[BooBooSS]

Here is the results from Day 1 and Day 2's testing.... (UPDATED W/ DAY 3 INFO)


DAY 1 - LORENZO'S THIRD YAMAHA TEST GETS UNDERWAY IN JEREZ

Lorenzo began his third test with Yamaha today, his final test before he becomes an official Fiat Yamaha Team rider in January. Having tested recently in Malaysia, the 20-year-old Spaniard finds himself a little closer to home this time and in somewhat cooler temperatures, at the Andalucian circuit of Jerez.

Lorenzo and his team picked up from where they left off in Sepang, continuing to work on general set-up as the 250cc World Champion becomes better adapted to the demands of an 800cc MotoGP bike and his new Michelin tyres. Lorenzo?s aim for this test is to get as many kilometres under his belt as possible and he started well today, completing 91 laps and setting the seventh best time of 1?41.230. The best time of the day was set by Casey Stoner, with a lap of 1?40.221 while Lorenzo?s 2008 team-mate Valentino Rossi was third with a time of 1?40.514.

Jorge Lorenzo (7th, 1?41.230, 91 laps)
?Today I felt much better on the bike than I did in Sepang. I feel more comfortable with the bike every time I ride it and for sure it feels more like a part of me now. I am really looking forward to improving again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Today I rode 91 laps, so I really made the most of the day, and I will continue to work tomorrow to improve again. The more kilometres I ride, the better it is for me and for my team, and I want to give them all the information I can in order to improve as much as we can over these winter tests.?

Daniele Romagnoli ? Team Manager
?Today with Jorge we confirmed the set-up we found in Sepang and we also confirmed the new bike geometry we tested there. This helps us to check that we are working in the correct direction. Today we also found a new riding position for Jorge; we put a new spacer on the tank and it seems to work perfectly. He feels better and better on the bike all the time. He rode 91 laps, which is a huge effort, both from him and from our staff members (who I want to thank!) He kept a high level of concentration throughout the whole day, and he was therefore able to give us the maximum in terms of information, feeling and comment. Tomorrow we will work on the set-up again and hopefully we will be able to confirm today?s modifications.?

Lap Times
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1?40.221
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1?40.355
3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1?40.514
4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1?40.790
5. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?40.923
6. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1?41.111
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1?41,230
8. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1?41.277
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1?41.313
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1?41.414
11. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1?41.776
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1?41.889
13. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.42.033
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1?42.666
15. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1?43.051
16. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1?43.576
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1?44.530
18. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.44.588

 

[BooBooSS]

DAY 1 - ROSSI COMPLETES FIRST DAY OF TESTING WITH BRIDGESTONE

Valentino Rossi, back in action for the first time since breaking his hand in Valencia, tested his Yamaha M1 on Bridgestone tyres for the first time today at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. The three-day test is the final test of 2007 and Rossi was joined in the garage by his new 2008 team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo, as well as the majority of the MotoGP paddock.

Rossi, his team and his engineers used today as a chance to get to know the Bridgestone technicians, whom they will be working with next season, and to understand the initial adjustments they need to make to the bike to suit the new tyres. Rossi?s comments were positive and, having started testing at midday on a sunny but cold day in Jerez, he completed 49 laps. Despite still suffering from some pain in his hand, the Italian?s best time of 1?40.514 was good enough for third and was just 0.293 seconds off Casey Stoner, who topped the time sheets. Rossi?s new 2008 team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was seventh in a time of 1?41.230

Valentino Rossi (3rd, 1?40.514, 49 laps)
?My first comment about the tyres is positive, and this has definitely been a positive day for us in terms of times and my feeling with the bike. My pace was not bad at all, even though my hand is still hurting, especially in braking. Let?s say that I am at 90% fitness! I am happy with the choice I have made and I have great motivation for the task. Today it was also clear that there is a very high level of concentration from all the team members and this gives me even higher motivation, if possible. We have two more days, so it is not time for a final comment, but I am happy with the first day. Furthermore Furusawa-san is here, and this gives an idea of Yamaha?s commitment to improve and to return to the top. Let?s see how it goes tomorrow and let?s hope it can be even better than it was today.?

Davide Brivio ?Team Manager
?Today was the day we have all been waiting for. It has been a very important day for us, because we?ve been looking forward to having the chance to confirm our decision. We also wanted to check Valentino?s physical condition after the crash in Valencia. At the beginning of the test he suffered a bit, but he went better as the day went on, even if we know he is not at 100% yet. As far as the new work with Bridgestone is concerned, we made a good start. Today we used all the time to get to know each other and to allow our engineers to interact with their technicians. We also worked to understand what kind of modifications we need to make to the bike, in order to make it work properly with the new tyres. Technically, of course, we have concentrated entirely on tyres and on understanding Valentino?s initial comments about them. It was a good day with good times and we look forward to continuing the work tomorrow and on Thursday.?

