Kawasaki

Kawasaki - Fuchs Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano started today's final pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez as he left off at Catalunya, setting the seventh fastest time of the day aboard his Ninja ZX-RR and closing to within 0.7s of reigning World Champion, and the man at the top of today's timesheet, Valentino Rossi.

Overnight rain meant that Nakano and Alex Hofmann were greeted by a damp track as they arrived at the Jerez circuit this morning, but keen to make the most of the break in the weather, and despite the less than perfect conditions, both riders exited pit lane to start testing as soon as dry patches started to appear on the circuit.

Nakano started the day by evaluating changes to both engine and chassis geometry in a bid to improve acceleration and rear traction when on the gas out of the turns. The 26-year-old Japanese rider also tested new rear tyres from Bridgestone, identifying two that worked particularly well around the flowing Jerez circuit.

Hofmann initially focussed on comparing the characteristics of two different specifications of the 990cc inline four-cylinder Ninja ZX-RR engine, before also testing the latest tyres from Bridgestone. In just 49 laps of the Jerez circuit, and in less than ideal conditions, the 23-year-old German rider had already improved upon his best race time from 2003 by a considerable margin.

Both riders set their fastest lap times late in the afternoon, with a time of 1'43.386s securing Nakano seventh place on the timesheet and MotoGP rookie Hofmann finishing an impressive 12th fastest with a lap time of 1'44.009s.

While the weather forecast for tomorrow promises more rain, both Nakano and Hofmann are hopeful of one more day's testing before their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR machines are crated up ready for shipment to South Africa, and the opening race of the season on April 18th.

Shinya Nakano: 7th (1'43.386 - 40 laps) - "We don't know what the weather is going to do tomorrow, so I tried to get as much track time in as I could today. Our main concern at this time is that the bike wants to wheelie and spin up the rear tyre when you get on the gas out of the turns, and solving this problem is our number one priority at the moment. Today we tried some changes to the chassis geometry and the engine but, while there was a slight improvement overall, we still need to do some more work in this area. During the Barcelona test I struggled to find a tyre I was happy with, but Bridgestone have brought two new tyres to Jerez and I think my lap times today are a good indication of how well they work around this circuit. I am happy with the progress we've made in the short time we've had this afternoon and, if the weather holds for tomorrow, I am confident that we'll see further improvements to both the bike and the lap times."

Alex Hofmann: 12th (1'44.009 - 49 laps) - "We've been a little bit lucky with the weather today, as it looked like we were going to have a repeat of the Barcelona test when we arrived to find a very wet circuit this morning. We eventually took to the track around lunchtime, which meant we were kept busy trying to complete the test schedule we had planned for today. Conditions weren't exactly perfect for the first couple of sessions this afternoon, but as the track dried out we were able to start increasing the pace and refining the set up of the bike to suit the circuit. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with what we've achieved today; the bike works well around here and, after just 49 laps, we've already managed to improve on my best race time from last year by over 1.5 seconds. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us tomorrow, as this will be the last chance we get to test before we head off to Welkom for the first race of the season."

Repsol HRC

Repsol - Just two days after the IRTA tests in Catalunya the Repsol Honda Team riders, Nicky Hayden and Alex Barros were in action again during the first day of a two-day scheduled test at Jerez in Spain today (Wednesday).

Both riders left Catalunya in good spirits, happy with the performance of their 2004 spec Honda RC211V’s and were second and third fastest with practically identical times in a field of 26 riders.

The weather played an important part in today’s proceedings and restricted riders to two and a half hour session in the middle of the day.

The twisty 4.423km close to Sevilla in the South of Spain was not a favourite track for the Repsol Honda pair last year. Hayden qualified 19th fastest and failed to finish the race while Barros qualified 15th fastest (on a Yamaha) and finished the race in 5th place.

Alex Barros - “We started with the aim of getting a good base set-up as I have never ridden the RC211V here. We tested two or three different compound Michelins here and worked hard on different suspension settings. When we were ready to push for some fast laps the rain came and it was impossible to make a good lap.”

Nicky Hayden - “The day was really weather affected which after the interruptions of Catalunya was a real shame. The day started off real wet and the track took a long time to dry out. The team worked hard and we got the bike going pretty good. We were confident we were going in the right direction with regards the set-up then it started raining again mid afternoon and that was it really. Lets hope for a good day tomorrow. One more day of testing before the season starts!”

Fortuna Yamaha

Fortuna Yamaha - Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi completed another worthwhile pre-season test session today, topping the leader board again despite doing just 39 laps on his YZR-M1 machine due to sporadic rain showers throughout the day. His team-mate Carlos Checa also had a valuable day of testing, finishing fourth fastest during this first day of the second official IRTA Tests of 2004.

A rainy morning saw only a few MotoGP bikes venture out for practice, the Yamaha riders eventually getting underway in the early afternoon after the track had dried out. Reigning World Champion Rossi quickly went to the top of the leader board and managed to stay there, bettering his own best time several times over before another rain shower half an hour before the end of the session brought him in with a final fastest time of 1'42.656. Just over one tenth of a second behind him was Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts (1'42.761), and Colin Edwards on his Honda (1'42.771). Checa, who completed 50 laps, also clocked up some fast times, finishing the day fourth fastest with a time of 1'42.927.

Valentino Rossi (1'42.656) - "It was another good surprise to be fastest today, I am very happy. We arrived here and everything immediately went quite well with a set-up similar to Barcelona. The bike is easy to steer, very agile, and it's handling the braking well. We are still having some problems because after 8 or 9 laps the bike is a bit more difficult to control, but we will keep working to change that. Unfortunately today we weren't able to do a lot of testing; I hope the weather is better tomorrow and I can improve even more. This run of tests has been really important because when you have tested at Sepang, Phillip Island, Barcelona and Jerez, you have tried the bike on all types of different corners and, overall, the bike seems in a good way."

Carlos Checa - (1'42.927) - "We did a good job today and stuck with the same set-up we used in Barcelona. There's obviously a clear improvement and I think it's coming from an increase in my turning speed, but we are still looking to do better.
The new engine spec is obviously making some difference too but apart from that we have made as few changes as possible to the bike. The target now for the rest of the test is to do several laps at a good pace; I already did seven or eight fast laps in a row this afternoon, but then the rain came and stopped me."

Jeremy Burgess - "We've changed the suspension a bit for Jerez, but overall the bike's not that different from Barcelona. There's much more feel from the tyres here because the temperature is higher than Barcelona. Each time we test we get a better picture and we are pleased with the way the bike is adapting to each circuit. It is not the case that the Yamaha has to have big changes each time you move. It's good to come to our fourth circuit and be fastest on the first day, although we are continuing to fix the problems we have, as always."

HRC

At Jerez in the south of Spain, the six rider strong Honda contingent are taking part in the final session of what has been a long winter testing programme. Before a wheel could be turned in anger however this morning, the riders came up against their old adversary, the weather. Overnight rain had left the asphalt sodden, and with heavy clouds looming in the skies it looked as though completing nothing more than a couple of coasting laps on wet tyres was going to be impossible. However, the sun broke through just after midday and the circuit eventually began to dry out, with work able to commence around three o’clock.

When they did finally get out on track, the riders knew they had to make the most of the little time they had been given, and set about working on the bike settings, especially the new chassis and swinging arm, introduced at Catalunya at the weekend. Colin Edwards ended up the fastest of the Honda men, just a hundredth outside the time of countryman Kenny Roberts on the Suzuki, and third fastest rider on the day, with Valentino Rossi quickest on the Yamaha. With the rain returning to haunt the riders once more at 5:30pm however, they hardly had time to get into a groove, with a maximum of three and a half hours out on track.

Alex Barros was fifth fastest, and the quickest of the Repsol Honda duo, with the other four Honda riders making it into the top eleven; Sete Gibernau in eighth place, and Nicky Hayden, Makoto Tamada and Max Biaggi just behind him. All except Biaggi were within a second of the best time of the day, a new circuit record.

Colin Edwards: 1m 42.771s - 40 laps - “I think we’ve pretty much got the chassis figured out, it didn’t take too long. The biggest thing is finding the balance between it all, but it seems to be working okay. We’re going good, and dare I say it I’m maybe not 100% with the motor now. I’m crawling trying to keep the front end down. The old one was so friendly in that area, so I think we’ll have to mess around with the electronics a bit to get it sorted, but all in all it was okay. We’ve changed stuff now compared to what Honda brought us at the beginning in Barcelona, and now it feels good.”

Alex Barros: 1m 42.974s - 43 laps - “We started with the aim of getting a good base set-up as I have never ridden the RC211V here. We tested two or three different compound Michelins here and worked hard on different suspension settings. When we were ready to push for some fast laps the rain came and it was impossible to make a good lap.”

