GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM TEST Phillip Island, Australia Friday, March 11, 2005 Ambient temperature: 25 degrees Track temperature: 34 degrees Humidity: 66% ROSSI AND EDWARDS COMPLETE OVERSEAS PHASE OF TESTING Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed the last day of a three-day test in Phillip Island, Australia today, both improving slightly on their times from yesterday. They took advantage of an improvement in the weather with some sunny, if windy, conditions today. But the rain that the team has had to cope with for the last two days left a legacy of poor grip at the picturesque track south of Melbourne. Sharing the circuit again with fellow Yamaha riders Ruben Xaus and Toni Elias, Rossi and his new team-mate Edwards worked hard throughout the day on settings and tyre testing and were able to complete 83 and 79 laps respectively. Rossi set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:30.44; two-tenths faster than his time from yesterday but still slower than the 1:29.68 he recorded at the last test in Phillip Island when conditions were better. Edwards set a best lap of 1:30.50, one-tenth of a second faster than his best time from the last test and a half-second improvement on his time from yesterday. Spaniard and MotoGP rookie Toni Elias completed 73 laps with a best of 1:31.85 and his fellow countryman and last year’s MotoGP Rookie of the Year, Ruben Xaus, finished the day with a best lap of 1:32.61 from 118 laps. The Gauloises Yamaha Team now returns to Europe for the first time since the Valencia Grand Prix last November for two official IRTA Tests in Barcelona from 18th to 20th March and Jerez from 25th to 27th March. This will be the first time the bikes will run in their new 2005 livery, which was unveiled by the riders and Yamaha senior management on Monday at a press conference in Tokyo.. Valentino Rossi (1:30.44, 83 laps) “Today the weather was better but the track conditions were still not very good. The track has been so affected by all the rain before on the previous days that it was still quite difficult and this is why we didn’t improve the lap times much. We were able to do some good work however, and continue working on the bike settings and testing tyres for Michelin, so it was a worthwhile day. Now I’m really looking forward to moving on to Barcelona with everyone else and continuing to develop the new bike as we move closer to the first race.” Colin Edwards (1:30.50, 79 laps) “The sun shone today but the track still wasn’t great. With all the rain and just four bikes on the track for only a couple of days, there wasn’t enough rubber laid down to have a really good surface to test on today. Despite that I’m really happy with my progress and we’ve had some really good stuff to work with from both Yamaha and Michelin; I feel I’m going totally in the right direction. This is the last ‘quiet’ test and from here on out it’s getting serious! It’s now on to Barcelona with everyone else; I just need to buckle down and start getting some consistently good lap times.” Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director “Unfortunately the weather has not been on our side during these three days, but it’s always good to test anyway and gather more information. Both riders have definitely made some progress at this test despite the bad weather; we’ve continued to improve the settings on the new bike and learn more about it. Now we’ve completed 15 days in total of overseas testing since the end of last season and it’s time to move back to Europe and start the new season properly.” Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:30.44 2. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1:30.50 3. Toni Elias (Yamaha) 1:31.85 4. Ruben Xaus (Yamaha) 1:32.61 More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: FORTUNA YAMAHA COMPLETE TESTS AT PHILLIP ISLAND Fortuna Yamaha completed their testing programme in satisfactory fashion at Phillip Island today despite the tough weather conditions which the riders had contended with on the first two days. Sunshine and high temperatures today meant that Fortuna Yamaha riders Toni Elías and Ruben Xaus were able to continue working on the set-up of their YZR-M1 machines throughout the majority of the day. Toni Elías completed 73 laps of the Australian circuit with a best time of 1:31.85, making him the third fastest rider at the test overall. Toni concentrated mainly on suspension settings and the set-up of the bike in general. His Fortuna Yamaha team-mate Rubén Xaus completed 118 laps aboard his YZR M1, clocking a best time of 1:32.61 at one of the most demanding circuits on the World Championship calendar. Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi set the best time of the day with a lap of 1:30.44 after completing 83 circulations of the Australian circuit. His team-mate Colin Edwards, meanwhile, set a best time of 1:30.50 after 79 laps. Toni Elías (1:31.85, 73 laps) “We have to keep going like this because we’re doing a good job. Phillip Island is one of the toughest circuits in this championship and I think that, despite the weather, we’ve worked really well. Today we worked on the configuration of the suspension and the set-up of the bike in general. I feel much more comfortable on the bike although we’ve still got a lot of work to do. I am happy.” Ruben Xaus (1:32.61, 118 laps) “The weather improved substantially today. We were able to ride much more comfortably and we followed the testing programme we had for today. I’m adapting more and more to the YZR M1. We have to improve the set-up of the bike and the basic secret to that is to work hard every day to keep evolving.” Hervé Poncharal Fortuna Yamaha Team Director “The weather on the first two days makes it difficult to compare the results from this session to when we were here a couple of weeks ago. We know Toni Elías has made a lot of progress, though, because he’s knocking almost a second per lap off his times every day. I think the most important thing right now is the communication that exists within the team and the job we are all doing, along with the potential shown by our riders, means we can look ahead to the IRTA tests in good shape”.