Lap Times
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1?40.221
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1?40.355
3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1?40.514
4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1?40.790
5. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?40.923
6. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1?41.111
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1?41,230
8. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1?41.277
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1?41.313
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1?41.414
11. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1?41.776
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1?41.889
13. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.42.033
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1?42.666
15. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1?43.051
16. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1?43.576
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1?44.530
18. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.44.588

 

[BooBooSS]

DAY 2 - LORENZO MAKING QUICK PROGRESS IN SPAIN

New 2008 Yamaha signing Jorge Lorenzo continued to impress as he carried on with his YZR-M1 testing programme in Jerez today, despite a fall in the morning. The 20-year-old was luckily unhurt and was able to continue almost immediately, eventually improving nearly 0.4 seconds on his time from yesterday.

Lorenzo and his new team carried on with set-up work, looking to perfect his position on the bike in order to make him as comfortable as possible. After 49 laps, the Spaniard?s time of 1?40.883 put him tenth today, whilst new team-mate Valentino Rossi was second on the time sheets with a best lap of 1?40.134.

Jorge Lorenzo (10th, 1?40.883, 49 laps)
?Today it went even better than yesterday, despite my fall this morning, which was due to the fact that I entered turn 11 too fast and I slid out. Fortunately I did not hurt myself at all and I immediately got back on the track. Today we improved in the hard braking areas: now I feel that I am braking later and riding more cleanly. Today we also tested a new front tyre and I found it to be quite good, so I think we will keep working in that direction tomorrow. Today I only tested race tyres and I am quite satisfied with the times, but I am sure we can improve further tomorrow.?

Daniele Romagnoli ? Team Manager
?Unfortunately today?s fall slowed down our working schedule a little, but despite this we used all the information we collected yesterday in order to improve the bike set-up even more. For sure we improved the bike stability in braking and going into the turn, working on the overall set-up and particularly on suspension and bike geometry. Day after day Jorge is more and more the ?owner? of his bike, he gets more confidence and now we need to improve the traction a little bit, but we have some good ideas and information for tomorrow. We also found a good front race tyre and we will keep on working on that tomorrow. Generally speaking it was a positive day for us and we look forward to making further improvements tomorrow.?

Lap Times
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1?39.993
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1?40.134
3. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1?40.251
4. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1?40.332
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.40.650
6. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?40.692
7. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1?40.820
8. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1?40.833
9. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1?40.838
10. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1?40.883
11. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1?40.939
12. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1?41.278
13. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1?41.424
14. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1?41.729
15. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1?42.188
16. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1?43.143
17. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1?43.399
18. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1?43.869

 

[BooBooSS]

DAY 2 - ROSSI ON THE PACE IN JEREZ

Shaking off any remaining pain in his recovering hand in Jerez today, Valentino Rossi recorded the second fastest time of the day, dipping well under the lap record he set on the way to victory back in 2005. The Fiat Yamaha rider, who also won the race here last March, set a best lap of 1?40.134 on a qualifying tyre, after a total of 56 laps on the second day of the year-ending three-day test.

Rossi?s second day on Bridgestone tyres was once again focused almost entirely around adapting his M1 to the different tyres and discovering as much as possible about his new rubber. Rossi?s time was bettered only by Dani Pedrosa with a lap of 1?39.993, whilst new 2008 Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was tenth with a lap of 1?40.883.

Valentino Rossi (2nd, 1?40.134, 56 laps)
?Today we made longer runs than yesterday and our times were still consistent, which means we are working in the right direction. We still are still missing something in terms of performance, but for sure we are making improvements in terms of constancy. Bridgestone has brought quite soft tyres here to Jerez, because they expected lower temperatures, so I am sure that with some harder material we could do even better. The pace is not bad at all and it is similar to the one I had in the race here at the beginning of the past season. I could probably have done even better today with the material I had, but I kept some ?margin? to improve tomorrow. Tomorrow we will test some more qualifying tyres and we will also make a long run. Today we tested 2007 tyres, but tomorrow I will have some brand new tyres in order to find more grip. Of course we need to work on the bike, too; the bike?s power delivery puts a lot of pressure on the tyres, so we need to make it ?sweeter?. Generally speaking this is what I was waiting for: new motivation and a lot of fun, and in fact I am having a lot of fun with the new tyres. I am looking forward to starting the next season because it will be exciting and interesting, but before that I want to finish this test in the best way and then start again in January in order to arrive at Qatar in the best possible shape?.

