Detail

Sepang Tests, Day One (Feb. 26, 2013)
Rain Hampers Return to Sepang

Yamaha Factory Racing were back in Malaysia today for the first day of the second official test of the 2013 season at the Sepang International Circuit. The riders were able to test throughout the morning but were then forced to call off the remainder of the day's testing due to rain. Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was again quick to get up to pace, managing to complete a total of 25 laps before retiring for the day in second position, 0.235 seconds from first. The Mallorcan spent the day focusing on bike set up in the search for better acceleration from his M1.
Italian rider Valentino Rossi suffered a technical issue with the 2013 YZR-M1 early in the session however was able to continue testing with the 2012 machine to gather valuable data. Rossi completed the day's riding in fifth position, less than half a second from first.

Test Times (Feb. 26)
(Ambient temperature: 29 degrees Track temperature: 52 degrees)

Sepang Record Lap: C. Stoner 2007, 2.02.108
Sepang Best Lap: J. Lorenzo 2010, 2.00.334

Sepang Tests, Day Two (Feb. 27, 2013)
The Pace Steps Up on Day Two in Sepang

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo topped the time sheets today for day two of the second official IRTA test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Lorenzo was fast straight out of the box in the morning and remained unchallenged all day. Track conditions had improved from yesterday's first run, allowing the champion to get down to a lap time of 2'00.282 seconds, nearly 1.5 seconds faster than yesterday's quickest time set by Dani Pedrosa.
Lorenzo's teammate Valentino Rossi's start to the day was delayed slightly whilst the team resolved a small electrical issue with a coil. The Italian was soon out on track, putting in an impressive 63 laps whilst working on improving the YZR-M1's traction on worn tyres. Rossi completed the day in fifth position, over a second faster than yesterday's time.

Test Times (Feb. 27)
(Ambient temperature: 33 degrees Track temperature: 42 degrees)

Sepang Record Lap: C. Stoner 2007, 2.02.108
Sepang Best Lap: J. Lorenzo 2010, 2.00.334

Sepang Tests, Day Three (Feb. 28, 2013)
Successful Sepang Test for Yamaha Dream Team

Yamaha Factory Racing today completed an exhaustive three days of testing at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, the second official IRTA test at the track. Wet weather at the start of the day followed by a drying track and extreme heat temperatures delivered challenging conditions for riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. Despite the heat, Lorenzo used the final day to complete a long race simulation, gathering valuable data for the engineers. The reigning MotoGP World Champion recorded the fastest wet time in the morning, signing off the final test day in third position with 2'00・0.992 seconds, 0.43 from first. Lorenzo recorded the fastest lap time of the test overall with yesterday's blistering 2'00.282 seconds.
Team mate Rossi opted to spend the remaining day continuing work on bike set up, the Italian still looking for the optimum mix of traction and balance on the YZR-M1, especially as tyre wear increases. The Italian wrapped up his second Sepang test in fourth position, just 0.07 seconds behind his teammate.

Test Times (Feb. 28)
(Ambient temperature: 33 degrees Track temperature: 42 degrees)

Sepang Record Lap: C. Stoner 2007, 2.02.108
Sepang Best Lap: J. Lorenzo 2010, 2.00.334

Jorge Lorenzo (Day Three Position: 3th, 2'00.992, 56 Laps)

"The practice was wet at the beginning of the day so we exited and tried the bike on the wet. It wasn't bad, I made the fastest wet time but when the track became dryer it was never the same as yesterday. It was much more slippery and so harder to equal yesterday's time. We made a complete simulation, it was a little worse than I expected because we had some problems with the front tyre in braking; it didn't give me much confidence so I slowed my pace a little. The conditions were extreme this time so it was harder to equal the simulation we made in the first Sepang test."

Valentino Rossi (Day Three Position: 4th, 2'01.062, 61Laps)

"This test at the end is positive because we are in fourth place and not so far from the front. We are struggling a little more than the first test though; we were unlucky and suffered a little electrical problem that lost us some time and some other little problems. We tried to improve our performance and we fixed some problems but not all. The balance is positive; we have had another three days with the bike, and ridden more kilometres to take the bike back to the top and closer to the limit. Now we are looking forward to Austin."

Cal Crutchlow (Day Three Position: 6th, 2' 01.094, 59Laps)

"I am leaving this test in a positive frame of mind because I am fourth overall and although I was only sixth quickest today I actually think I could have been fastest. When everybody was pushing hard for a fast lap time at the end of the day I got held up on every lap but I am not worried about that. We have worked very hard this week to improve our package and today we gained more valuable information. I still lose a bit in the braking area and rolling into the corner. We tried to improve that but made the braking worse. But when we make the braking better we have no grip. So it is finding a compromise. We tried two different settings on the different bikes and one was better for braking and the other one was better for grip, so we need to find the best of both and put them together. I am not that far off the top three and they are all on factory machinery, so that is encouraging. To be fourth overall is very positive and I definitely think we are in the mix. My target was to be close to the factory guys and we are not too far away."

Bradley Smith (Day Three Position: 10th, 2' 02.314, 64Laps)

"I leave this second test in Sepang positive because I know a lot more about the bike when I first got here. I sat in the garage when everybody was in time attack mode at the end and pushing for a fast lap on a new tyre. It is not that I didn't want to go for the lap time but we are just trying to go step-by-step at the moment and look at the bigger picture. I still don't believe that we have a base setting for me to ride but at least we have a direction of which way I prefer. Luckily for us it is towards the way Andrea Dovizioso went last year and that's positive because we have got a whole load of data and experience from working wit h him. This is only day two of really modifying the set-up of the bike, so in terms of development we still have a lot to do. I would say we are in a lot better position now than I was at the last test although we haven't gone faster. Now I am looking forward to working on the YZR-M1 at a different track when we go to Jerez for the final test."