From Yamaha:

SETUP REPORT - 01/05/2007

FIAT Yamaha Team hoping for points boost in China

After the disappointment of an unrewarding weekend in Istanbul, the Fiat Yamaha
Team take their quest for glory even further east this week as the MotoGP World
Championship points-chase stops off in Shanghai. The Grand Prix of China is the
fourth round of eighteen on this year's gruelling calendar and it promises to be
one of the most challenging, with the horsepower-sapping nature of the circuit
and the unpredictable weather of the world's ninth largest city sure to play
their part.

The past two visits to Shanghai have provided almost polar extremes in the
conditions, with a torrential downpour virtually flooding the circuit in the
inaugural event of 2005 and then the intense heat of a year ago, when ambient
temperatures during the race touched 31ºC, presenting an altogether different
challenge. The event has also seen stark contrasts in fortunes for Valentino
Rossi, who navigated his way to victory ahead of Olivier Jacque two years ago
but suffered front tyre problems in the heat-wave of 2006 and was forced to
retire from the race.

Colin Edwards provided some cheer for the team last year by clinching third
place in what would prove to be his only podium finish of the campaign. This
year the Texan heads to China with a rostrum already under his belt, thanks to
his third place at Jerez, following an encouraging start to the season that was
only spoiled by an unfortunate crash in Turkey, when he was knocked out of the
leading group by another rider on the first lap. Edwards suffered a cut and
swollen knee in the incident and was forced to skip a day of testing at Istanbul
Park last Monday but he will be fit to resume action in Friday morning's opening
free practice session.

Despite being drawn by the same hand as the Istanbul Park Circuit in Turkey,
Shanghai has different characteristics that bring to mind closer comparisons
with the other Herman Tilke circuit of Sepang. Combining fast straights and hard
braking zones with a series of slow and difficult corners, bike set-up is a
question of finding a compromised balance and enough horsepower to deal with the
longest straight on the calendar, measuring 1202 metres. The unpredictable
conditions and mixed data from previous seasons mean grip levels will be a
complete mystery, making life even more difficult for Michelin's engineers as
they try to adapt to new tyre restrictions in the most demanding of
circumstances.

Valentino Rossi - "Mixed memories but clear focus"
Valentino Rossi heads to Shanghai with his mind still fully focused on the job
despite tyre problems at Istanbul and in this race last year. Other than when he
fell and re-mounted to take 14th at Jerez last season, tenth place in Turkey was
the Italian's worst-ever dry weather result since his rookie premier-class
season in 2000 and he is keen to make amends this Sunday.

"We had a bad result in Turkey which we weren't expecting after being on pole,
but Michelin have been working very hard to understand what went wrong and to
ensure that it won't happen again," says Rossi. "We had a good test on Monday
and tried a lot of new tyre combinations with China in mind, so we are going
there with some ideas about what we think will work. Now it's a case of making
what is hopefully the right tyre choice and then seeing how things go on Friday
morning.

"Last year we had a big problem in China and I couldn't finish the race, but in
2005 I had a great victory there in the wet so I have some nice memories of this
track as well as some bad ones! We know it's not ideal for our bike and maybe
they're going to have to split the main straight in two - one part for Ducati
and one part for the rest of us! Joking aside though, it's a very long straight
and we know that we're going to lack some top speed on it but the new engine
modifications we had in Turkey worked well and there's a good improvement, so
hopefully it won't be too serious. We're second in the championship and we've
lost a few points so we need to aim for a podium to get back on track."

Colin Edwards - "Punching back!"
Colin Edwards insists he will be back up and fighting in China despite being
knocked to the canvas on the first lap of the Grand Prix of Turkey. The Texan
has boxed clever throughout testing and the opening three rounds of the season
to give himself an optimum chance of success this season and he is hoping his
excellent relationship with Michelin can pay dividends in a race that will place
huge emphasis on tyre choice.

"Turkey was a real shame because I felt I could have challenged for a podium,
but that's racing and there's no point getting angry and stewing over it,"
reflects Edwards. "I didn't test on Monday because my knee was pretty painful
but a few days resting up at home has helped a lot and it's feeling a lot
better. After starting the season pretty well it was disappointing to have such
a bad time in Turkey for the team but that's our 'bogey' circuit and now we're
looking forward to punching back in China!

"Shanghai last year was good for me and I ended up on the podium and of course
I'm aiming to repeat that with improvement this year! We know it's going to be a
tricky track for us with the long straight but hopefully we can make it up on
the other parts of the track. Again the tyres are going to be a big factor but
Valentino and Michelin worked seriously hard on Monday in Turkey, while I was
chair-bound, and I think they've got some good plans about what's going to
work."

