MotoGP – Phillip Island test, comments from Rossi, Edwards and Brivio

Team Gauloises Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed the third and final day of testing today at the Phillip Island circuit, Australia. Both improved their times from yesterday slightly. The two were able to take advantage of the improved weather conditions, with sun and wind, compared to yesterday. But the rain that fell in the previous two days left very limited grip conditions on the spectacular circuit located south of Melbourne.

Sharing the track with Yamaha brand mates Ruben turns. Rossi recorded the best time of the day with a 83'79; two tenths of a second faster than his time yesterday, but still behind the 1'30.44 that he also managed to achieve at Phillip Island during the last tests, but in better weather conditions.

Edwards' best time, 1'30.50, improves on his time from the last test by a tenth and his time from yesterday by as much as half a second. The Spaniard, and rookie in the MotoGP class, Toni Elìas did 73 laps, with a best time of 1'31.85, while his compatriot, and last year's best rookie, Ruben Xaus, closed the day with a best time of 1'32.61 and with a total of 118 laps done.

The Gauloises Yamaha Team will now return to Europe for the first time after the Valencia Grand Prix last November for the two official IRTA tests which will be held in Barcelona from 18 to 20 March and in Jerez from 25 to 27 March. This will be the first opportunity to ride the bikes with the definitive livery for 2005; livery that was unveiled by Yamaha riders and managers during the press conference held on Monday in Tokyo.

Valentino Rossi (1'30.44, 83 laps)

“Today the weather conditions were better, but the track conditions were still so-so. The track was still very slippery and difficult due to all the rain that had fallen in recent days and for this reason we were unable to improve our times much. However, we managed to do some useful work and continued to work on the set-up and tires for Michelin. So it wasn't a wasted day. Now I really want to get to Barcelona, ​​where everyone else will be there too, to continue the development of the bike in view of the first race which is ever closer."

Colin Edwards (1'30.50, 79 laps)

“Today the sun was shining, but the track wasn't at its best yet. With all the rain that fell and only four bikes riding in the last two days, the asphalt wasn't rubberized enough to allow us to ride in optimal conditions. Despite this I am very satisfied with my progress and both Yamaha and Michelin have given us excellent material to work with. The feeling is excellent, I feel like we are going in the right direction. This was the last “quiet” test and from now on things get serious! Now we're going to Barcelona where we'll take to the track with all our rivals; now I have to start doing things seriously and start setting consistently fast times.”

Davide Brivio, Team Manager of Team Gauloises Yamaha

“Unfortunately the weather conditions have not favored us these last three days, but there are no useless tests that don't give some kind of important information. Both drivers made progress despite the bad weather; we improved the set-up of the new bike and learned a lot. Since the end of last season we have done 15 days of testing on intercontinental circuits and now it's time to return to Europe and start the new season."

Gauloises racing