Jerez Tests, Day 3 - Feb 18, 2001
| After leading the time sheets during the first two days of testing, the Marlboro Yamaha Team riders found themselves placed second and third overall on the third and final day of the Jerez IRTA test, held February 18. Only Valentino Rossi (Honda) managed to slide past the two Marlboro Yamaha men in the dying moments to place a 1’42.322 by the side of his name.
Improving on their times, set during the past two days, both Max Biaggi (1’42.447) and Carlos Checa (1’42.471) obliterated Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) standing lap record – 1’44.127 (2000) – and the circuits outright fastest ever lap – a 1’42.847 set by Biaggi on the previous day. Well in control during the closing stages, and happy with their testing results so far, both riders opted to end the session early, leaving Rossi to find the extra 0.125 seconds unchallenged. "For sure the bike can still be better,” said Biaggi. “We have some work to do with a few vibrations and the bike’s balance. I could go faster, but only for one or two laps. This is a test session, though, and not a race, but it is always important to push as hard as you can because that’s the only way you learn about the bike.” Checa, who conclude testing after lunch, was happy with his consistency more than his time. “The lap time isn’t so important, what I am happy about is the set-up we’ve got. I think they will be quite close to what we will need for this year’s race, though the weather will be warmer in May and the track slower.” Shinya Nakano continued to show improvement through the third and final day of the test to end up sixth overall on combined times. The Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 rider produced an impressive 1’43.030, well under the current lap record, and only 0.090 shy of the more experienced 500 Honda rider Alex Barros. “I am learning every time I ride the bike,” says Nakano. “The 500 is very hard to get the set up and very easy to break traction on the rear tyre compared to the 250, especially on slower corners. It has so much power and I want to ride fast to make good times, but I am trying to hold back because I feel I still do not fully understand the bike. When I do I will then worry about going fast. This year is our learning year and I do not want to start it hurt.” Yamaha’s second of 500 debutant in attendance, Noriyuki Haga (Red Bull Yamaha, 1’43.421) also approached the final day of testing with a similar attitude. Although he never improved on his day-two time - a 1’43.253 - Haga felt he had made enough progress with the bike’s suspension settings. “It was an uneventful day, which is good, and bad. I would like to get into the 42s, but I know that these times will not win a race for me today. It is an understanding of how to get the best out of the bike that will,” he explained. Fellow Red Bull Yamaha pilot Garry McCoy was confident that he’d achieved all that was needed from the Jerez test during the first two days, his best time being a 1’43.155 set on day two, and opted to follow the final proceedings from the pits. “We did what we came here to do. There’s no point in just doing laps for the sake of doing laps, that’s when things can end up going wrong. Besides Estoril is only a few days away so there is plenty of time for further testing,” said McCoy. Tohru Ukawa 10th, 1m43.459 sec. - "Today we have been trying out further components and we have made a couple of race simulations. The first has been a session of ten fast laps and on the second we have increased the amount to twenty laps. In this second simulation I have been driving on a constant low 1,44. We have got a lot of information through these tests and the balance of the three days is positive." Sete Gibernau - 11th, 1m43.545 - "We had many small problems that were out of our control - nothing serious, but things didn't go our way. Last year it was the opposite for me, and I'd rather have difficulties in tests then a good season than the other way round! "By the third day things were getting okay. We had improved the chassis, and I could ride with a good rhythm and lap time. I was in a position to start serious tyre testing, but we had a lot of tyres to test and not so much time. On the third tyre, I was on a crowded track, so I slowed right down to let the traffic get away. Maybe the tyres cooled down too much, because that's when I fell off. I was actually looking over my shoulder at the time, hardly leaning over. It's disappointing to ride near the limit for three days, then crash while looking backwards and going slowly. "It's also disappointing, because I'd reached the stage where I was going well and could test things fully. Now that will have to wait until the next tests at Estoril. I'm very happy with the team, and with the way of working at Suzuki. By the end of the three days, I was doing the same pace as Kenny, which you need to get meaningful test results. There are only the two of us developing this bike, so we have to help each other. At least these tests have proved that I can do that, and also that our styles are pretty similar. We ended up with almost the same settings, though we were working independently." Kenny Roberts spent the full three days testing the latest chassis and engine of Suzuki's successful RGV500-Gamma, closing on Sunday with a series of tyre tests. Gibernau did the same, but finished two hours earlier after a low-speed tumble damaged his machine. 12th, 1m43.473 - "I could do last year's race times all day long. That's where we're at, and that's what the machine is capable of right now. Obviously I'd like to be doing a lot better. I don't really want to say much more at this stage but we are working hard to improve. I'm hoping we can turn things round a bit before the start of the racing." Alex Crivillé 13th, 1m44.200 sec. - "Everything happened very fast, the back tyre slid and before I had noticed what was happening the bike threw me off. I fell on the left side burning the little finger of my left hand. It was my sixth lap of the day and on the lap before I already had made a 1.44.2, so I was pushing a little harder in order to get the right rhythm. This is really a mishap but logically I'm still optimistic. Now we have to see if it will be possible to test in Portugal or if I will have to wait until the IRTA tests in Valencia." 1 Valentino Rossi (Nastro Azzurro Honda) 1’42.322 Circuit length: 4423m |