Two-Strokes fastest in first IRTA tests

At the end of the MotoGP IRTA test in Valencia, which pitted the 500cc two-strokes against the revolutionary 990cc four-strokes for the first time, the half-litres emerged with the upper hand. Early on the final day it looked as if the rain that had affected Saturday's session would return, however the sun finally broke out and riders could put in a full day's work, albeit in cool conditions. The result of this first confrontation was that three of the top five times came from two-stroke machines, with the Yamaha YZR500 of Garry McCoy finishing as the fastest machine around the track.

The Australian slide specialist appears to have regained some of the form that took him to three Grand Prix victories in 2000, but which practically deserted him after injuries last year. The Red Bull Yamaha rider remarked, "The bike's pretty much the same as last year, so there's no point being fastest here at this session unless we get to test everything we wanted to test. To come out with a good time even in the top five would have been nice. The race here is a long way off, so we should not be reading too much into this."

To emphasise the advantage that the two-strokes currently hold, another Yamaha 500 bike, Shinya Nakano's Gauloises Tech3, was second quickest, just in front of Carlos Checa and the Marlboro Yamaha team's four-stroke M1. These three Yamahas were then followed by the Honda NSR500 of reigning 250cc World Champion, Daijiro Katoh.

Checa tried a new electronically controlled hydraulic engine-braking system, which works in addition to the engine's slipper clutch. "This new system is good and helps me to use a faster corner-entry speed," he said. "Also, I think it will allow us to run a shorter gearbox, which will give me more immediate power when I open the throttle. At the moment we are using quite long gears, which isn't so good in the slower sections of this track. We also need to improve the bike's mid-corner turning and I'm glad to hear that we'll soon have another new chassis to test. McCoy and Nakano ended up faster than me today but I don't know how consistent they're lapping. I certainly didn't go as quick as I'd hoped but for sure I would've been faster if we'd had three full days on a warm track."

Max Biaggi, who suffered yet another crash during the day, took hold of John Kocinski's M1 late in the session to see if the set-up of the American's Yamaha was preferable. The advantages of having the additional development of the third "test" rider then became evident as Biaggi improved his time on his first flying lap with the machine. He was unable to push the bike any further though, and ended up with the fifth fastest time overall.

"These three days were quite difficult for me and the team because we had problems with the rear of the bike moving around," said Biaggi, who slid off earlier in the day. "But then I jumped on John's bike and quickly did my best lap. I'm very happy we've solved that problem and I can't wait to test the chassis again at Estoril next week. We've a lot of work to do but I look forward to continuing development."

YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda was also satisfied with his day's work. "Today we found a good chassis set-up with John, so my thanks to him for doing a good job," said Yoda. "Max also liked this chassis and we'll ask Carlos to test it at Estoril. The difference is in the centre of gravity and we plan to continue moving in this direction, building another new chassis, with better turning, for all three riders to test very soon. Max also got to try some new engine parts John was using and he liked the smoother power they give. Finally, both Max and Carlos tried the engine-braking control system and have given us positive feedback, though we need to continue testing of this item.

"Considering the not-so-good weather I'm happy enough with what we've done here. The 500s have shown that they can still be competitive at tighter tracks like this, Jerez and Sachsenring because they're lighter and easier to turn, with higher corner speed and better initial acceleration."

In 250s, Fonsi Nieto was in devastating form, setting a time inside the 500cc lap record, and 1.3 seconds quicker than any other rider in the class. Riding a factory Aprilia this season, the Spaniard will hope to succeed where the Italian factory was unable last year. Randy de Puniet was the only other rider below 1'37, on board his kitted Aprilia. Despite crashing twice the Frenchman held off youngster Casey Stoner and team-mate Alex Debon for second, behind the flying Fonsi.

Also at Valencia today, Proton Team KR announced that European 250cc Champion, David Garcia, would join the set-up as official test rider. The Spanish rider declared, "This is a great opportunity for me to get used to the systems used in MotoGP, and I will be available if either of the two main riders suffers injury and is unable to race."

The MotoGP and 250 bikes now move on to Estoril in Portugal, where the second leg of IRTA testing begins on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in their place in Valencia, the 125cc class reunite to take to the track for their first IRTA session this off-season.

MotoGP
Garry McCOY, AUS (Yamaha YZR500) - 1'34.070
Shinya NAKANO, JPN (Yamaha YZR500) - 1'34.360
Carlos CHECA, SPA (Yamaha YZR-M1) - 1'34.654
Daijiro KATOH, JPN (Honda NSR500) - 1'34.722
Max BIAGGI, ITA (Yamaha YZR-M1) - 1'34.820
250cc
Fonsi NIETO, SPA (Aprilia) - 1'35.680
Randy DE PUNIET, FRA (Aprilia) - 1'36.998
Casey STONER, AUS (Aprilia) - 1'37.046
Alex DEBON, SPA (Aprilia) - 1'37.325
Franco BATTAINI, ITA (Aprilia) - 1'37.344