Davide Brivio - "Defence the priority"
Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio says his riders face an uphill challenge
in their battle for honours this weekend and admits the onus will be on defence
rather than attack in the final 'flyaway' race before the start of the European
term. The Italian pinpoints the long straights of Shanghai as a potential
sticking point for the YZR-M1 but says his team are putting their faith in a new
direction of development with Michelin tyres - aimed at an assault on the top
positions during the decisive run of races up to summer.

"Turkey was disappointing but at the same time very important to get information
and data about where the limit of the tyres is with these new bikes and where
they can be improved," says Brivio. "We had a very good meeting with Michelin
and developed some ideas during the test last Monday. Time will tell but it
seems we have identified a new direction to work in and we are all keen to get
to China to verify those ideas and help Michelin find a tyre that is most
suitable for our bike and for our riders' style.

"China will be a very difficult race for us because of the long straight. It is
not a track that allows us to maximise the potential of our bike, which is
perhaps stronger at smaller, more 'rideable' circuits. We really have to go
there and defend as much as possible and focus on getting the bike and tyres
ready to attack when we return to Europe once more. Hopefully then we can be
back fighting for the victory."

Is it just me or is anyone else dreading the Shanghai GP?

Maybe I'm just suffering from a mild attack of spring depression but I think I'll just be happier when this weekend is over and done with ....

... & then we can get back to the fun tracks!!

(P.S. sorry to anyone on this forum from Shanghai! )

No you are not alone - I think there are a lot of us quaking together. And I suspect Valentino, Colin and the rest of the team will be glad to get this race behind them.

"Still, it is all good experience" - don't you just hate it when people say that!

Hang on - the race hasn't even started yet and we are talking like it is already over - do we really have so little faith in our hero? He could still do it, and what a victory that would be!

i strongly believe vale will have a good a race!
my only ? are the tires/michelin

ah I just found what they (michelin) have to say..

Michelin Readies For Chinese Grand Prix
by staff
Tuesday, May 01, 2007 This just in from Michelin:
2007 MotoGP World Championship
April 30, 2007
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE NEW TYRE REGULATIONS
New rules present bigger challenge, reduce tyre consumption by 40%
Michelin has had to totally change its modus operandi to work within MotoGP's new tyre regulations that restrict riders to 31 slick tyres over each race weekend.
The new rules place an even greater responsibility on the shoulders of the tyre companies because they now need to cover all possible track and weather conditions within a very limited allocation of slick tyres. This requires a much increased level of behind-the-scenes work.
"Our job is much more difficult and much more complex now but of course that makes success taste all the sweeter," says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin's director of motorcycle racing. "The big challenge is all the theoretical work we have to do behind the scenes. We have a lot of people within our R&D centre who carefully consider all the models and all the data we have to develop constructions and compounds that will suit the conditions within a very limited number of tyres."
Michelin usually begin working on tyre choice for each race about a month before the event, but it's an ongoing process, final decisions on tyre production can be made just a few days before the event. Some tyres are therefore manufactured well in advance, others much closer to the date of the race.
"We may want to use what we've learned from the previous race or post-race tests undertaken at the previous event in some of the tyres we make," adds Weber. "So, for example, from what we learned with Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) during the Istanbul race we are making stronger construction rear tyres for the Yamahas. And then, of course, we have to consider the weather forecasts. For example, the last tyres we made for Istanbul only left the factory on the Monday before the race and for China they will be made ten days before the race.
Riders and teams were involved in tyre choice prior to manufacture for the Qatar and Spanish GPs because they had only recently tested at Losail and Jerez. But with no pre-event tests at Istanbul or Shanghai they must rely on Michelin's expertise.
"For Istanbul we made casings and constructions according to the direction each of our riders took during winter testing, this is part of the process of tailor-making tyres for all our riders. Then we included the information we have about the track, the bikes and the weather, computed all that data together and produced each rider's tyre allocation. For Shanghai we will factor in what we learned in Turkey. While most of our Honda riders chose good tyres at Istanbul, we learned that the Yamaha needs a stronger rear casing.
"At Istanbul we had five different specs of rear slick for our riders to choose from and at Shanghai we will have a minimum of five specs but we will have more at some events. For example, the weather is more difficult to predict at places like Donington and Assen, so we may have a wider range of specs from which riders can choose their selection on the day before practice starts."
The permutations of different tyre specs certainly aren't endless because within the allocation of 17 slicks two or three may be qualifiers. "Most riders choose between three and five different specs of rear slicks and that's it," Weber explains. "If you were to choose six different specs it would be almost impossible to manage because you'd only have two tyres of each spec."
Tyre selections are made on the day before practice begins, when each rider's 31 tyres are barcoded. From that point on riders have to make do with the tyres they've got. And it's quite possible that they won't always have the best tyres for all conditions over the race weekend. At Jerez, for example, morning temperatures were much lower than forecasts had predicted.

