Official MotoGP Test - Jerez Day 2

Valentino Rossi guided his Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1 to second place in today’s Official Practice at Jerez today, despite bad weather disrupting the day’s proceedings at the Spanish circuit. After yesterday’s sunshine this morning saw heavy rain which, although it gradually abated, left the track very damp for the forty-minute ‘qualifying’ session after lunch.

It was nonetheless a very important day for Rossi as it was the first chance for him to ride in the wet on Bridgestone tyres, offering him and his team the chance to gather important information about their new wet set-up. Despite having had just the morning to get used to his new tyres in the conditions, Rossi finished the qualifying session in second place behind Casey Stoner with a best lap of 1’50.580.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 1'50.580 Laps: 17
“Today the conditions made things quite difficult so we didn’t have quite the day we hoped for! Anyway I’m quite happy with our performance in this weather; it’s the first time for me with the Bridgestones in the wet and, although we can see that we have some more work to do with the set-up of our bike, we were not so slow. Of course we know we can be faster with more time, and so it would be good to have another chance in the rain tomorrow. The main problem is that we are lacking a bit of front grip and the balance of the bike is not at 100%, so I can’t enter the corner exactly how I want, but we will improve this. The first test in the dry with Bridgestone was quite hard but now, after three tests, things are good, so of course it’s going to be the same in the wet. At the end we came second today after just one morning, so I think we can be quite content with our day’s work.”

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“The bad weather was welcomed by us this morning because we haven’t had a chance yet to try the Bridgestones in the rain. For our first time in the wet it was quite good, although we can see that we need to gain more experience with our new tyres in these conditions. We could have done with more time in order to be ready for the qualifying this afternoon, but we learnt a lot all the same. To come second after just one morning for us is positive. Unlike most of the rest of the paddock now we hope we have another really wet day tomorrow, so we have the chance to further refine our setting!”

     
Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo had his first experience riding a MotoGP bike in the wet today, when heavy rain and wind descended on the Spanish circuit of Jerez. After three consecutive tests in good weather in Malaysia, it was something of a shock to the young Spaniard who struggled to get to grips with his M1 on the damp track.

This morning brought heavy rain and the free practice session before lunch was a steep learning curve for Lorenzo, who nonetheless improved throughout as he gradually got used to his bike and tyres in the wet. The rain then gradually lessened over lunch, which meant the track conditions were very patchy for the traditional forty-minute Official Practice session, making life even harder for the riders. Lorenzo finally completed only 11 laps during the session, choosing to come back in and work with his team rather than push any harder in the tricky conditions. His time of 1’53.292 put him 16th overall but he was quick to confirm that the day had been a valuable one in terms of experience.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 16th Time: 1'53.292 Laps: 11
“Today hasn’t been as good as I hoped. It’s the first time I’ve ridden the Yamaha in the wet and everything was quite different. It was another thing to think about; I didn’t feel so good and I was very slow today, braking too early and accelerating too late. I made some improvement in the morning as far as just getting used to the bike and tyres in the wet, but I was lacking some grip and therefore also confidence. This afternoon, during the qualifying, I preferred to stop and try to change things, rather than to push for no reason, so this is why my time was so slow. We’ve got a lot to work on and after yesterday today has been disappointing, but as usual we’ve learned a lot and now I know what to expect next time it rains.”

Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“The session this afternoon was especially hard for us because it wasn’t completely wet or completely dry. It’s the first time that Jorge has ridden the Yamaha in the wet and it has shown that he needs some more time in order to adapt his riding style to these sorts of conditions. All experience counts and despite the difficulties it’s been important to have a day like this in order to learn. Next time I am sure he will be in much better shape.”

     
Tech 3 Satisfied with Progress After Wet and Windy Pre-Season Battle
Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland were satisfied with progress on a rain-hit second day of MotoGP testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain today. Although a top ten finish narrowly eluded both in this afternoon’s 40-minute televised qualifying shootout for a BMW car, Edwards and Toseland made valuable progress in full wet conditions this morning.

British rider Toseland clocked the 12th fastest time in the official timed practice, with Edwards just two further places adrift in 14th in a session held on a rapidly drying track following heavy rain earlier in the day. Toseland and Edwards impressed this morning in full wet conditions, with both praising the confidence inspiring improvements made by Yamaha’s 2008 electronics package in the rain. Toseland was fifth fastest this morning, finishing just over one second adrift of reigning world champion Casey Stoner’s pace. And Edwards was eighth, although both found it difficult to significantly improve their times on a drying surface in the official timed session.

     
James Toseland - Position: 12th Time: 1.52.755 Laps: 13
“I have never known a drying track get slower and that’s where I went wrong. I thought I’d sit it out the first ten minutes and wait for it to dry and get a bit more grip. But the longer it went on the less grip there was and that was a big lesson learned for me. Everybody went straight out and put their fast time in and it completely caught me out really. It’s amazing really as the track was drying out that I couldn’t drop my lap times. It’s a shame because yesterday in the dry I was good and this morning in the full wet I was good too. I was looking to put on a good show for the team but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I just couldn’t get the grip I needed on the drying track. I was pushing but this morning in the full wet I did a 52.9, but this afternoon I could only do 52.7 on a drying track, so that shows the problem. But I still learned something, which is the important thing and we will be better prepared the next time we encounter those conditions.”

Colin Edwards - Position: 14th Time: 1.52.826 Laps: 11
“I went out this morning in the full wet and within five laps I was sitting in the top five and feeling good. The new bike in the rain is incredible. I have absolutely no problems and this bike in the rain with the new electronics and new engine is fantastic. There is not one bad thing I can say about it and I can’t sit down with my team and say ‘guys, we need to fix this.’ All I need is a little bit of extra grip. We have got a good front tyre but like everybody else we just need a bit more grip from the rear. This afternoon was a little bit strange and this sounds silly, but when the track started to dry up it got slicker. I’d have preferred if it had been throwing it down with rain. It was just so slick at the very end I tried to go out with a slick with five minutes to go but I never got a good feeling. We have learned a lot again and I’m still happy because of the performance of the bike.”

     
Test Results
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'49.263
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'50.580
3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'50.785
4. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'50.799
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'51.312
6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'51.594
7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'51.894
8. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'51.979
9. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'52.058
10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'52.238
11. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'52.463
12. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'52.755
13. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'52.779
14. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'52.826
15. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1'53.283
16. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'53.292
17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'54.694
18. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'57.453
19. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'57.698