Yamaha and Tech3 | Valencia, GP Zero
- From: TRS Media | Published: March 29th, 2009 - 4:35 pm
Rossi and Lorenzo second and fourth in Jerez offical practice
The first competitive outing of the year, the Official Practice Session in Jerez today, saw Fiat Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo finish second and fourth after the 45-minute session was interrupted by a red flag before being cut short by rain. In the first ‘qualifying’ session since the single-tire rule came into play the riders were keen to get a feel for the new system and were disappointed not to be able use the session to the full, but both are nonetheless satisfied with the work they’ve done this weekend and are now looking forward to the first race in two weeks time, under the Qatar floodlights. Rossi was third in this morning’s free practice session, continuing to work on fine-tuning the setting of his M1 at this last test before the season. Lorenzo was even faster, finishing the morning second behind Stoner and the pair were looking forward to a competitive showing this afternoon. A crash from James Toseland with 15 minutes to go saw the red flags come out for five minutes and the delay meant the riders were only able to complete a couple of fast laps before the rain came down and spelled an end to the session, with Casey Stoner fastest after a lap of 1’38.646.
Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1’39.365 Laps: 16
“Really I was aiming for second place because I don’t think our sponsor Fiat wanted me to win the prize of a different car! Joking apart though, I am happy enough about this test because yesterday and this morning we worked very well, made some good progress and most importantly we were fast! We have a good setting for the race here and my race pace and speed is good. This afternoon I was quite unlucky because just before the red flag I was on a fast lap and was blocked, then we had the red flag and this meant there wasn’t much time before the rain came at the end. I am not sure I could have beaten Stoner today though; he was faster over one lap than me. It was strange not to have a qualifying tire, the grip is not the same but Bridgestone have done a good job and you can still push so I think it will be possible to have some fun. Now we have finished testing and we’re waiting to go racing; I think we’re in good shape and it will be possible to push from the start.”
Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 4th Time: 1’39.829 Laps: 21
“Yesterday was good but today it was a lot colder and I found it harder to be as fast because the conditions were quite different. I think that the qualifying this year is going to be quite hard without the special tires, which always suited my riding style quite well. I was quite a specialist with the qualifying tires and now I don’t have that advantage, so I have to learn to adapt. My riding style is better with the harder Bridgestone tire and so it will be quite difficult for me to be as good in the qualifying sessions this year I think! Today Stoner was so fast with the soft tire and I didn’t have a chance to catch him. Anyway, the important thing is that I have felt really good on both days here, I have been consistently fast and I am definitely prepared to fight for the podium at the first race in Qatar.”
Davide Brivio – Team manager
“It’s been a positive test because we’ve pretty much got through everything we needed to and at the end of the day we’re in good shape and we’ve made further improvements to our bike. Most importantly, Valentino’s race pace is now very good. It was unfortunate not to win the ‘qualifying’ session today because it’s always nice to start the season off on that note but Casey was very strong, so congratulations to him. We’re leaving here happy and satisfied; we have a few small things to work on for Qatar but we’re basically ready to race.”
Daniele Romagnoli -Team Manager
“After yesterday and this morning’s sessions we expected to be closer to the front, but we couldn’t get there today. We used the harder tire that we selected yesterday, with which Jorge had his best performance, but unfortunately the weather was colder today and so the potential for a few fast laps was higher with the softer tire today. Our race pace is good, but obviously we still need to keep working to keep up with Casey, because he is very fast. Next time it will be the real thing in Qatar, where we had a very good test, and we’re confident that Jorge can be at the top.”
Colin Edwards 10th, James Toseland in lucky escape
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad ended its 2009 MotoGP pre-season preparations with a day of contrasting fortunes for Colin Edwards and James Toseland in Jerez.
Edwards finished 10th quickest overall, the Texan posting his best time of 1.40.305 in the televised 45-minute BMW shootout that was cut short by heavy rainfall. Edwards was less than 0.2s off a top six finish with his main focus spent working on a front-end setting to help him maximise the potential of the Bridgestone front tire ahead of the first race in Qatar on April 12.
British rider James Toseland had a lucky escape after he suffered a spectacular crash during the timed BMW session. Toseland fell heavily at Turn Three with 16 minutes remaining while he was in 15th position on the timesheets.
The 28-year-old underwent precautionary scans at hospital in Cadiz this afternoon after suffering concussion in the fall, but having been given the all-clear by doctors, Toseland returned to the Jerez paddock later this evening.
He will fly home to the UK tomorrow to rest and recuperate ahead of the season’s opening race under the Losail International Circuit’s floodlights.
Colin Edwards 10th – 1.40.305
“I started the timed session and I knew I could do a low 40 but to do a 39 I just didn’t have the right set-up. The harder I tried to push I seemed to get more chatter and it was a bit of a speed limit. We’ve got a good idea of how to make it better and we are just a little bit too hard on the front fork spring. When I saw Casey do a 39.1 on only his third lap, I knew my package wasn’t ready to do that and I’m not going to take any risks with the first race so close. I’m happy with the way the winter has gone. Yamaha has done a great job and at every test we have been competitive. I can’t wait for the first race to try and get a good start for Monster and Yamaha.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“It was obviously not the way we wanted to finish what has been a very positive winter for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team. Firstly, I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work and effort over the winter. I believe we are in a great position to have our best season for a long time, and with our new partner Monster, the future is looking very bright for Tech 3. Colin has done another excellent job for the team and Yamaha here. He never came here to win the car, but he wanted to get more of an understanding of the new bike and the Bridgestone tires ahead of the first race. I think we can be very optimistic after Colin’s performance during the winter of a very good season. I am obviously delighted that James is going to be fit for the first race after another big crash today. It is a real pity for him because he was really looking like his old self this weekend after the crash in Sepang and making some big progress with the bike and the tires. I’m sure he will be ready and determined to give 100 per cent again in Qatar. All of us can’t wait for the first race.”
Speaking on Toseland’s afternoon fall, Team Principal Herve Poncharal expressed disappointment with the setback.
“Unfortunately it was the same kind of crash today to what he had in Sepang. It hurt him. It was his first timed lap after leaving the pit with a fresh tire. It looks like he should hopefully be ok, even though he was motionless in the gravel for a little while,” said the Frenchman.
“James was recovering well from the Sepang crash; Qatar was a big step in recuperation for him, and until the crash everything was going a lot better for him here. He was in the group in which we think that he can be and making a lot of progress.”
The satellite team made a big impact of a different kind at the 2008 Qatar round of the World Championship, with Toseland and teammate Colin Edwards on the front row. They return to the scene of that glory in a fortnight, but Poncharal has set the bar to a realistic height for his charge.
“Crashing is certainly not the best thing that you can do before starting the first Grand Prix, but we know that James is a fighter. He will be there for the first race and, even though we are not expecting to win, we will try to pick up a few points.”
