MotoGP – Irta Jerez Test Day 1, Rossi is satisfied

Team Gauloises Yamaha teammates, Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards, finished the first day of the IRTA tests in Jerez with the third and tenth times and both riders declared themselves satisfied with the work carried out in the eight hours spent on the track . With mostly sunny weather conditions, the two drivers and their respective teams were able to continue the work started during the three days of testing on the Catalunya circuit last week. Rossi did 67 laps and Edwards 87, and both mainly concentrated on testing Michelin tyres. The two finished today an hour ahead of schedule and have another two full days on track ahead of them.

Of the 22 drivers on track, 15 lapped under the record lap of 1'42.788, which was set by Rossi during the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix. The fastest lap of the day was that of John Hopkins, who set a 1'40.893, just a tenth from Rossi's pole time last year. Behind Hopkins was Nicky Hayden (Honda) with a 1'41.045, while Rossi finished third with a 1'41.273, after leading for most of the day. Behind him, Honda's Spaniard, Sete Gibernau, set the fourth fastest time with a 1'41.397. The newcomer to Yamaha, Colin Edwards, is tenth with a time of 1'42.018.

VALENTINO ROSSI (1'41.273, 67 laps)

“I'm satisfied with this day because the bike performed well. It was the first time we rode the new bike on this track and it gave me good feelings right from the start. We continued to work on adjustments. In Barcelona we had found a good basic set-up and we continued from there. Today we also tried some excellent Michelin tyres, which had better traction. Tomorrow I think there is the possibility of fixing some other small problems to try to make some further steps forward, but I think we are already in a positive situation. It could rain tomorrow, but even in that case, it wouldn't be a big damage because sooner or later we'll have to try this bike in the wet!"

COLIN EDWARDS (1'42.018, 87 laps)

“We dedicated the whole day to testing some tires and made some good decisions which allowed us to make some progress in our preparation. We also tried a new tire but it didn't work as well and so we decided to abandon it and go back to the solution we were happy with. I am satisfied with this decision because it is one that I now allow us to look forward to. Over the next two days we will focus on adjustments and further Michelin tire testing. I feel pretty good and I think I can make further progress before returning here in two weeks for the first race."

DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR

“After Barcelona we couldn't wait to see how the bike would perform on another circuit. It seems to be going well. Today both our riders and their teams did a good job and found an answer to some of the doubts that still remained. All in all we can say that today was a positive day for everyone. Now we still have some solutions to test in the next two days in order to finalize our preparation before the opening of the season.”

Yamaha racing