"The morning sessions at Jerez were much colder than expected, which made it quite difficult, but riders just have to deal with that. They need to understand that if they don't have the best tyre for the morning session then that doesn't mean they need to change the whole bike set-up. So long as they know how they're working towards the race then it's okay, and we're very happy with the way our teams worked towards the race at Jerez."
"Many of the riders seem to like the new rules because in a way their job is now simpler. When they had an endless supply of many different tyres it could be confusing, and it was certainly very time confusing because they had so many different tyres to test. Now they know exactly what they've got for the weekend, so they can focus on what they've got and work to make the best race tyre choice."
The new rules are certainly reducing the number of tyres used. "This year we are making less tyres and using less tyres," reveals Weber. "At Qatar (where Michelin has the same number of riders as they had last year) we used 300 less tyres than we used in 2006, that's a reduction of around 40 per cent."


http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/May/070501b1.htm

Thanks for the news!!!

I have no feeling about Shanghai yet...

Gi

So when Michelin are using their expertise to tailor-make tyres for each of their (few remaining) riders, why do they always make sure that Vale gets the crap ones that fall apart???

Oh well, we (the loyal flock) must be due another staggering miracle from His Greatness soon - perhaps he has this Sunday pencilled in.....

I think that Yamaha should try some Bridgestone tyres!!!

I know that what I'll write here now is a bit crazy but, we're at the beginning of the chapiomship and Vale is only 10 points behind Casey!!! He had a problem with Michelin tyres, so why not try some different ones???? If it doesn't work, he'll have enough time to take his points back! I just think that if Vale and Yamaha will risk Michelin again why not do it using another tyre?

Gi

PS: Moto GP rules let factories change their tyres???

Bridgestone Previews China Grand Prix

From www.superbikeplanet.com

This just in from Bridgestone:

Bridgestone GP Briefing - Round 4: China

Tuesday 1 May 2007

The 2007 MotoGP championship continues its eastward momentum as the Shanghai International Circuit plays host to the third Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. After a dominant performance at the last race in Turkey, where it scored an historic maiden 1-2-3, Bridgestone heads to China in positive, but realistic mood, knowing that the Shanghai circuit will present its range of tyres with another tough technical challenge.

John Hopkins finished last year's race as the top Bridgestone-shod rider, the Anglo-American converting an excellent second-place grid position into a fourth-place race result, his joint best of the season (with Catalunya). In 2005, the inaugural Chinese MotoGP event, Kawasaki rider Olivier Jacque marked his debut on Bridgestone tyres with a stunning second place in wet conditions.

Tyre Talk with Hiroshi Yamada - Bridgestone Motorsport - Manager, Motorcycle Sport Department
From Istanbul to Shanghai

"We are not getting carried away with the performance of our tyres in Turkey two weeks' ago. We were very pleased with the competitiveness and durability of our tyres at a track that has previously been difficult for us, but China will present us with renewed challenges. Similar to Turkey, the track is quite a recent addition to the MotoGP calendar but the technicalities are quite different, so we require a different approach to tyre development. As we have seen in previous years, the climate in China can also be quite variable so we will bring a wider range of specifications this weekend to cater for any eventuality."


Getting China in Hand
"There are two very long straights at Shanghai, one of which is the longest and fastest straight on the calendar at 1.2km long. This naturally places a lot of importance on the strength of the engine, but the resultant heavy braking at the end of the back and main straight also places significant demands on the central part of the tyre. The slower corners also require a lot of edge grip from both right and left hand sides of the tyre, although the right-hand side is put under slightly more pressure, especially through the slow and twisty first corners."


Compound Considerations
"We introduced a new generation of compound in Turkey which were designed to cope with the low-grip nature of the Istanbul Park track. The selection of soft, medium and hard specification tyres that we are bringing to China have been based on this new generation compound, specifically in an effort to combat the grip and consistency problems that we faced in Shanghai in the last two years. China will pose a different set of circumstances than in Istanbul two weeks ago, but we hope our range of tyres will show a similar year-on-year increase in performance."

Gi