Davide Brivio ?Team Manager
?Today was another positive day for us. We are still working on ?discovering? the Bridgestone world, which is brand new for us. We are testing several different solutions, reviewing all possible material from Bridgestone to find the best way to achieve our goal. Today we continued from where we finished yesterday to see how to adapt the bike to the new tyres and we also tested two different qualifying tyres. The rider?s feeling was positive, so we look forward to working in the same direction tomorrow.?

Lap Times
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1?39.993
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1?40.134
3. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1?40.251
4. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1?40.332
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.40.650
6. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?40.692
7. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1?40.820
8. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1?40.833
9. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1?40.838
10. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1?40.883
11. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1?40.939
12. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1?41.278
13. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1?41.424
14. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1?41.729
15. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1?42.188
16. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1?43.143
17. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1?43.399
18. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1?43.869

 

[Sabian]

Seems a tich more positive than a few weeks back.

 

[BooBooSS]

Update (Lorenzo's Day 3 info just came through):


LORENZO IN TOP THREE ON FINAL DAY IN SPAIN
2008 Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo signed off for 2007 in impressive style in Jerez today, finishing third overall and recording a best time of 1?39.464 on qualifying tyres, just 0.062 seconds off the 2007 race pole position.

Lorenzo completed 90 laps on the final day of testing in Spain, including a long run in which the MotoGP rookie recorded more impressive times. After eight days of testing since the end of the season, Lorenzo is looking increasingly comfortable on his new bike and he was also able to complete some tyre testing today with Michelin, finding some good rear-tyre rubber.

Lorenzo?s 2008 team-mate Valentino Rossi was 11th today after stopping early due to some pain in his recovering hand, the Italian recording a best time of 1?41.538, whilst Dani Pedrosa was fastest with a lap of 1?38.562.

The Fiat Yamaha Team will now enjoy a month-long winter break, before getting back to work at Sepang in Malaysia on 22nd, 23rd and 24th January 2007.

Jorge Lorenzo (3rd, 1?39.464, 90 laps)
?Today I felt even better than yesterday and I did a very good test session. Yesterday I had some pain because of the number of laps I had done the day before, but today I was fully recovered and everything went well. I felt very comfortable with the M1 and during the race simulation I had very positive impressions. The lap times are becoming faster and faster, and this means that we are working in the right direction. The traction on the rear is improving, thanks also to the new material from Michelin, so I am satisfied. Actually I didn?t expect to be so fast in the race simulation; I went beyond my expectations. At the end of the third day we can say that this has been a very good test session and my overall feeling is, of course, better than after the Sepang test. We still have a lot of work to do, but the atmosphere inside the garage is concentrated, relaxed and very professional, so I am sure we will achieve our goals before the season starts. I am looking forward to being in Sepang, in January, to test new engine specifications and to try to be even faster.?

Daniele Romagnoli ? Team Manager
?Today was a positive day. We continued to improve the set-up of Jorge?s bike and we found a good basis to work from. We also tested new tyres from Michelin and we found some good material, above all for the rear, that accepted the torque of the engine well and had good grip. Jorge keeps on improving his feeling with the bike and now we can say that he finally feels comfortable with it. Today we completed a long run that was definitely positive, especially since it?s the first one for Jorge riding the M1. He was very fast, even faster than the 2007 race pace. Finally he tested two qualifying tyres that enabled him to lower his best time by one second, and we consider this to be a very good result. I would like to thank the rider, who rode a huge amount of laps, and the team, who performed a great job throughout the entire test session. Now let?s take some well-deserved rest and then we will meet again in Sepang in January, to start the new challenge.?

Masahiko Nakajima ? Fiat Yamaha Team Director
?Today Jorge rode 90 laps, so first of all I would like to say that the amount of laps he did in three days has been very impressive, with an average of about 80 laps per day! There?s no need to say that we are very happy with his attitude in all the tests held so far. At the end of this test session, Jorge is third overall and this is quite impressive for us. It means we are on the way to achieving the final goal, which is to adapt the bike to his riding style. Jorge showed us his talent and potential, and demonstrated that he has the ability to give us very good data and information to help in the work for next season. We are still on the way to defining the base set-up of his bike, but it is quite evident that his riding is becoming closer to that of the other MotoGP top riders. He is braking better and has better and better corner speed, and we have not found the final set-up yet! Now we know how to improve his bike further; we know the right direction and now we need to analyze the data we collected here in Jerez and then fix the final set-up at the next Sepang test in January?.

