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| Fiat Yamaha finish night test in promising style with second and third | | |  | The Fiat Yamaha Team finished the Qatar night test in good spirits this evening, with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi second and third respectively in the standings.
Lorenzo made a huge improvement as he continued to adapt to the new Bridgestone tyres and his new-found confidence led to a promising long run, in which he set a string of consistent laps. His best time of 1'56.733 left him second behind Casey Stoner and last year's leading rookie is now confident of being on the pace at the first race in one months time.
After a strong showing yesterday, Rossi ran into a few problems later on this evening when the cold meant the grip level of the track went down significantly. He is confident however that in the warmer temperatures expected at the race in a months time he will be in better shape. He posted the third best time tonight, with a fastest lap of 1'56.972.
The team now returns to Europe for the final test of the year, the Official MotoGP Test in Jerez, Spain on 28th and 29th March.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rd Time: 1'56.972 Laps: 75
"In the early part of the evening we were fast enough but later on, when it became much colder and the grip went down, we suffered quite a bit. I started a long run but in fact I was getting slower and slower, so we didn't finish and concentrated on trying some different things with the setting instead. Our position is not so bad; we're third, close to Lorenzo. Stoner is very fast but I am not too worried because we have a good idea about our path for the race and I think that in one month, when it is hopefully a few degrees warmer, we will be okay. This is not a great track for me or for the bike and the target for the race will be to be to be better than last year! Next we go to Jerez for the final test and I am expecting to be strong there." |
|  | Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2nd Time: 1'56.733 Laps: 82
"I am so happy tonight because this session has been much, much better for us. The long run was especially good but in fact the whole evening has been an improvement, so I am very pleased about the job we have done. We've tried some different settings, which have helped, but mainly I have adapted and found a way to be comfortable, which means I can ride faster. I have a much better feeling with the Bridgestone tyres and I was able to be very consistent throughout the long run and keep a good rhythm. Everyone has worked really hard to make this step and I am happy to finish this test on a good note. Now I am looking forward to the race!"
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"Overall we're satisfied with this test because we've found some good new things in the electronics and to improve the acceleration and in general we've been quite fast. Tonight we suffered later on when it was colder and there was less grip, but we've spent a lot of time working on a solution and we have gathered a lot of information which we will now study carefully. This is very important because this season we will have one practice session less at each race and we need to be ready!"
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
"This has been quite a positive day for us. We found a good setting that enabled Jorge to find the confidence to be faster into the corners and at the same time day by day he has improved his riding style on the Bridgestone tyres. I think the job we've done here will help us a lot when we come here for the first race in April." |
| Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team wrap up successful Qatar test
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards continued his impressive winter testing form after a successful night test session in Qatar.
A best time of 1.57.515 left Edwards ninth on the final timesheets, though he was consistently in the top three for the majority of the test as he continued an impressive switch to Bridgestone tyres. After a short rain shower severely disrupted the first night and windy conditions made lap times slower than normal race pace on the second evening, Edwards was able to lap at a consistent pace on the final night as he experimented with a range of chassis settings on his YZR-M1 machine.
With the first race back at the Losail International Circuit on April 12, Edwards also took advantage of the improved track conditions to complete a full 22- race simulation in readiness for the opening round. He was able to maintain a fast and consistent pace throughout thanks to the impressive endurance of Bridgestone tyres. His best lap in the race simulation of 1.57.932 was set on his last lap.
James Toseland made encouraging progress throughout the test to post a best lap of 1.58.786 on the last night. That was 1.5s faster than his previous best time as he worked hard to gain more confidence with front tyre grip. Toseland was also building up his own confidence after a spectacular crash in Malaysia last month, but he left Qatar in high spirits in 15th position having made positive steps forward with the development of his YZR-M1.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team concludes its pre-season preparations in Jerez on March 28/29.
Colin Edwards - Position: 9th Time: 1'57.515
"I am really happy with this test. It didn't start well with the rain on the first night and the wind blew a lot of sand and dust onto the track on the second night, so the lap times were still way off normal pace. But I was still one of the quickest and I've got to say the Yamaha and Bridgestone combination is very impressive. I've just been concentrating on trying to find a good setting for the race, even though we expect the temperature to be a little warmer when we return but I'm really confident. I couldn't believe my race simulation. The grip from Bridgestone is really incredible and I'm seriously impressed. The grip just gets better the more distance you run on it and I did my best lap in the race simulation on the last lap. That's just not something I'm used to at all. All we've been doing is working hard as a team. Things are going great with Guy Coulon. We've got one more test in Jerez to work on a few more things but I'm ready to race. I feel stronger and more motivated than ever."
Guy Coulon – Colin Edwards crew chief
"We have spent a lot of this test working on the chassis setting, though it has not been easy with the weather and track conditions. There wasn't much of a window to work in because later on it gets really cold and humid, so there is not much grip. But we had no troubles during the whole test and Colin was really happy after the race simulation. It is the first one he has done on Bridgestone tyres and we have gained a lot of experience and information. The consistency of the tyres is very impressive and Colin was faster in the second half of the simulation. Now we have a better understanding of both the front and rear tyres. And the big positive is that we didn't change the setting too much from Sepang, so we have a bike that is working on two different tracks in very different conditions."
James Toseland - Position: 15th Time: 1'58.851
"It has not been an easy test but on the last night I felt like we were finding a good direction and I was certainly feeling a lot more comfortable on the bike. The crash in Sepang hit my confidence and it took me a while to find my rhythm, but I feel I can go much faster now. There is still plenty of work to do but I was 1.5s faster on the last night, and I just need time on the bike. I had a bit of an issue with the feeling from soft front tyre, which I had to run later on during the evening as the track temperature got cooler. I was comfortable with the hard front tyre but it was too hard for the colder temperatures. I can still improve and I learned about the bike and the tyres at this test, and at the end I'm only just over a second behind Colin and he has been consistently fast."
Gary Reynders – James Toseland crew chief
"James finally found some confidence on the last night but we had a bit of a problem solving a movement issue he had with the soft front tyre. We had a similar problem in Sepang but it is not chatter. It is more of a hopping movement under braking. We have tried a lot of different settings without really solving the issue, but the big positive is that now James feels that he can go faster. His confidence has returned and he feels he can push much harder. We'll be working hard in Jerez to make some more progress and we'll speak with Yamaha to see if they have some solutions." |
| Test Times
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'55.744
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'56.733
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'56.972
4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki MotoGP 1'57.224
5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'57.225
6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Suzuki MotoGP 1'57.253
7. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'57.401
8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1'57.449
9. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'57.515
10. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'57.591
11. Toni Elias (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'57.804
12. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Racing 1'57.938
13. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Pramac Racing 1'57.946
14. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) Scot Racing Team 1'58.412
15. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'58.786
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 1'58.851
Losail: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'55.153
Losail: Best Lap
J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'53.927 |
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