An unprecedented number of spectators descended on the Circuit de Catalunya for the third IRTA test session which took place today and yesterday. The draw was the opportunity to see the new crop of MotoGP machines all lapping together at the Spanish circuit, and to catch an early glimpse of what the 2002 MotoGP season holds in store. Today, 15,000 spectators were treated to another great day's action which all took place under gloriously blue skies.

Valentino Rossi improved on yesterday's time, and ended up quickest with a best of 1m44.280s, over 2.3 seconds inside the race lap record he set himself last year. He wasn't without stiffer competition than he enjoyed yesterday though, as Honda colleagues Tohru Ukawa and Loris Capirossi followed each other in enjoying brief stints at the top of the timesheets. No sooner had the two bettered Rossi's Saturday time though, than the world champion stamped his authority again by going even faster.

After having been the superior rider over the two days, the Italian was clearly satisfied with his efforts, and commented, "All in all these tests have been quite good for us, while we still have some little problems to fix. We have a month left though, so I hope to arrive at the first race with the bike a little bit better than now."

To complete Honda's satisfaction even further, five of the six fastest riders came from the reigning constructors' champions, with Loris Capirossi ending the day second, 0.203 behind his compatriot. With Ukawa ending up third, Carlos Checa was relegated to fourth despite having improved on his time from yesterday. Nevertheless Checa continues to look much happier on board Yamaha's new M1 machine. On the other hand his teammate Max Biaggi had to settle for seventh behind Alex Barros and a much-improved Daijiro Katoh, after the Italian was unable to beat his time from the first day.

The Yamaha pairing of Shinya Nakano and Norick Abe finished eighth and ninth respectively, whilst Suzuki's test-rider, Akiro Ryo, made an impressive reduction of 1.258 seconds to complete the top ten. All eyes now turn to Suzuka for the final IRTA test at the end of this month, when teams get the last opportunity to test their MotoGP machines before the first race at the same circuit on April 7. Tomorrow at the Circuit de Catalunya, the 125cc machines take to the track for their last official pre-season test.

Valentino Rossi, fastest - 1m 44.280s - "It seems that in half an hour the bike is 95% good. Making the percentage better is now difficult. I'm very happy we feel this good about the bike in such a short time. It is especially satisfying as usually, if it's good at Catalunya it is good at many of the circuits we race at."

Loris Capirossi - 2nd - 1m 44.483s - "I'm very, very happy, I killed the two-strokes out there today. My feeling with this bike is very good, and I'm confident mood for the championship. We have made even more progress here than at the other IRTA tests. The two Honda RCVs four-strokes are the top level, much faster than my NSR - the other four-strokes are about the same speed as my two-stroke machine.

Tohru Ukawa - 3rd - 1m 44.611s - "I'm very happy with the test programme. Things have gone well over winter testing and we seem to make improvements in every area every time we go out. Most of the work we have done at Catalunya has really been re-confirming what we have tried in the past It seems to be working, I cant remember feeling this satisfied at this stage of the season ever before. I'm ready to race."

Carlos Checa - 4th -1m 45.229s - "I'm comfortable in the mid-45s and I think we did a good job. I gave the best feedback I could and we were able to improve the suspension balance which gives me better front-end feel. Ohlins and Michelin are also important in this area, not just Yamaha. We've found a not-so-bad compromise but at the moment it's not enough, Rossi is the fastest and most consistent, so I think he will be the man to beat at Suzuka. We need to improve, we need to grow up step by step, and quickly, but I'm quite optimistic. This year our team has more resources and more interest to develop the bike around myself and Max."

Alex Barros - 5th - 1m 45.547s - "I tried too many things on the suspension today but did not go faster. We went back to what we had yesterday and I improved. Getting the bike to turn into corners is my problem. My bike was not as fast as the other two-strokes today, although I lapped at times under the lap record of last year. We have more tests before the first race and I'm confident we will be on the pace at Suzuka."

Daijiro Katoh - 6th - 1m 45.448s - "For me this test was 'so-so.' We did a lot of work on the suspension and the balance of the machine but it's not yet perfect. We have some work on engine settings. The tyres we tried today performed better with the suspension settings than those we tried yesterday.  We go to Suzuka to test but I have never ridden the 500 there. I can't rely on my 250cc experience because the track is so long and fast."

Max Biaggi - 7th - 1m 45.681s - "The biggest problem for me is turn-in into the corners, keeping the bike turning mid-corner and throttle-to-engine connection when I'm accelerating out of the corners. I'm trying to be positive but I need another chassis if I'm to be competitive and we also need to work on the engine because it hits too hard, so I'm losing time out of the corners."

Nobuatsu Aoki - 14th -  "I've also been struggling a bit in the middle of the corner. The 17-inch tyre that worked better at other tracks didn't seem to suit this circuit, so I've been using the 16.5, and trying suspension and chassis adjustments to find improvements. Apart from that, not so bad. The engine seems alright, and it is a real pleasure to be back in the GP paddock."

Jeremy McWilliams - 12th -  "We've been struggling a bit today - more than at the previous tests, and more than we expected. The problem is on the long corners, where you have the bike leaned over on its side for long periods. I crashed today after we switched back from a new-profile front tyre to the standard front. It was supposed to be a safety move, but it worked the other way. It's a bit disheartening the way the four strokes come past on the long straight, but we have to try to ignore that and make the most of what we've got. But racing is about trying to win - for the fans as well as for the riders. I'm looking forward to circuits that don't have such a long straight."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh - 16th - "It's a shame we didn't carry on where we left off at Estoril, we improved their and the bike was just as good at Valencia. But on high speed tracks like Catalunya we have difficulties with the rear end in the fast corners. The front tyre and suspension, plus the balance of the machine are good. The engine is fast and reliable and I'm very happy about that. If we can get the rear tyre to perform as well as the front we will be in good shape. Basically, I set my best time after 17 laps, and despite what we did I could not go faster."

Tetsuya Harada - 23rd - 1m 48.565s - "I have no feeling from the front or rear tyre. I know I'm going slow but I've not fully recovered from my injury. With no feeling from the tyres in my condition I'm worried about a fall."
 

1. Valentino Rossi 1m44.280s
2. Loris Capirossi 1m44.483s
3. Tohru Ukawa 1m44.611s
4. Carlos Checa 1m45.229s
5. Alex Barros 1m45.405s
6. Daijiro Katoh 1m45.448s
7. Max Biaggi 1m45.681s
8. Shinya Nakano 1m45.870s
9. Norick Abe 1m46.025s
10. Akira Ryo 1m46.069s
11. Sete Gibernau 1m46.243s
12. Jeremy McWilliams 1m46.319s
13. John Hopkins 1m46.366s
14. Nobuatsu Aoki 1m46.407s
15. Kenny Roberts 1m46.625s

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