Lap Times
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1?38.562
2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?38.848
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1?39.464
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.39.747
5. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1?40.121
6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1?40.184
7. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1?40.185
8. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1?40.213
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1?40.398
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1?40.984
11. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1?41.538
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1?41.619
13. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1?41.715
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1?41.793
15. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1?42.343
16. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.42.850
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1?43.001

 

[BooBooSS]

ROSSI HAPPY WITH FIRST BRIDGESTONE TEST IN SPAIN

Valentino Rossi rounded off his testing activity a little early in Jerez today after he began to feel an increased level of pain in his recovering right hand, which he broke at the final race of the season. Nonetheless the Italian managed to complete almost his entire schedule of testing activity and his first test on Bridgestone tyres was deemed to be a positive one by Yamaha and Bridgestone engineers alike.

Rossi had planned to complete a long run today but decided to stop early rather than put more stress on his hand, and he also decided not to test any more qualifying tyres following his work on soft rubber yesterday. With most of the rest of the riders choosing to test qualifiers however, Rossi?s best lap on race tyres, a time of 1?41.538, put him 11th in the final standings, with the time sheets topped by Dani Pedrosa after a lap of 1?38.562. Rossi?s 2008 team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished 3rd today, with a best time of 1?39.464.

The Fiat Yamaha Team will now enjoy a well-earned winter break, reconvening at Sepang in Malaysia for the first test of 2008 on 22nd, 23rd and 24th January 2008.

Valentino Rossi (11th, 1?41.538, 32 laps)?Today I tried to do my best but I wasn?t able to ride fast due to my hand; it started hurting a lot today and I had no power to ride with it in such conditions. The fracture is still hurting and furthermore I have not ridden or trained for almost one month, so it is to be expected that today my hand would be tired. I knew I was not in perfect shape, and I also expected to have some problems at this first test back. Anyway, we were able to finish our programme and despite today I think it?s been a positive first test with Bridgestone. Of course we still have work to do on the bike in general and with regards to adapting it to the new tyres but I can reconfirm my first feeling of two days ago, which was positive. Now we have a better idea where we need to work hard in order to improve further. I would like to take this chance to say a big thank you to all my team, my mechanics and to all the Yamaha staff for their great effort throughout the season. I know that I will find them again at the beginning of 2008 with the same motivation, if not even more than ever. Thanks to everyone!?

Davide Brivio ?Team Manager?Today we decided to finish early because Valentino was not able to ride at 100% due to pain in his hand. Anyway, it is quite normal, since he had a bad crash in Valencia and he has not ridden since. It is not a big problem for us because we were able to finish our working schedule and test program, so we preferred to stop the test early in order not to put unnecessary stress on his hand. It?s been a very interesting test session here in Jerez; we had the chance to meet all the Bridgestone engineers and technicians who will work with us next season and we got very interesting information from them and from the new tyres. In return we were also able to give them important information to work on, and now we need to analyze all the data and work hard on it during the winter in order to be as ready as possible in January. Now Valentino and the team have some holiday time, which they deserve because they have worked hard all year, then we will be back at Sepang in January for the final preparation before the 2008 championship?

Masahiko Nakajima ? Fiat Yamaha Team Director?Today Valentino?s physical condition did not allow him to ride as much or to be as fast as he wanted, so we decided to finish the session early. We expected this, because he rode quite hard for three days and we knew that he was not at 100%. This test session in Jerez has been very positive for us, for the team and for the rider, mainly because we have understood the performance of the new Bridgestone tyres. This test was enough to collect good data for the future that will also help us with the direction of our development for the next season. I do not want to go into details at this stage, because it is too early to do so at the very first test with Bridgestone, but let me say that this has been a very good test. As far as the bike is concerned, here in Jerez we tested some new improvements to our electronic control system and in this field too we collected some very interesting data. Now we will be able to implement this information at the first 2008 test?.

Lap Times

1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1?38.562
2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?38.848
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1?39.464
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.39.747
5. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1?40.121
6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1?40.184
7. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1?40.185
8. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1?40.213
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1?40.398
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1?40.984
11. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1?41.538
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1?41.619
13. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1?41.715
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1?41.793
15. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1?42.343
16. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.42.850
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1?43.001

 

[Bogie]

Damn!! Those times are tightening up!! :rock

 

[riley42]

Go Nicky Go!!!! :thumbup

 

[evilR1]

Damn!! Those times are tightening up!! :rock

yeah, look at that last days' time sheet
all hondas and yamahas
interesting....

 

[Our1]

I hope switching to Bridgestone for Rossi proves to be a good move.