Lorenzo began his third test with Yamaha today, his final test before he becomes
an official Fiat Yamaha Team rider in January. Having tested recently in
Malaysia, the 20-year-old Spaniard finds himself a little closer to home this
time and in somewhat cooler temperatures, at the Andalucian circuit of
Jerez.
Lorenzo and his team picked up from where they left off in Sepang,
continuing to work on general set-up as the 250cc World Champion becomes better
adapted to the demands of an 800cc MotoGP bike and his new Michelin tyres.
Lorenzo’s aim for this test is to get as many kilometres under his belt as
possible and he started well today, completing 91 laps and setting the seventh
best time of 1’41.230. The best time of the day was set by Casey Stoner, with a
lap of 1’40.221 while Lorenzo’s 2008 team-mate Valentino Rossi was third with a
time of 1’40.514.
Jorge Lorenzo (7th, 1’41.230, 91
laps)
“Today I felt much better on the bike than I did in
Sepang. I feel more comfortable with the bike every time I ride it and for sure
it feels more like a part of me now. I am really looking forward to improving
again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Today I rode 91 laps, so I really
made the most of the day, and I will continue to work tomorrow to improve again.
The more kilometres I ride, the better it is for me and for my team, and I want
to give them all the information I can in order to improve as much as we can
over these winter tests.”
Valentino
Rossi, back in action for the first time since breaking his hand in Valencia,
tested his Yamaha M1 on Bridgestone tyres for the first time today at the
Spanish circuit of Jerez. The three-day test is the final test of 2007 and Rossi
was joined in the garage by his new 2008 team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo, as well as
the majority of the MotoGP paddock.
Rossi, his team and his engineers used today as a chance
to get to know the Bridgestone technicians, whom they will be working with next
season, and to understand the initial adjustments they need to make to the bike
to suit the new tyres. Rossi’s comments were positive and, having started
testing at midday on a sunny but cold day in Jerez, he completed 49 laps.
Despite still suffering from some pain in his hand, the Italian’s best time of
1’40.514 was good enough for third and was just 0.293 seconds off Casey Stoner,
who topped the time sheets. Rossi’s new 2008 team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was seventh
in a time of 1’41.230
Valentino Rossi (3rd, 1’40.514, 49
laps)
“My first comment about the tyres is positive, and this
has definitely been a positive day for us in terms of times and my feeling with
the bike. My pace was not bad at all, even though my hand is still hurting,
especially in braking. Let’s say that I am at 90% fitness! I am happy with the
choice I have made and I have great motivation for the task. Today it was also
clear that there is a very high level of concentration from all the team members
and this gives me even higher motivation, if possible. We have two more days, so
it is not time for a final comment, but I am happy with the first day.
Furthermore Furusawa-san is here, and this gives an idea of Yamaha’s commitment
to improve and to return to the top. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow and let’s
hope it can be even better than it was today.”
Davide Brivio
–Team Manager
“Today was the day we have all been waiting for.
It has been a very important day for us, because we’ve been looking forward to
having the chance to confirm our decision. We also wanted to check Valentino’s
physical condition after the crash in Valencia. At the beginning of the test he
suffered a bit, but he went better as the day went on, even if we know he is not
at 100% yet. As far as the new work with Bridgestone is concerned, we made a
good start. Today we used all the time to get to know each other and to allow
our engineers to interact with their technicians. We also worked to understand
what kind of modifications we need to make to the bike, in order to make it work
properly with the new tyres. Technically, of course, we have concentrated
entirely on tyres and on understanding Valentino’s initial comments about them.
It was a good day with good times and we look forward to continuing the work
tomorrow and on Thursday.”
from Fiat/Yamaha Racing
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