FIAT YAMAHA TEAM COMPLETE IMPORTANT TEST AFTER JEREZ VICTORY
Following on from their first and third finishes in Sunday's
Grand Prix of Spain, Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards
got back to work straight away with a two-day test yesterday and today. The
scene of their victorious celebrations under sunny skies on Sunday was a very
different place on Monday as heavy rain fell throughout the day at the Spanish
circuit. This was just what the team wanted however, as it gave them the chance
to do some serious wet-weather testing with the new 800cc M1, something they
have not had the opportunity for so far this year. Rossi completed 41 laps in
the rain with a best lap of 1'51.899, whilst Edwards put in 36 laps with a best
lap of 1'53.104.
With all the necessary wet-weather work completed on Monday,
the team were forced to wait until this afternoon, when the track was fully
dry, to get started with their programme of tyre testing. Both riders tested a
range of new tyres with Michelin and the information gathered is sure to prove
invaluable when they head to Istanbul
next month, the first circuit at which they will not have tested since the new
tyre regulations came into play. Rossi also tried out some small engine
modifications in order to give the Yamaha engineers more information for their
engine development ahead of the next run of races. Edwards was the fastest
rider not to run a qualifying tyre today, finishing the test in fifth place
with a time of 1'41.755 after 46 laps. Rossi was ninth fastest with a time of
1'42.348 from 42 laps.
There is now a three-week break until the third round of the
2007 MotoGP Championship, which will take place at the Istanbul
Park circuit in Turkey on 22nd
April.
Davide Brivio:
"Yesterday we had the chance to test in really wet
conditions, which was extremely important for us. It gave us the chance to
really understand the performance of the M1 in the wet and to give us a lot of
information about tyres and settings in these conditions. We're now more
prepared in case we have rain at any of the next races, which is quite
possible! Today we had to wait until the afternoon for it to be properly dry,
as it was still raining this morning. Anyway we had enough time to get some
good work done, mostly tyre testing but Valentino also tried some new engine
modifications and we found some small improvements in the engine performance.
Now our engineers will work in Japan
with the information gathered today, and we will decide whether or not we will
use these new modifications at the next race in Istanbul. We also did a lot of tyre testing
with Michelin and gathered a lot of important information for the next few
races. It's always hard to get back to testing after a great day like we had on
Sunday but everyone has worked very hard - now they all deserve a nice long
break before Istanbul!"
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