MotoGP – IRTA Jerez Test Day 2 – Melandri, Rossi and Pedrosa OK waiting for the BMW

The sun is shining in Jerez and finally all the MotoGP teams were able to take advantage of a full eight hours of the IRTA Tests in Jerez in Andalusia too, with only one morning interlude dictated by a fog bank. Between talking about bikes, tires and lap records, the human component still persists, and we as motorcyclists of the country are well represented by those phenomena by the name of Marco Melandri and Valentino Rossi, capable of challenging for leadership today in a significant day of testing 24 hours after the "qualification" with BMW Z4 M Coupè up for grabs. Today was to all intents and purposes a true "Italian Saturday": Valentino Rossi held out at the top of the timesheets for a long time, until Marco Melandri, a few moments before the checkered flag, achieved the best performance in 1' 40″383. An encouraging performance to say the least for the rider from Ravenna after the shadows of Phillip Island and Sepang, even more optimistic considering the fact that it was obtained with the spare RC212V and shortly after having been the protagonist of a fall. Having fallen to the ground at Turn 7, Marco was taken to the Clinica Mobile where "only" bruises were found here and there (hand, elbow and right knee): nothing serious and off we go, after an hour Melandri is back on the track. Jerez is historically a Bridgestone track, and the "dedicated developments" to the Honda Gresini seem to give light back to Melandri and Toni Elias, absolutely competitive with long-term tires and on the list of favorites for the victory of the BMW Z4. It will be interesting, in addition to the spectacle it will offer us, to follow the "Qualifying" session tomorrow from 14pm (live on television on Italia 00), which in the last four editions in Barcelona has offered four different winners: Capirossi, Rossi, Gibernau and Edwards. With the "chewing gum" from Qualifying there will be a lot of fun, offering a tasty preview of what Losail will be able to offer on March 1th. The Italians have been announced as the protagonists: said of Melandri, Valentino Rossi was among the most convincing today, proving to be competitive both in the race simulation and on the single lap. Even more worrying (for the opponents) is the confidence shown to the journalists' microphones: “I found the feeling with the bike both on the front and on the rear, I really have a lot of confidence on the bike”. Here's the usual Rossi, as expected, as has happened since... always.

Valentino Rossi on the track in Jerez

Good work to the opponents, HRC first and foremost. Pedrosa is third in the ranking, Hayden 11th without any worries. The World Champion confirmed his usual "Mr.Stakanovism" by completing 91 laps, finally finding a partial resolution to the problems with his RC212V. Said of Honda, it is difficult to give an account of Kawasaki and Suzuki who place their top riders one second behind the top: on the other hand, the first 13 riders are within 980 thousandths, between those who rode on qualifying tires and those who did not, some sought time and others only consistency. Usual unknowns of an anomalous and constantly evolving pre-season, with riders like Capirossi still behind and in full difficulty looking for some traction for their Desmosedici GP7.
We'll see again tomorrow, with two real test sessions and one "qualifying" session for show purposes, and for those who want to take a shiny BMW Z4 M Coupè home.

MotoGP Test IRTA Jerez – Saturday 24 February 2007 – Times of Day 2

01- Marco Melandri – Honda RC212V – 1'40.383
02- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha YZR M1 800c – + 0.025
03- Daniel Pedrosa – Honda RC212V – +0.198
04- Alex Hofmann – Ducati Desmosedici GP7 – + 0.365
05- Toni Elias – Honda RC212V – + 0.569
06- Casey Stoner – Honda RC212V – +0.688
07- Carlos Checa – Honda RC212V – + 0.713
08- Randy De Puniet – Kawasaki ZX-RR 800cc – + 0.768
09- Colin Edwards – Yamaha YZR M1 800cc – +0.821
10- Makoto Tamada – Yamaha YZR M1 800cc – + 0.851
11- Nicky Hayden – Honda RC212V – +0.876
12- Shinya Nakano – Honda RC212V – + 0.886
13- Chris Vermeulen – Suzuki GSV-R 800cc – + 0.980
14- Loris Capirossi – Ducati Desmosedici GP7 – + 1.207
15- Olivier Jacque – Kawasaki ZX-RR 800cc – + 1.394
16- Kenny Roberts Jr – KR Honda KR212V – + 1.400
17- Alex Barros – Ducati Desmosedici GP7 – + 1.462
18- Sylvain Guintoli – Yamaha YZR M1 800cc – + 1.981
19- Shinichi Itoh – Ducati Desmosedici GP7 – + 2.826
20- Kousuke Akiyoshi – Suzuki GSV-R 800cc – + 3.227
21- Vittoriano Guareschi – Ducati Desmosedici GP7 – + 3.760
22- Jeremy McWilliams – Ilmor X3 – + 4.075
23- Andrew Pitt – Ilmorx X3 – + 4.206

Alessio Piana

Photos of the IRTA Tests in Jerez

Wallpapers from the tests in Jerez