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Lorenzo is impressive on his home soil |
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Posted by Staff
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Saturday, 16 February 2008 |
New Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo completed a promising first day of
testing at the Official MotoGP tests in Jerez today. Although he rode the Yamaha
here last November, today is the first time the 250cc World Champion has ridden
on home soil in Fiat Yamaha colours as an official Yamaha rider, and the rookie
marked an impressive day by finishing third fastest overall.
Lorenzo
started from the base setting he found here last November and spent the day
developing his race set-up and testing both front and rear Michelin tyres, with
positive results all round and some excellent times on race tyres. At the end of
the day the 20-year-old put in an impressive lap on a qualifying tyre, setting a
time of 1’39.528 on his 94th lap.
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 3rd Time: 1'39.528 Laps: 94
“This
morning things didn’t start so well and I had a few problems, especially with
the wind, but step-by-step we made some changes and I started to improve and
feel better and better. We made some good changes to the bike and the chassis
and finally we started to make improvements with the front end in the braking
areas. We made a big step with the engine as well today, and we have some more
power now. I have gained confidence today and I think in the end it’s been my
best day so far. After the problems we had in Sepang, I can’t believe that we
made such a good time on race tyres and the third best on qualifying tyres! Like
I said, it was my best day despite the problems this morning but tomorrow I
would like to have an even better one where everything is good right from the
start!”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“Today was a positive
day for us. We started the day with the same set-up as we used here in November
and then gradually made changes to the setting and balance. We found more
stability in the front for the rider going into the turns and also under
acceleration, so this is encouraging for us. We also tested some Michelin tyres,
both front and back, and found some promising new things to continue working
with. Finally we tried a qualifying tyre, just to check the situation before
tomorrow, and Jorge went very well with this. Now we hope for good weather for
tomorrow so we can have another good day like this.”
Rossi Celebrates Birthday With Promising First Day in Jerez
Fiat
Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi, who celebrated his 29th birthday, put in a
strong showing on the first day of the Official MotoGP Test at Jerez de la
Frontera in Southern Spain today. The seven-time World Champion spent the
majority of the day atop the time sheets after lapping consistently fastest on
race tyres throughout a long morning session, although he eventually finished
the day further down the order in eighth position after several riders put in
fast laps on qualifying tyres later on.
Rossi continued to make good
progress with his set-up on Bridgestone race tyres, making the most of the day’s
good weather to put in a total of 92 laps on his YZR-M1. The birthday boy’s best
time of 1’40.641 was only a fraction off the existing lap record, which he set
on his way to a memorable victory over Sete Gibernau in the 2005 race here.
Fastest man on track today was Nicky Hayden with a lap of 1’29.200.
Tomorrow sees the traditional televised forty-minute timed session
taking place between 1405 and 1445 local time. With a high possibility of rain
the event, which Rossi ‘won’ here last year, looks like being an eventful battle
for pre-season honours.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 8th Time:
1'40.641 Laps: 92
“It’s good to be here on my birthday because I love to
ride my bike and I had fun today. I had a special helmet with the design of a
birthday cake on it, so this was my way to celebrate today! For the first day
it’s not so bad at all, I feel good with the tyres and the balance and power of
the engine is also okay. Of course we’re not at 100% and we need to improve in
some areas, especially in the entry to the corner where we’re not yet at the
maximum. We tried a new generation of Bridgestone qualifying tyre today, whilst
tomorrow we will have the more standard tyre, which we were very fast with in
Sepang, so I think we will be able to fight with the others in the ‘qualifying’
session. Overall we’ve made a very good start and I feel confident that we can
continue to be even faster tomorrow.”
Davide Brivio - Team
Manager
“We’ve made a good start today and done some very good work. At
the end we tried a new type of qualifying tyre and on this we weren’t so fast
but we will try what we know works tomorrow and hopefully we can be competitive
alongside the others. It’s been a very positive day for Valentino and the whole
team and we are looking forward to more of the same for the rest of the test.”
Edwards and Toseland Set Fast Pace in Jerez
Colin Edwards and James
Toseland set impressive times on race and qualifying tyres as the Tech 3 Yamaha
team made a positive start to the penultimate pre-season MotoGP test in Jerez
today. Sporting a striking blue and yellow new paint scheme for the first time
today, Edwards and Toseland posted the fourth and fifth quickest times
respectively, both using the latest generation Michelin qualifying tyres to set
their best times late on the opening day.
Edwards clocked a best lap of
1.39.629 to finish just 0.049s clear of fast learning newcomer Toseland, with
the Tech 3 duo both within 0.5s of the fastest lap set by Nicky Hayden. Toseland
produced one of the most eye-catching performances, with the British rider
showing his growing confidence by setting one of the best times on race tyres.
Toseland’s best on race rubber of 1.40.768 was bettered only be seven-times
world champion Valentino Rossi at 2pm this afternoon, and his time was 0.5s
faster than his best race tyre lap when he tested the 2007 YZR-M1 in Jerez last
November. With rain forecast for the final two days, Toseland was the only rider
to complete a 26-lap race simulation today, lapping consistently in the 1.41
bracket.
Edwards and Toseland will take part in the televised 40-minute
qualifying shootout tomorrow afternoon, with a BMW Z4 M Roadster going to the
fastest rider.
Colin Edwards - Position: 4th Time: 1.39.629 Laps:
78
“My lap time looks good and I’m happy with that but we have got plenty
of room to improve. My pace wasn’t bad but strangely it wasn’t as good as my
pace in November, and I have got an improved engine and electronics. I’ll have a
sit down at the computer tonight with my team to see if we can resolve some of
the small issues we have. To be honest I can’t really put my finger on it and we
are a little bit confused. But I know we can gain more time. The bike just seems
a bit nervous going into the corner and the lap time is not coming as easy as it
did in November. But that’s why we go testing, though even with the problems we
are still sitting in the top four which shows we are not in a bad position at
all. I just want to be able to make the lap time a bit easier. Michelin is
making a lot of progress with the qualifying tyres, and I think we have found a
good direction for the season."
James Toseland - Position: 5th Time: 1.39.678 Laps: 91
“It is a
massive boost for me. I’ve made a big jump in time on race and qualifying tyres
compared to November. I’m happy to finish fifth quickest but to be second for
most of the day on race tyres is more important for me. I also did a long run
and was pleased with my consistency, because it wasn’t the best part of the day
with the conditions pretty windy when I was out. My best time on race tyres in
November was a 1.41.2, so to do a 1.40.7 is really encouraging. I was also a lot
faster on my qualifying tyres so that shows the progress I’m making with the
team. It just shows what work we have put in over the last few tests. It has not
been easy to adapt but with the experience of the team and especially my crew
chief Guy Coulon, they are teaching me fast and it shows in the lap times. The
time has come from the new traction control system that I didn’t run in
November, and a lot has come from me. I know how late I can brake and how the
package reacts in certain situations. I can do things sub-consciously rather
than wondering what is going to happen at that speed. When it is like that you
can progress and go faster and faster.”
from YRC news
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