Detail

Sepang Tests, Day One (Feb. 22, 2011)
Promising start for Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies at Sepang second test

The second official MotoGP winter test of the off-season saw a promising start for the Yamaha Factory Racing riders Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo today. As with the first test just under three weeks ago, the riders enjoyed blazing sunshine on track, with track temperatures going from 39 up to 46 degrees. World Champion Lorenzo made some set up changes over the lunch period, finding a highly effective setting that enabled him to deliver consistently fast laps through the afternoon, closing in to end the day in third just 0.48 seconds from the top of the timesheets. Team mate Spies spent his morning getting used to his bike after the break then worked on some different suspension settings. The Texan finished the session in sixth just 0.82 seconds from the front having used just two sets of tyres over the day.

Test Times (Feb. 22)

Sepang Tests, Day Two (Feb. 23, 2011)
Strong performances for Spies and Lorenzo on day two at Sepang

The second day of the three day test at Sepang saw Yamaha Factory Racing riders Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo again testing in sweltering conditions with track temperatures soaring through the day. Despite the heat it was straight down to business, both riders breaking under the 2.01 second laps swiftly. Texan factory newcomer Spies again spent another day delivering smooth fast laps, finding some extra grip on track through chassis changes. He suffered a small crash at the end of the afternoon session at turn seven but was unhurt and upbeat about his day. At the end of the test Spies stood fourth in the timesheets, 0.65 seconds behind the leader.
Team mate Lorenzo took the opportunity of today's sessions to re-confirm some setting changes, as with Spies, the Mallorcan World Champion was consistently quick and running under the 2.01 mark for the majority of the day. Lorenzo wrapped up this afternoon in fifth position just 0.76 seconds from the top of the timesheets.

Test Times (Feb. 23)

Sepang Tests, Day Three (Feb. 24, 2011)
Successful test for Yamaha Factory Racing in Sepang

Texan rider Spies wrapped up his three day test at lunchtime today having completed 32 laps in the morning session. Although the team had kept back four sets of soft tyres for this final day, only two were used in less than ideal conditions to set a faster lap time. Despite this he managed to record his fastest time of 2'00.678, his personal best for the circuit and 0.86 under the pole position time of his team mate Lorenzo from last year's Malaysian Grand Prix race.
Lorenzo's final afternoon session was played out in dramatic fashion, the World Champion completing a 20 lap race distance run under dark skies split by forked lightening. The Mallorcan kept a consistent pace throughout, confirming the improvements of his M1 and, as with his team mate, lapping consistently under last year's race times and beating his pole lap of last season's Malaysian GP race by 0.534 seconds.

Sepang Tests, Day Three (Feb. 24, 2011)

Ben Spies (Day Three Position: 5th, 2'00.678, Laps: 32)

"It was a productive test, we got through a lot. I had one small mistake but on the plus side we had a lot of stuff we accomplished so it's all good. We still have some work to do obviously but we're not too far off race pace. We need to figure out how to get the bike a little bit quicker for a few laps, definitely for qualifying and the beginning of the race. It wasn't the most ideal conditions today for a quick lap, I did go to put in a few this morning and was pretty pleased with the time. I'm looking forward to a few days rest now in cooler temperatures at home before Qatar! The team have been awesome again, I'm really pleased with how we're working together."

Jorge Lorenzo (Day Three Position: 7th, 2'01.003, Laps: 48)

"I feel quite tired, after two and a half days of testing I've finished with a long 20 lap run. The results have been quite good, we had a very consistent pace and I was happy to have improved some things with the bike. I think we've made some big steps forward with traction and feel, although we still need to improve our lap time."

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
"It was a good day today to wrap up, I am satisfied with the results of the long run. Jorge was very consistent and the grip didn't drop that much towards the end, he kept a good pace which is a strong point for him and important that we didn't lose that. Of course we saw our competitors were very fast this morning but it's only the second test of the year, I think Qatar will be a very different story. We've improved the package compared to the last time we were here racing here which was our goal. Of course we have more work to do and we will continue to work on it."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
"We've definitely had a good test, we've improved the traction of the bike a lot and also the handling. Compared to the last test Ben's improved by a considerable time so he's quite satisfied with the set up. There is still a gap to the fastest riders but in terms of long runs we are very competitive so we will go to Qatar knowing we can achieve a good result.
Jorge found a good set up this afternoon and achieved a really good long run so we have achieved the targets we set before we came here, I am very satisfied with the team and how we have performed."

Colin Edwards (Day Three Position: 6th, 2'00.966, Laps: 29)

"This test has been awesome for us and I've had a lot of fun, even though the conditions have been really extreme with the heat. I've got a lot of experience and I've been riding motorcycles forever, but even I'm still learning a lot and I've really enjoyed coming here and changing the bike to see what does and doesn't work. I've figured out a lot of things with the new bike and the Bridgestone tyres and I've also learned that for an old guy, I'm not finished yet. I spent most of the test working on the new chassis, mainly experimenting with geometry and we made a lot of progress. My team is really smart and together we played around with a few ideas and got the bike to a point where I'm really satisfied. We improved front feeling compared to the last test and we can finish the corner a lot better. I'm really happy with the progress with rear traction too. Yamaha has done a great job and we leave Malaysia tired but with a lot of confidence. I'm now looking forward to getting Qatar and starting the racing."

Cal Crutchlow (Day Three Position: 14th, 2'02.034, Laps: 50)

"It has certainly been an eventful week and the good thing is that it ended in positive fashion. The food poisoning I picked up on the way to Sepang didn't help my preparations and I've felt weak all through the test as a result. Two crashes on the first day didn't help my confidence and day two was a struggle to be honest. We made a lot of changes to the bike without helping me feel more comfortable. My team have been fantastic though and given me great support and the last day was much better. For the first time I was able to do a decent lap time, but the important thing is I was able to be more consistent and feel more confident with the bike. We made improvements to the front and rear of the bike and I'm pretty happy with a low 2.02. The front felt more stable and while I'd like a bit more rear grip, we've made progress in that area as well. Qatar will be another big learning curve for me because I know the track, but I haven't ridden a MotoGP bike there and I've never raced under the floodlights. I'm confident with the set-up changes we made here that I'll be competitive in Qatar too."