Yamaha report from day 1 at Phillip Island

It was a pleasant start today to the three-day test taking place for the Honda MotoGP teams and riders this week at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. With the sun shining throughout the day, and confidence still on a high after a successful three-day session in Malaysia last week, the only element the riders couldn't control was the wind, which gusted, powerfully on occasions, around the coastal track.

Max Biaggi fell foul of the temperature change from Malaysia to the breezy Phillip Island, feeling a little under the weather today with a slight cold. He was as determined as ever on the track though to improve the set-up of his Camel Honda machine, although recognised that the team would need more work for him to feel happy with the bike before they leave the
4,448 metre circuit.

The Telefonica MoviStar pairing of Sete Gibernau and Colin Edwards are still going about their work in a methodical fashion, which has proved fruitful for both so far this pre-season. Edwards in particular today looked at home on the Australian track and set the fastest time of all the riders out on a busy day. Gibernau was close behind, with Biaggi, Nicky Hayden, Alex Barros and Makoto Tamada following in that order in terms of lap times.

Repsol Honda's Hayden, fastest in the last test at Sepang, searched for a better set-up with his Honda after putting in a massive amount of laps, but was still left wanting, whilst team-mate Alex Barros is beginning to shrug off the stiffness around his recovering right shoulder. Finally, Camel Honda's Makoto Tamada has in turn recovered from the bout of flu that struck him in Sepang, only to be affected by a problem out of his control with his tyres.

Colin Edwards - 1m 31.06s +- 70 laps - "The bike feels good here, it's like I'm learning more about it every single day, and I get faster with everything I learn, I'm becoming competent with it now! The Aprilia I rode last year was a real handful here; but with all the information from previous years, advice from my crew chief Fabrizio, and the things gathered from Rossi and Gibernau here in the race last year, my Honda was set-up great when I showed up. It's different to the Sepang set-up definitely. The track is special here with all the left-handers, so the Michelins have to cope with that and the heat. I feel they have a lot more to give though, it's just a matter of gathering more data. As I said, I feel good, I don't feel as though I'm in over my head or at the limit yet. I'm just cruising around and I feel there's a lot more time to gain in there."

Sete Gibernau - 1m 31.37s 80 laps - "For sure Phillip Island is not one of my favourite circuits but I put in around 80 laps today, mostly testing tyres for Michelin both fronts and rears. Now I ca say I'm happy with the feeling with he bike on these tyres, and I'm getting comfortable with Phillip Island. We have two more days of testing ahead of us and I'm confident we will be in really good shape when we leave here."

Max Biaggi - 1m 31.40s 75 laps - "Today I was trying to get a good feeling with the set-up of my bike, but I think there's still a few things to improve. We focused on the balance of the machine, trying to get it to corner a little faster. Maybe it's not quite perfect yet, so I have to work on improving it tomorrow. We'll try a different set-up, and with the Michelin 16.5 inch front tyre we'll try and work the bike around it to get a good feeling, and even try some new things with the suspension."

Nicky Hayden - 1m 31.50s. 100 laps - "We tested quite a lot of tyres today and got through quite a bit of work for Michelin. We seemed to go in one direction then tried another - not the greatest of days - but all part of the testin' process. Tomorrow we really want to work on the bikes set-up. I'm not that happy with the way we have it now. It's been clear and windy today. Nice to get on a new track after being at Sepang for two back-to-back sessions. It's definitely a breath of fresh air to go at it on another circuit and see what carries from one circuit o another."

Alex Barros -1m 31.78s. 80 laps - "Not so bad today - coming better. The lap time is also closer to the first guy and I'm riding more consistently. We're still trying to sort the set-up on the machine. Not yet the way I like it. We still have much to do. The main problem is turning; I still don't feel the machine turns enough so tomorrow we try some different front fork settings and wheel sizes. Today we managed quite a few consecutive laps - sometimes 12 - and the shoulder feels all right. I'm feeling more comfortable on the machine with each day - the more you ride, the more you understand."

Makoto Tamada - 1m 31.85s 56 laps - "I'm pleased about how we've been able to get to work so fast and so well with the new bike - on a track that's so different from Sepang. This is a fast circuit with a very characteristic rhythm, but we quickly adapted my RC211V. We concentrated the development work on the tyres by focusing on a fairly limited number of compounds and the ideal weather conditions came in the afternoon. Over the next two days we'll be able to work out even more precise settings for the bike."

Giulio Bernardelle Technical director for Makoto Tamada - Camel Honda - "I'm really satisfied with the way the rider works, making it possible for us to carry out a targeted search for the perfect settings. We're building on the experience we gained last season in order to achieve an important objective: that of getting onto every single world championship circuit with the right set-up and the right tyres. What we're really concentrating on in these tests is the engine, the electronics, the chassis and the suspension. The 2004 bike gives us greater range of manoeuvre and the research work - adapting the bike to the various circuits - is really exciting."