I would have liked to see that!!!!

Anyway, I think the quali's will be fine. Stoner did fine with them last year, so Vale will do better!

Thanks for the pics too - I love the BD helmet!

See Ya
Mel

News Jerez, Spain 16/02/2008 Lorenzo Makes Impressive Return to Home Soil in Jerez
Jorge Lorenzo

New Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo completed a promising first day of testing at the Official MotoGP tests in Jerez today. Although he rode the Yamaha here last November, today is the first time the 250cc World Champion has ridden on home soil in Fiat Yamaha colours as an official Yamaha rider, and the rookie marked an impressive day by finishing third fastest overall.

Lorenzo started from the base setting he found here last November and spent the day developing his race set-up and testing both front and rear Michelin tyres, with positive results all round and some excellent times on race tyres. At the end of the day the 20-year-old put in an impressive lap on a qualifying tyre, setting a time of 1’39.528 on his 94th lap.

Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 3rd Time: 1'39.528 Laps: 94
“This morning things didn’t start so well and I had a few problems, especially with the wind, but step-by-step we made some changes and I started to improve and feel better and better. We made some good changes to the bike and the chassis and finally we started to make improvements with the front end in the braking areas. We made a big step with the engine as well today, and we have some more power now. I have gained confidence today and I think in the end it’s been my best day so far. After the problems we had in Sepang, I can’t believe that we made such a good time on race tyres and the third best on qualifying tyres! Like I said, it was my best day despite the problems this morning but tomorrow I would like to have an even better one where everything is good right from the start!”

Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“Today was a positive day for us. We started the day with the same set-up as we used here in November and then gradually made changes to the setting and balance. We found more stability in the front for the rider going into the turns and also under acceleration, so this is encouraging for us. We also tested some Michelin tyres, both front and back, and found some promising new things to continue working with. Finally we tried a qualifying tyre, just to check the situation before tomorrow, and Jorge went very well with this. Now we hope for good weather for tomorrow so we can have another good day like this.”
Valentino Rossi

Rossi Celebrates Birthday With Promising First Day in Jerez
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi, who celebrated his 29th birthday, put in a strong showing on the first day of the Official MotoGP Test at Jerez de la Frontera in Southern Spain today. The seven-time World Champion spent the majority of the day atop the time sheets after lapping consistently fastest on race tyres throughout a long morning session, although he eventually finished the day further down the order in eighth position after several riders put in fast laps on qualifying tyres later on.

Rossi continued to make good progress with his set-up on Bridgestone race tyres, making the most of the day’s good weather to put in a total of 92 laps on his YZR-M1. The birthday boy’s best time of 1’40.641 was only a fraction off the existing lap record, which he set on his way to a memorable victory over Sete Gibernau in the 2005 race here. Fastest man on track today was Nicky Hayden with a lap of 1’29.200.

Tomorrow sees the traditional televised forty-minute timed session taking place between 1405 and 1445 local time. With a high possibility of rain the event, which Rossi ‘won’ here last year, looks like being an eventful battle for pre-season honours.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 8th Time: 1'40.641 Laps: 92
“It’s good to be here on my birthday because I love to ride my bike and I had fun today. I had a special helmet with the design of a birthday cake on it, so this was my way to celebrate today! For the first day it’s not so bad at all, I feel good with the tyres and the balance and power of the engine is also okay. Of course we’re not at 100% and we need to improve in some areas, especially in the entry to the corner where we’re not yet at the maximum. We tried a new generation of Bridgestone qualifying tyre today, whilst tomorrow we will have the more standard tyre, which we were very fast with in Sepang, so I think we will be able to fight with the others in the ‘qualifying’ session. Overall we’ve made a very good start and I feel confident that we can continue to be even faster tomorrow.”

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“We’ve made a good start today and done some very good work. At the end we tried a new type of qualifying tyre and on this we weren’t so fast but we will try what we know works tomorrow and hopefully we can be competitive alongside the others. It’s been a very positive day for Valentino and the whole team and we are looking forward to more of the same for the rest of the test.”

Colin Edwards
Edwards and Toseland Set Fast Pace in Jerez
Colin Edwards and James Toseland set impressive times on race and qualifying tyres as the Tech 3 Yamaha team made a positive start to the penultimate pre-season MotoGP test in Jerez today. Sporting a striking blue and yellow new paint scheme for the first time today, Edwards and Toseland posted the fourth and fifth quickest times respectively, both using the latest generation Michelin qualifying tyres to set their best times late on the opening day.

