suspension and of course tested with Bridgestone tyres. In the end I had a good feeling getting the bike to turn better, it was good in the fast corners but we have to work on the bike to get it to turn better in the slow to mid-range speed corners. Tomorrow we will work on improving the suspension set up.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: FAST PROGRESS FOR ROSSI AND EDWARDS WITH NEW 800 IN JEREZ Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed another promising day of development work on Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle in Jerez today, despite being forced to sit out the morning session whilst they waited for the track to dry following yesterday’s rain. Once they got going after lunch however the riders made the most of the time available, getting through a host of work on the prototype bike and focusing mainly on tyre testing with Michelin and chassis work. Rossi topped the time sheets for the second day running and put in a best lap of 1’40.688 after 82 laps, the most of any rider today. His time was less than a tenth of a second off the current lap record, which was set by him in 2005. Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was second quickest with a fastest time of 1’40.799 while Edwards was third once again, recording a best time of 1’41.186 after a total of 48 laps. Tomorrow will be the final day of testing for the Camel Yamaha Team before they break for the winter holidays. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’40.688, 82 laps) “I did a lot of laps today, the most of all the riders so it was quite a tough day despite missing the morning! We had to make up for the time we missed yesterday too and everyone worked very hard to get through all the work we had. It was a good day and helpful for us to have time to do so many laps. We continued working with two different chassis, trying to find the best way forward and check the differences between them. We also got time to do some important tyre work with Michelin and it seems they have some good new things which are working well with our bike. I hope that the weather will stay like this tomorrow because we’ve still got quite a lot we want to do before the end of the test. We’ll continue with the work we did today, check and confirm everything and then I hope we can finish for the year feeling positive!” COLIN EDWARDS (3rd 1’41.186, 48 Laps) “We got here this morning and the track was still seriously wet from yesterday so we had to sit around for a while to wait for it to dry out. The afternoon was good though and we spent a large part of it testing front tyres for Michelin, following on from where we got to in Malaysia. We wanted to re-confirm that what we tried in Sepang is the right way to go and it’s definitely working well here too so we’re going in the right direction. We tried various different fronts and I’m pretty happy with the situation. We didn’t try anything special on the rear, just kept a standard test tyre in, but we still put in some good times so that’s encouraging. We played about with some new engine mapping and then got some chassis work done at the end of the day. In the end we tried a setting more or less identical to Valentino’s, just to compare, and I could ride well with that too. It seems we’ve both found different settings that are working well so it’s just going to be a case of seeing what works best at each track. I’m pretty happy, we’re making progress and things are looking good so far.” Unofficial Lap Times VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 1’40.688 Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 1’40.799 COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, 1’41.186 John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1’41.205 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1’41.619 Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati, 1’41.702 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 1’42.244 Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 1’42.469 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda, 1’42.528 Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati, 1’43.182 Tadayuki Okada (JPN) Honda Test Rider, 1’42.316 Vittorio Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Test Rider, 1’44.449 Jeremy McWilliams (GBR) Ilmor, 1’45.265 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor, 1’47.110 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1’39.064 More, from a press release issued by Honda: Honda riders shine on sunny day at Jerez test Honda RC212V riders made hay in the sunshine of Jerez, Southern Spain, on day two of the final MotoGP test session of 2006. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, was the fastest of the Honda men testing and one of only two riders to crack the 1m 42s barrier for the 4.423km circuit. Gresini Honda rider Marco Melandri and Shinya Nakano on the Konica Minolta Honda are both testing the new 800cc V-four Honda for the first time and both set very respectable lap time at 1m 42.4s and 1m 44.5s respectively. Pedrosa a three time world champion in the smaller grand prix categories, two 250cc titles and one at 125cc level, was in sparkling form as he ran through an intensive test programme that saw him evaluate engine, chassis, suspension and tyre performance. The Spanish youngster set a lap time faster than his best at the 2006 grand prix held at the circuit in April of this year a time just two tenths of a second outside the MotoGP lap record. Gresini Honda rider Melandri put in his first full day of testing on the RC212V. The 24-year old Italian works hard in testing and today was no exception he covered 52 hard laps setting the 800cc Honda to his riding position and style before working on the geometry and suspension in a bid to understand the characteristics of his new mount and to try and get the machine to turn as he wished it to. He ended the day reasonably satisfied with some aspects but he and the team have a lot of work to do to further improve the RCV before the enforced December long break in winter testing. For Konica Minolta team rider Shinya Nakano everything is new. He is riding Honda for the Italian team for the first time and with an all-new machine at that. If that were not enough Nakano also has the task of riding a MotoGP machine equipped with Michelin tyres after several years campaigning with Bridgestone rubber. The Japanese rider worked methodically during what was in fact his first day on the machine as he sat out the wet session yesterday, the opening day of the three day test. Working on the riding position before moving onto suspension work Nakano established a reasonable base line setting to work from as he and the team mechanics endeavoured to improve their understanding of the RC212V. Nakano ended the day in positive mood having set times comparable with riders with more 800cc experience. Honda’s two top 250cc grand prix teams are also testing their RS250RW twin-cylinder two-stroke machines at Jerez. Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda, runner up in the 250cc series in 2006, and Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda, tested the latest versions of the RS250RW they will race in 2007. Aoyama’s team mate for next season, Spaniard Julian Simon, tested a 2006 version of the bike, his first ever outing on a quarter litre machine. This is the first full day of testing with the new machine and neither Dovizioso nor Aoyama were chasing lap times as they worked their way through a range of new parts and machine settings working to give the HRC engineers the valuable feed back they need to develop the RS250RW into a title winning machine. While the two senior riders concentrated on development work new boy Simon just rode the RS250RW to gain confidence in the machine and his new team. The quiet unassuming Simon surprised all with an outstanding lap time of 1m 43.986s just under the 250cc lap record for the circuit. Honda rider lap times and quotes: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 40.799s – 67 laps. “We had a good day’s testing and I’m pleased with how things went today. We tried many chassis and suspension adjustments on the bike, finding the combinations that worked best with the Michelin tyres we tested. My lap-times were quite good and I went faster than in the race at the beginning of the season, but you can’t read too much into this because November is good time for going fast at Jerez. We’re hoping it stays dry for tomorrow so we can continue this progress.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 42.4s – 52 laps. “It has been a better day it’s really the first day with the new bike after the rain of yesterday. We started working on the geometry of the machine to try and understand the possibilities we have for chassis settings. I’m not so happy yet I have not found a good connection between throttle, engine and rear wheel. Funny because even with less power from the 800cc I still have wheel spin. We tried some things on suspension and of course tested with Bridgestone tyres. In the end I had a good feeling getting the bike to turn better, it was good in the fast corners but we have to work on the bike to get it to turn better in the slow to mid-range speed corners. Tomorrow we will work on improving the suspension set up.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.463s – 53 laps. “Not so bad for my first real day of testing on the RC212V. First I had to find a comfortable riding position before we started to work on the bike. Once I had found that we worked on suspension settings and changed the front forks before working on the rear end. After we found the best machine balance for me I started working on front tyre testing and we found a very positive direction to work in. The engine is powerful but easy to control a much different feeling to any other bike I have raced. I’m happy because I could ride normally without worrying and that’s good. Tomorrow we will work on the gearbox to help me understand more about the potential of this bike.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 1m 43.986s – 55 laps. “I am very happy to be in this team with Alberto Puig and the mechanics. The team has much experience in 250cc racing and helped Dani Pedrosa to three world titles. I’m happy with the bike its not so difficult to ride but the lines you have to use are different to the 125cc class I have been racing in. This test is really for me to get used to the 250 the power and handling characteristics, and braking into the corners. I have a good feeling with this bike but I have a lot to learn about machine set up.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 1m 44.977s – 68 laps. “It is very difficult to say much about today. We have been trying to find good base line settings for the machine and while the old bike is better in some ways the new machine has definite improvements and we know it will be much better, this is just the first test.” Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 1m 45.500s – 55 laps. “I’m happy with a lot of the changes to the chassis it is definitely better, of course some things did not improve but that is normal with a new machine. The engine has improved and will get better so I can say the test today has been positive.” Unofficial lap times: 1. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha: 1m 40.688s 2. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 44.030s 3. Colin Edwards, Yamaha: 1m 41.186s. 4. John Hopkins, Suzuka: 1m 41.205s. 6. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki: 1m 41.619s. 7. Loris Capirossi, Ducati: 1m 42.244s. 8. Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 1m 42.469s. 9. Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 1m 42.528s. 10. Alex Barros, Ducati: 1m 43.182s. 11. Tady Okada, Repsol Honda: 1m 43.316s. 12. Julian Simon, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 43.977s. 13. Vittorio Guareschi, Ducati: 1m 44.449s. 14. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda 250: 1m 444.977s. 15. Jeremy McWilliams, Ilmor: 1m 45.265s. 16. Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 1m 45.500s. More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Positive day for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP at Jerez Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen continued with their impressive testing schedule, by taking more positive steps forward during day two of the Jerez test in Spain. After losing most of yesterday to the rain and having to wait for the track to dry out this morning, Hopkins and Vermeulen quickly got down to business and were regularly amongst the fastest riders. Hopkins time of 1’41.205 on his new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800 was just over half a second off the lap record held by Valentino Rossi on a 990cc machine. Hopkins completed 50 laps of the 4.4km Spanish circuit, and Vermeulen circulated 49 times as he recorded a quickest time of 1’41.619. Today’s fastest time was set by Rossi. Both Suzuki riders used today to test new generation Bridgestone tyres and worked with their respective crews on base settings to find the best set-up for their new bikes. A full report on Rizla Suzuki MotoGP’s Jerez test will appear on this site at the end of the three day test. For more information on Rizla Suzuki MotoGP and to receive up-to-date news and information visit www.rizla-suzuki-motogp.co.uk and register with the free to join fan club. Jerez unofficial lap times: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’40.688: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.111: 3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.498: 4. