The Yamaha Grand Prix Team - Testing in Brno - June 2000
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BIAGGI & CHECA WORK HARD AT BRNO Marlboro Yamaha Team duo Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa go into the second half of the 2000 500 World Championship in Britain next week following a useful three-day test session at Brno, venue for August's Czech GP. The two men focused on improving engine, chassis and suspension performance from their 2000-spec YZR500s but also made promising outings on Yamaha's prototype 500 GP bike. They were joined at the tests by Yamaha test rider Kyoji Nanba and fellow factory 500 stars Norick Abe, Regis Laconi and Garry McCoy. Weather conditions were good but not great, with lower-than-expected temperatures and gusting winds. "These three days have definitely been useful," commented Biaggi, whose fastest lap was half a second inside the lap record. "Especially since we've had so much rain at the last few GPs that had stopped us trying various improvements. It's a shame it's been pretty cool here, because we've sorted a good set-up for this track but come August it'll probably be a lot hotter. I had a bit of time on the prototype and it feels much improved from when I last tested it." Checa, currently second in the 500
series and homing in on World Championship leader Kenny Roberts
(Suzuki), also honed his YZR, though the Spaniard is keen for further
improvements. Marlboro Yamaha Team manager Geoff Crust explained that the main priority of the test was to further enhance the YZR's already fine handling characteristics. "We went through a lot of chassis and suspension stuff, that was our priority, we didn't do anything huge engine-wise," he said. "Max and Carlos both tried new chassis hardware and settings and I think they went away feeling happy about the upcoming races. It was also good that both guys got a go on the prototype, though it was Nanba who did most of the riding on that bike. Max was very fast on both machines and Carlos was consistent too, though he still wants more from his current bike. He's chasing the title so we expect him to be demanding, that's the way it should be and we'll run with him on that." Biaggi makes an appearance at the Yamaha Fest at Misano, Italy, this weekend before grabbing a few days rest in Monaco. Then he will head to the British Grand Prix at Donington Park on July 7/8/9, the ninth round of this year's 16-event World Championship. Checa, a resident in London, will attend a media lunch at the city's Sports Café on Wednesday before heading North for an appearance at a North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club gathering at Northallerton. He is attending the event at the request of team manager Geoff Crust before heading down to Donington for Thursday's Day of Champions at Donington that raises money for the sport's Riders for Health charity. Yamaha's 2-seat YZR500 will also be appearing at the Day of Champions to raise money for Riders for Health's programmes that put African healthcare workers on motorcycles that they are taught to maintain. Lap times |