Sete Gibernau: 1m 43.408s - 30 laps - “It’s not so bad, but I have a bit of a fever which meant I wasn’t sure whether I was going to go out today. It’s important to get some more information on the bike though here, so we decided to give it a go. Hopefully the fever will have gone by tomorrow because I feel confident. The new chassis, swing-arm, links and all that are feeling better, I’m getting more feedback than in Barcelona. There I wasn’t too confident, but it’s definitely coming now.”

Nicky Hayden: 1m 43.457s - 43 laps - "The day was really weather affected which after the interruptions of Catalunya was a real shame. The day started off real wet and the track took a long time to dry out. The team worked hard and we got the bike going pretty good. We were confident we were going in the right direction with regards the set-up then it started raining again mid afternoon and that was it really. Lets hope for a good day tomorrow. One more day of testing before the season starts!”

Makoto Tamada 1m 43.541 - 40 laps - “I tried some tyres today which I was unable to test at Catalunya. Honestly though, I wanted to test the new machine more than the tyres. The weather was bad though, and I wasn’t able to do either properly! I went out in the wet this morning to show that I am motivated and to get some laps in under rain conditions, but apart from that we hope it’s dry tomorrow so I can test some more things.”

Max Biaggi: 1m 43.980s - 40 laps - “I didn’t find any solutions today, since Barcelona I just haven’t been able to go any faster. The problem is that the new chassis is difficult to find improvements in. We have a kind of rear chatter when you transfer to the front going into the turn. Then also we have more chatter coming out of the turn. This makes riding impossible because if you can’t go well both going in and coming out of the bend then you can’t go fast. We have to work this out and get the cornering right. I have to say I’m a little upset today and just need a little help to sort these problems.”

Suzuki

Team Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts and John Hopkins posted their best results so far in the run up to their MotoGP World Championship campaign at today s second-round tests in Jerez, Spain.

Roberts claimed second best time of the test, a fraction over 100ths-of-a-second off the benchmark 1'42.656 time posted by reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi, whilst Hopkins, who is still recovering from a pre-season ankle injury, claimed an impressive sixth place overall.

Overnight showers impeded the riders from lapping on a dry track this morning, even though the rain itself had stopped falling. Few chose to brave the in-between conditions, and all were forced to wait until around three in the afternoon before making their first dry laps of the 4.423 kilometre circuit.

Lap times supplied by the Circuito de Jerez:

1. V. Rossi (Yamaha); 1'42.656 - 39 laps
2. K. Roberts (Suzuki); 1'42.761 - 39 laps
3. C. Edwards (Honda); 1'42.771 - 40 laps
4. C. Checa (Yamaha); 1'42.927 - 50 laps
5. A. Barros (Honda); 1'42.974 - 43 laps
6. J. Hopkins (Suzuki); 1'43.314 - 47 laps
7. S. Nakano (Kawasaki); 1'43.386 - 40 laps
8. S. Gibernau (Honda); 1'43.408 - 30 laps
9. N. Hayden (Honda); 1'43.457 - 43 laps
10. M. Tamada (Honda); 1'43.541 - 40 laps
11. M. Biaggi (Honda); 1'43.980 - 40 laps
12. A. Hofmann (Kawasaki); 1'44.009 - 49 laps
13. N. Hodgson (Ducati); 1'44.140 - 45 laps
14. M. Melandri (Yamaha); 1'44.470; 55 laps
15. G. Lavilla (Suzuki); 1'44.494 - 48 laps
16. L. Capirossi (Ducati); 1'44.544 - 27 laps
17. T. Bayliss (Ducati); 1'44.595 - 45 laps
18. R. Xaus (Ducati); 1'44.662 - 50 laps
19. N. Abe (Yamaha); 1'45.564 - 47 laps
20. V. Guareschi (Ducati); 1'48.730 - 29 laps
21. N. Aoki (Proton KR); 1'49.414 - 16 laps


Comparative lap times:
Spanish Grand Prix (11/05/2003):
Pole position: Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 1min 41.983secs
Fastest lap: Valentino Rossi ITA Repsol Honda 1min 42.788secs
Fastest Yamaha lap: Carlos Checa SPA Fortuna Yamaha 1min 43.631secs
Fastest Ducati lap: Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 1min 43.575secs
Fastest Aprilia lap: Noriyuki Haga JPN Alice Aprilia 1min 44.006secs
Fastest Suzuki lap: John Hopkins USA Suzuki Grand Prix 1min 44.195secs
Fastest Proton KR lap: Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Proton Team KR 1min 44.201secs
Fastest Kawasaki lap: Andrew Pitt AUS Fuchs Kawasaki 1min 44.909secs