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.517: 5. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.931: 6. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +1.014: 7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +1.556: 8. Marco Melandri (Honda) +1.781: Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1’39.064 More, from a press release issued by Pramac D’antin: POSITIVE DEBUT FOR ALEX BARROS ON THE NEW DUCATI GP7 AT JEREZ Under ideal weather conditions at the Jerez circuit in Spain, ALEX BARROS had a positive debut on his brand new DUCATI GP7 800cc, equipped with BRIDGESTONE tires. The PRAMAC D’ANTIN Brazilian rider, who didn’t ride the first day of the test due to rain and poor track conditions, got his first taste of the new machine and began working diligently on the testing program that the Team had prepared. BARROS ultimately clocked 63 laps, with the best time of 1’43.187, and was feeling very good about the initial sensations of the bike. Tomorrow will be the last test day of 2006, and after the winter test ban from December 1st to January 22nd 2007, the PRAMAC D’ANTIN Team will fly to Malaysia for the first pre-season test at the Sepang circuit on January 22nd. ALEX BARROS #4 (1’43.187, 63 laps): “I am very satisfied with the positive impressions I had on the new Ducati 800cc. Our first real test day was useful to discover the potential of the DUCATI-BRIDGESTONE binomial, and I am very happy about the Bridgestone performance. We worked on the machine balance and we can definitely improve our times with chassis and suspension changes. Basically, this was my first full day of testing with the new generation 800cc, and I just need more laps on the machine to understand it’s nuances, but its definitely easier to ride than the 990cc. It has higher corner speed, and you can get on the gas very hard and really early with this bike. It was an intense day, as I predicted, but there were a lot of interesting discoveries we made. I need to get as many practice laps on the bike as possible to help unlock the secrets of the GP7, and to see the direction we need to take in order to find the best possible set-up for the machine. Both the team and I are very motivated, as this a completely new start for us. We want to be competitive in the next season”. FABIANO STERLACCHINI – Alex Barros Track Engineer: “We are satisfied with our first day of testing. BARROS started to discover the new machine’s potential, and his confidence in the package at his disposal is high. We initially worked to set the bike up for his physique and his riding style. In the morning we worked on the engine map definition, then on the rear suspension setting, and finished the day focusing on the front. Today’s gathered data is a good base for us to start tomorrow’s work”. Unofficial Times Day 2: 1. Valentino Rossi 1’40.688 (82 laps) 2. Dani Pedrosa 1’40.799 (61 laps) 3. Colin Edwards 1’41.186 (48 laps) 4. John Hopkins 1’41.205 (60 laps) 5. Chris Vermulen 1’41.619 (56 laps) 10. Alex Barros 1’43.187 (63 laps) Conditions: Dry / Air: 19°c / Ground: 23°c More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta: POSITIVE SECOND DAY OF PRACTICE FOR SHINYA NAKANO The morning humidity forced the riders present at Jerez to wait until one to start the test but the weather conditions remained good for the rest of the afternoon. The KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team rider covered a total of 63 laps setting the fastest time in 1’42.528″. A more than positive performance considering that today was the real Nakano’s first working day on board the new Honda RC212V equipped with Michelin tyres. The Italian-Japanese Team could start the new bike setting and also tested different front tyres. Nakano declared to be really satisfied with the good feeling already got with the new 800cc. The KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team will remain on the Andalusian track even tomorrow, using the third day of the final 2006 test session preceding the winter break ordered by the rules and scheduled to finish for January 21st, 2007. Gianluca Montiron KONICA MINOLTA Honda General Director “Today, Nakano could finally start to understand the characteristics of the package bike-tyres at his disposal. I like his working method bringing him to understand the different changes that, step by step, are made. Inside the box, our Team staff is trying to set a valid communication method and create some automatisms that will be useful in the short time available during the practice sessions of the race week end.” Shinya Nakano KONICA MINOLTA Honda Rider (1’42.528 63 laps) “This morning when we arrived, the track was wet and we were forced to wait till the early afternoon before having it completely dry. The 63 laps I covered in the time left permitted me to better understand the Honda RC212V. My feeling is already good and I’m very happy to have obtained it only after a few kilometres with the new 800cc. Today, at the beginning, we tried to find a good bike balance and then check three different front tyres; the results obtained were positive. Tomorrow, we will still work to find the base setting, trying to adjust the gear box and the engine brake control electronic system.” Giulio Bernardelle KONICA MINOLTA Honda Technical Director “Today we started taking contact with the new Honda RC212V starting from the research of the best suspensions set up. We could obtain a sufficient setting balance and made Shinya check several Michelin front tyres which permitted him to start realizing how the different combination of constructions and compounds work. Nakano’s approach is surely positive and the rider demonstrated to be very precise in his comments.”