Rossi and Edwards get back to work in Sepang

The Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s second test of 2007 got underway in Sepang, Malaysia today, with Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards back out onboard their prototype 800cc machines for another three-day test. With most teams having chosen to test in Australia last week, Yamaha decided to return to Sepang and take advantage of the relatively quieter atmosphere this week, sharing the track with just five other riders from Tech 3 Yamaha, Kawasaki and Ilmor. With temperatures slightly lower than at the previous test, Edwards and Rossi, who set the first and second fastest times of the day respectively, spent the day working on the set-up of the new bike and testing some new parts for Yamaha and Ohlins. Both riders were very happy with the day’s work and reported significant improvement to the stability of the bike under braking, laying the groundwork for what they hope will be two more encouraging and fruitful days of testing as the March 10th deadline of the first race looms ever closer. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 2’02.175 Laps: 47 "Well I’m definitely feeling better than I did last time…I think everyone was a little bit rusty after the break but it’s ‘situation normal’ again now and I’m feeling much stronger on the bike. I’m pretty happy with today’s work; I’m already fast and the bike keeps on feeling better and better. Over the first 42 laps we did today we only used two different rears so it’s clear that the tyres are working well too. We concentrated on Yamaha stuff today and we made a huge step forward with the rear shock. We knew things still weren’t perfect in that area, but we’ve made a big change today and the stability of the bike under braking has improved 100% as a result. Tomorrow we’re going to focus more on tyres with Michelin and hopefully things will keep on improving."

Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 2’02.221 Laps: 40 "Today we worked a lot on bike set-up and we’ve tried a few different directions, focusing mainly on the new rear shock we have from Ohlins and on the braking. What we’ve seen and understood today is very positive and this makes me very confident about the next few days of testing. We decided to come back to Sepang, where there would be fewer teams testing, in order to be more relaxed and less focused on lap times. This is the way we are planning to work throughout the test. Anyway, my lap times are already fast so of course we’ll keep trying to improve in the next two days. Tomorrow we will concentrate more on working with Michelin and testing new tyres. At the moment we’re waiting for some new engine parts from Japan; we’re looking for more horsepower, but this is the bike we have and I am very happy about how things are going at the moment." Davide Brivio - Team Director "Today has been a good first day, in a nice relaxed atmosphere without too many other people around. Today we focused almost exclusively on set-up work and we had some new material to try, which has given our riders a better feeling with the bike. We’ve clearly improved the general set-up for both riders and also made some great steps on the braking, which was one of our key areas to work on during this test. We got some very useful information today, which we can continue to develop over the next two days, and I am happy with the results of our first day." Unofficial Lap Times 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'02.175 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'02.221 3. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.966 4. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2'03.219 5. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2'03.959 6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2'06.558 7. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 2'08.640 Sepang Lap Record (990cc) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 - 2'02.127 Sepang Best Lap (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605