Detail

Following yesterday's heavy rain, thick fog delayed the start of the second day of testing in Jerez this morning before giving way to sunshine and a dry track, providing the Yamaha Factory Team with the chance to get some important work under their belts. V. Rossi and C. Edwards both focused on general set-up work today and were pleased to see good improvements to the performance of their 800cc Yamahas since their last test here in November. Rossi and Edwards were consistently fast throughout the day, with Rossi topping the time sheets until the last stages of the session before being overtaken by M. Melandri (Honda), who set the day's best lap in a time of 1'40.383. Rossi finished just behind him in a time of 1'40.408, under the existing 990cc lap record, which he himself set in 2005. Edwards, having been in the top three for most of the day, also slipped down the order at the end as several riders opted to try qualifying tyres ahead of tomorrow's 40 minute timed 倉ualifying' shoot-out, which begins at 1405 CET.


V. Rossi (2nd, 1'40.408, 65 Laps)

"Today was a very good day for us and we've done some great work. After today we're happy because we can understand that we did a great job when we were here in November. We started with the same setting and the bike was fast straight away, then afterwards we tried a new setting from January and February, with the suspension and other things, and it felt even better. I had a great feeling with the front and also with the rear, and I had a lot of confidence with my bike. The balance was good under acceleration and I was able to go fast and in a good rhythm."

"Tomorrow we've got some more things to try and also some more tyres from Michelin, so we hope to make even more improvements. We'll also get the chance to try a qualifying tyre and to see how we go against our rivals in the 倉ualifying' session, which will be interesting. So anyway, we've got another day and some more work to do, but the situation is already good and I am feeling happy."

C. Edwards (9th, 1'41.204, 69 Laps)

"Today we started where we left off yesterday, trying to work out how to adapt the good setting from Qatar to this track. We figured a few things out in the morning and kept on making progress and actually what we've found is quite a long way from the Qatar setting and also from the old setting we used here, but anyway it works great! It felt good all day and I was doing consistently quick times, before we put in our 素irst-choice' tyre from Qatar near the end and then it felt really fantastic. It really is a great tyre, so hopefully Michelin will have lots of those for me this season! I was right up there on the time sheets until the end when a few people put qualifiers in, but that wasn't on our agenda today and we'll have a go at that tomorrow. Of course there's the competition tomorrow and it's definitely the day to make a statement, so we'll see how it goes!"

D. Brivio ・Team Director
"Today we did a great job with Valentino, we found a very good balance and a good setting and he was able to be fast from his first lap and always at the top, until the very end. It was also a good day for Colin and he was also fast throughout. Tomorrow is our last day of testing before the championship starts so it's very important, then we also have the competition in the afternoon. We're in good shape with both riders so it should be an interesting day."

Unofficial Lap Times: