Three Yamaha riders topping the time sheets in Sepang

Another scorching day in Sepang saw the Yamaha riders putting in some fast laps on the new 2008 YZR-M1 today, on the second day of the opening test of the year. Proving that Edwards, Rossi and Lorenzo were harbouring no ill-effects from yesterday’s falls, three out of four Yamaha riders topped the time sheets. Rossi was a second faster than yesterday and over half a second under lap record pace, setting the third fastest time of the day on a race tyre as his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was just behind him with a time of 2’01.583. Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards was just ahead of both Fiat Yamaha riders in second place in a time of 2.01.327. For the second consecutive day Randy de Puniet topped the time sheets. Rossi once again worked on the pneumatic-valve engine and on the new electronics, as well as concentrating on tyre testing with Bridgestone as he and his crew continue their learning curve with their new tyre manufacturer. Rossi completed 60 laps and his best lap of the day, a time of 2’01.437, was set just before five pm.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rd Time: 2’01.437 Laps: 60 “Today we continued to work on bike set-up in the same way as yesterday and on the new engine, the electronics and the tyres. We continued with the pneumatic-valve engine as it’s important to get as much mileage as possible behind us with this engine to check the performance, the reliability and just to gain experience with it. With the electronics we worked a lot on the acceleration mapping and I’m quite happy with this. Although it doesn’t make us any faster, it helps me to be more comfortable on the bike. Finally we tested some different rear tyres with Bridgestone and also some qualifying tyres, although we didn’t improve on the time with the soft tyres so we need to work more in this area. We completed a lot of work today and hopefully we can have another good day tomorrow to finish.”

Davide Brivio - Team Manager “We were able to get through a lot of work today and we’re finding some good results. We continued to work a lot with different settings, constantly modifying the bike, as we learn more about it, to make it easier and faster to ride. Valentino is getting more used to his new tyres and therefore he is gaining more confidence and going faster. We didn’t complete a long run today but this is on the schedule for tomorrow so we hope for more good weather to allow us to get through all of our testing schedule.”

New Fiat Yamaha Team signing Jorge Lorenzo showed how quickly he’s getting to grips with his new YZR-M1 today when he finished the second day of testing in Sepang in fourth position. The 20-year-old improved on his time from day one by a second and was also under the lap record pace. Continuing from where he left off yesterday, Lorenzo had his first chance to try the pneumatic-valve engine and reported some improvement with it. Aside from that, today’s primary focus was tyres and the Spaniard and his crew commenced an extensive programme of rubber testing with Michelin. His best lap, in a time of 2’01.583, was set on the 31st of 54 laps shortly before one pm. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4th Time: 2’01.583 Laps: 54 “Today was a good day! We continued in the same way as yesterday, working on our overall performance and we improved by one second, so this is very encouraging. I tested the new pneumatic-valve engine and this was interesting and I found some improvement with it. We’re still working on the hard braking and, although we have improved our performance in these areas a bit, we still need to do more work on this. Likewise I’m still adjusting my riding style to better suit the M1 but this is becoming more natural and comfortable for me day-by-day. Finally we also began testing tyres with Michelin today. We tried quite a lot of new material, especially for the rear, and found some good stuff. I’m happy with the day’s work and hopefully we can have an even better day tomorrow.” Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “Today we had even more positive results. We continued with our testing plan and Jorge showed a good overall performance today. We’re still focusing on improving the stability into the hard braking corners and Jorge also had his first chance to try the pneumatic-valve engine, which gave him a good feeling and worked well for him. Today we also began our testing programme with Michelin, trying several new compound tyres, which helped Jorge to improve his performance further. Tomorrow we’ll continue with Michelin and hopefully we will also have the chance to do a race simulation and check our overall performance.” Edwards finds his feet on Sepang second day The second day of action for the Yamaha Tech3 MotoGP team at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia revealed further progress for the French crew and their riders Colin Edwards, who was second quickest, and James Toseland, clocking in with the eleventh best time but shaving a second off his best, with their YZR-M1 machinery. A total of 105 laps were completed at the venue which will host the penultimate round of eighteen in the 2008 MotoGP world championship. Edwards recorded a lap-time that was less than two-tenths of a second away from the fastest effort. The Texan immediately felt at home with a new chassis on the M1 and was also full of praise for the Michelin tyres that enabled him to register his impressive circulation. Colin Edwards – Position: 2nd time: 2.01.327, 46 laps “I am so happy right now,” he said. “Yesterday I was confused after the crash and what the problem could be. We had been struggling with engine braking but after we found the cause we went at it again this morning and the difference was huge. We made a small change to the new chassis and things were much better. I was more comfortable and the bike was working just how I wanted.” “We burned a few laps and I have to say ‘hats-off’ to Michelin and a big thank you! We had problems last year, but without a doubt they have redeemed themselves and more; I am really pleased and we should know better than to doubt Michelin anyway,” he added. “At tests you don’t push, not at 110% anyway,” the 33 year old said (34 next month), who has notched eight MotoGP podiums, “but I felt good out there. I was calming down and putting in less effort but I was still doing 2:01s and that little series of laps we made was great.” Edwards, also running a new swing-arm, is planning on making a longer on-track stint tomorrow to collect further valuable data for the chassis of the M1 and also tyre information. James Toseland, still getting acquainted with the M1 and the rigours of MotoGP testing, continued to cut his lap-times and today’s efforts saw a decent full second sliced from his personal best. James Toseland – Position:11th time: 2:02.276, 59 laps “To make that reduction in the lap-time was good even if I did more or less stay in the same position in the standings,” the 27 year old World Superbike Champion said “but I am not looking at positions at the moment, just the fact that I am getting quicker and quicker.” “We have a problem with chatter at the moment, which is holding us back, but we have a few things to try in terms of engine braking, electronics and traction control and we will be going through that stuff tomorrow,” he remarked after making 59 laps. “The adjustments seemed to work for Colin and if you look at the telemetry data then my setting was three times worse than his. So I am quite pleased that we are still doing pretty good lap-times. I made a 2:03 yesterday and I said to the team last night that I was looking forward to being in the ’02s today. I hardly dropped out of that bracket so I am happy, and will hope to get in the ‘01s tomorrow!” The third and final day of work takes place at Sepang tomorrow before Tech3 box-up and travel to the flowing Phillip Island circuit in Australia. Results 1. Randy De Puniet - Honda Lcr 2:01.139 2. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Tech32:01.327 3. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:01.437 4. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:01.583 5. Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro 2:01.638 6. John Hopkins - Kawasaki Racing2:01.874 7. Loris Capirossi - Rizla Suzuki 2:01.917 8. Andrea Dovizioso - Jir Team Scot2:02.006 9. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini2:02.095 10. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Hrc2:02.102 11. James Toseland - Yamaha Tech32:02.276 12. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2:02.371 13. Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing 2:02.579 14. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:02.914 15. Toni Elias - Alice Team 2:03.311 16. Marco Melandri - Ducati Marlboro 2:03.380 17 Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing2:03.462 18 Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Team2:04.217 19 Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing2:04.382 20 Niccolò Canepa - Ducati Test2:04.427 Sepang Lap Record Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007 - 2'02.108 Sepang Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605