Detail
Yamaha press releases on our motor sports racing activities
First official MotoGP tests of 2014
orge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi complete tests in good form
February 7, 2014
Sepang Tests, Day One (Feb. 4, 2014)
Sepang Signals Start of 2014 MotoGP Season
After a long winter wait, the Yamaha Factory Racing riders were finally back on track today for the first official ride of the 2014 season at the Sepang International circuit in Malaysia. The first day of the three-day IRTA test gave riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi a chance to blow off the cobwebs and stretch their muscles on a bike again as they worked through a number of test items for the 2014 YZR-M1.
Rossi, the first Factory rider to venture out on track, was also the first to find a quicker pace on his M1, slotting quickly into the top three and leading briefly before the lunch break. As the afternoon session continued, the Italian was joined by his teammate Lorenzo who moved up into second, just 0.3 off front man Marc Marquez. A flurry of fast laps towards the end of the session re-shuffled the pack a little, Rossi ending the day in second, 0.518 from the top and Lorenzo in fourth, 0.796 seconds from first.
The Yamaha Factory riders were enjoying their 2014 bikes in full livery featuring recently announced sponsors Eurasian Bank, Fiat Professional and SuisseGas.
The bikes also had a special sticker stating "Yamaha Lends a Hand to Yolanda Victims" to promote Yamaha's campaign to support victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.
The day's testing was followed by a special press conference hosted by Yamaha Motor, introducing Yamaha's Global 2014 Racing Program. The event was also attended by Takaaki Kimura, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Representative Director of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Machine | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 2'00.286 |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 2'00.804 |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 2'00.906 |
| 4 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 2'01.082 |
| 5 | Alvaro Bautista | Go&Fun Honda Gresini | Honda | 2'01.240 |
| 6 | Stefan Bradl | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 2'01.320 |
| 7 | Aleix Espargaro | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Yamaha | 2'01.419 |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2'01.634 |
| 10 | Bradley Smith | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2'01.876 |
| 11 | Colin Edwards | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Yamaha | 2'02.483 |
| 16 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha Factory Test Team | Yamaha | 2'03.126 |
Sepang Record Lap: M. Marquez 2013, 2'01.415
Sepang Best Lap: M. Marquez 2013, 2'00.011
Sepang Tests, Day Two (Feb. 5, 2014)
2014 MotoGP Testing Continues on Day Two in Sepang
The Yamaha Factory Racing riders were back on track today in Sepang for the second of three test days that mark the start of 2014 activity. Riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo continued to work through a number of different test items for the Yamaha engineers as well as some tyre testing for Bridgestone.
Rossi also took some time to work on bike set-up to improve performance and was able to improve on his time of yesterday, completing day two in fourth position, just over 0.5 seconds from the front.
Teammate Lorenzo had a better second day, making some improvements to the electronics settings of his YZR-M1 to provide better corner stability and a faster overall lap time. Lorenzo wrapped up the second day in sixth position, just over 0.6 seconds from the front.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Machine | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1'59.926 |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 2'00.336 |
| 3 | Stefan Bradl | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 2'00.339 |
| 4 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 2'00.464 |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaro | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Yamaha | 2'00.547 |
| 6 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 2'00.573 |
| 7 | Bradley Smith | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2'00.603 |
| 10 | Pol Espargaro | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2'01.061 |
| 15 | Colin Edwards | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Yamaha | 2'02.545 |
| 19 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha Factory Test Team | Yamaha | 2'02.970 |
Sepang Record Lap: M. Marquez 2013, 2'01.415
Sepang Best Lap: M. Marquez 2013, 2'00.011
Sepang Tests, Day Three (Feb. 6, 2014)
Yamaha Complete First MotoGP Test of 2014 with Positive Results
Yamaha Factory Racing riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo today completed the third and final day of the first official test of the 2014 MotoGP pre-season activity at the Sepang International circuit in Malaysia.
The test proved to be a successful one for both riders, with Rossi especially happy at the end of today's riding. The nine-time world champion was able to record his best-ever time at the Sepang circuit, dropping under the two-minute mark to finish in second place less than two tenths from front man Marc Marquez.
Rossi and Lorenzo both undertook a race simulation in the stifling Malaysian heat this afternoon to shake the 2014 M1 down over race distance.
Four–time world champion Lorenzo was also happy having completed the three days. The Mallorcan made good progress during the riding sessions, managing to closely replicate the feeling of the 2013 bike whilst accommodating the big reductions in fuel required for the 2014 season. Lorenzo completed the final day in third position, just 0.333 seconds from the front. The MotoGP paddock will return to Sepang on February 26th for the second official test of the year.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Machine | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1'59.533 |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1'59.727 |
| 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1'59.866 |
| 4 | Aleix Espargaro | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Yamaha | 1'59.998 |
| 5 | Stefan Bradl | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 2'00.112 |
| 6 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 2'00.223 |
| 8 | Pol Espargaro | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2'00.655 |
| 11 | Bradley Smith | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2'00.896 |
| 14 | Colin Edwards | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Yamaha | 2'01.731 |
| 20 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha Factory Test Team | Yamaha | 2'02.788 |
Sepang Record Lap: M. Marquez 2013, 2'01.415
Sepang Best Lap: M. Marquez 2013, 2'00.011
Valentino Rossi (Day Three, Position: 2nd, 1'59.727)
"The test has been very good, I'm very happy, especially for the second position and more than that for the lap time which is the best of my career in Sepang. It's the first time under 2'00 for me and just one tenth from Marc and the overall record of the track. I found a good feeling with the bike, we found some good solutions and it's been very positive. We tried a simulation in the afternoon that was very good to understand any problems. We suffered a bit to keep a good pace but it wasn't so bad. For the first test the balance was good."
Jorge Lorenzo (Day Three, Position: 3rd, 1'59.866)
"I think we improved a lot the lap time from yesterday but I didn't make a perfect lap. Maybe with softer tyres we could make a 1'59.5 or a 1'59.6. The goal was not to improve the one lap time but to improve the race pace which we did. When we tried a race simulation in hot conditions we found some problems where we didn't expect it, so the pace wasn't as good as we wanted. We've only practiced in one track though which isn't a Yamaha track historically, so let's see what happens at the next Malaysia test and the other tracks. The evolution and the improvement is big so I'm quite satisfied. To have a similar feeling to last year with less fuel is a big thing."
Pol Espargaro (Day Three, Position: 9th, 2'00.655)
"I'm really pleased with how this first test went. I could improve every day by at least four tenths and it's exactly these small steps that we need to do to be prepared for the season. My Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team helps me a lot as the feeling with them is already perfect. Nevertheless, I know that there are still numerous things to work on such as my corner speed and my braking. I think the braking is one of the toughest things when coming from Moto2 because you don't have any electronic help, like there is in acceleration for example. Anyway, I'm truly happy because after these three days, I know exactly where I need to improve also on my personal preparation and I'm already looking forward to come back to this track in a few weeks."
Bradley Smith (Day Three, Position: 11th, 2'00.896)
"We did some really good work, today we were concentrating on the new Bridgestone tyres. I tried to gain as much information and data also doing a half race simulation at the end of the day with this new tyre, just to compare it with the one from last year. Yesterday's simulation was quite similar to today, although I believe we can still improve with this new tyre. I think I've done nearly 180 laps this test and we know where we need to start at Sepang 2. All in all I am pleased, even if the position on the timesheet does not seem to be ideal, it was never my main aim to set fast lap times during these three days. We are looking at the big picture, and preparing for the Championship and we will try to be ready for Qatar."