Edwards clocked a best lap of 1.39.629 to finish just 0.049s clear of fast learning newcomer Toseland, with the Tech 3 duo both within 0.5s of the fastest lap set by Nicky Hayden. Toseland produced one of the most eye-catching performances, with the British rider showing his growing confidence by setting one of the best times on race tyres. Toseland’s best on race rubber of 1.40.768 was bettered only be seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi at 2pm this afternoon, and his time was 0.5s faster than his best race tyre lap when he tested the 2007 YZR-M1 in Jerez last November. With rain forecast for the final two days, Toseland was the only rider to complete a 26-lap race simulation today, lapping consistently in the 1.41 bracket.
Edwards and Toseland will take part in the televised 40-minute qualifying shootout tomorrow afternoon, with a BMW Z4 M Roadster going to the fastest rider.

Colin Edwards - Position: 4th Time: 1.39.629 Laps: 78
“My lap time looks good and I’m happy with that but we have got plenty of room to improve. My pace wasn’t bad but strangely it wasn’t as good as my pace in November, and I have got an improved engine and electronics. I’ll have a sit down at the computer tonight with my team to see if we can resolve some of the small issues we have. To be honest I can’t really put my finger on it and we are a little bit confused. But I know we can gain more time. The bike just seems a bit nervous going into the corner and the lap time is not coming as easy as it did in November. But that’s why we go testing, though even with the problems we are still sitting in the top four which shows we are not in a bad position at all. I just want to be able to make the lap time a bit easier. Michelin is making a lot of progress with the qualifying tyres, and I think we have found a good direction for the season.“
James Toseland

James Toseland - Position: 5th Time: 1.39.678 Laps: 91
“It is a massive boost for me. I’ve made a big jump in time on race and qualifying tyres compared to November. I’m happy to finish fifth quickest but to be second for most of the day on race tyres is more important for me. I also did a long run and was pleased with my consistency, because it wasn’t the best part of the day with the conditions pretty windy when I was out. My best time on race tyres in November was a 1.41.2, so to do a 1.40.7 is really encouraging. I was also a lot faster on my qualifying tyres so that shows the progress I’m making with the team. It just shows what work we have put in over the last few tests. It has not been easy to adapt but with the experience of the team and especially my crew chief Guy Coulon, they are teaching me fast and it shows in the lap times. The time has come from the new traction control system that I didn’t run in November, and a lot has come from me. I know how late I can brake and how the package reacts in certain situations. I can do things sub-consciously rather than wondering what is going to happen at that speed. When it is like that you can progress and go faster and faster.”

Test Results
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'39.200
2. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'39.444
3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.528
4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'39.629
5. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'39.678
6. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'40.165
7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'40.192
8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'40.641
9. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'40.651
10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'40.767
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'40.843
12. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'41.352
13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'41.392
14. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'41.703
15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'41.763
16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'41.821
17. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1'41.901
18. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1'42.557
19. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'42.652
20. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'42.698

Jerez: Lap Record
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1'40.596

Jerez: Best Lap
L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1'39.064

unfortunatly it's only from 17:00 o`clock...
so the qualy part is missin

but quite interesting anyways I think

Thanks for that Staind.....where did you find them?

stole them in a cloak and dagger operation
from the virtual home of all GP racing...... ya know





is it me.. or IS there a candle burning at the helmet???

Thanks for the times and the pics Staind.

You're right, that does look very much like a candle on the helmet

See Ya
Mel

I know this is getting a bit ahead of things, but after this test, what's next. Is it only the Qatar night test on the 28th? Thanks

Oooh, I love it when Valentino is in earnest racing mode... so business-like.

Love the cake hat... pretty colours, pretty fruit.

It was really fun reading this thread... almost like being there! Thanks and bravo to all who contributed to the "live action"... I feel like I haven't missed a thing.

Just a bugger that VR left Michelin cause their tyres had no race durability, now we're watching him compete against the one great strength Michelin always had... excellent qualifiers... such a bore...

It's such a relief, isn't it, to read that the Yam is actually out there fighting it out on the power front... I just hope fervently that their development is lightening fast and on the right track... couldn't take another year like the last two... bike probs, bike probs, bike probs.

Get that Beemer, Valentino!

Yeah, thanks to everyone who contributed during this test in jerez. Hopefully you all be here again tonight (my night) so that we can sort of have live conversation like yesterday. Cheers.


2008 - VALE WILL CONQUER

I'll be here!!! Hopefully with the damn live timing working this time!!!

See Ya
Mel

it is!





now the FP2 just started...
but no one out, yet

no wonder...

it's raining!

air:12°C
ground:10°C
windspeed:5km/h
humidity:91%


I hope at least the quali session will be dry