Moto pasaulio naujienos

[nepykit]

Rossi Continues Strong Form on Second Day in Sepang, Yamaha-Racing News Sepang 06/02/2008

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi continued his impressive form on the second day of testing in Sepang today, topping the time sheets again with another very quick lap on qualifying tyres. The Italian, who turns 29 in ten days time, was also fast throughout the day on race tyres, lapping consistently in the 2’01s.



Rossi had a busy day, continuing his tyre testing programme with Bridgestone, working on suspension and electronic mapping as well as trying a new cowling and putting in some practice starts. His time of 2’00.472 was set on the penultimate lap of 70 and was a fraction slower than his time from yesterday, although still inside the existing circuit pole record, which he himself still holds from 2006.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 2’00.472 Laps: 70
“Today was another very good day and I had a good pace and rhythm all day. We tested some different Bridgestone tyres before again trying the one I prefer, which confirmed that this is the best one for us and so we will use it for the long run tomorrow. We worked a little bit on the suspension and also on the electronic mapping and we also tried a lot of practice starts, maybe as many as ten, and we need to improve a bit in this area. I also tried a new cowling which is aimed at improving the cooling system and this had a good result. Finally I tried a qualifying tyre again and, although I made a small mistake on my lap because I was quite tired by then, it was again very positive.”

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“At the moment we’re going very well and we’re very happy with our progress so far. Tomorrow we will concentrate on completing a long run and this will be very important to help us to see where we are. It was very, very hot today which made work quite difficult and Valentino did very well in these conditions. Now we just hope for a successful final day before we return to Europe.”


---

Difficult Day for Lorenzo in Malaysia

Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo ran into a few problems on the second day of a three-day Sepang test today, continuing to struggle with front-end feeling going into the hard braking areas. The 20-year-old and his crew dedicated most of the day to working on the problem but are yet to find the perfect solution, although Lorenzo was able to make a small improvement on his time from yesterday.



There were some positive notes however as the Spaniard tried a new chassis and reported improved stability with this. He completed 55 laps in the sweltering conditions and finished the day fourth fastest in a time of 2’02.396.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4th Time: 2'02.396 Laps: 55
"It has been quite a difficult day! We’re not so fast; slower than at the last test even though we have the same bike set-up, and we need to improve. Tomorrow I think I need to try some changes to my riding style. It’s still the same problem overall, with the front-end going into the corners, although I did try the new chassis and this is helping a little bit. After the session we had a long meeting with the engineers to look at all the data and now we will make a plan for tomorrow. We have one day left so of course we will try to make the most of it and finish the test in better shape.”

Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“Today was a hard day’s work. We’ve tested various different set-ups and improved a little bit but we still need to make a bigger step. We had some positive points with the new chassis, which improved stability in the hard braking areas, so we will keep working in this direction. I am confident that the team can find some solutions to help us on our final day here tomorrow.”

Results
1. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:00.472
2. Nicky Hayden - Repsol HRC 2:00.900
3. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini 2:02.049
4. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.396
5. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:02.646
6. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.513
7. Yamaha Test Rider - Yamaha Test Team 2:05.647
8. Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing 2:06.027
9. Yamaha Test Rider - Yamaha Test Team 2:06.244

[Username]

Nepykitai, ar galetum surasti Malaisijos practise geriausius laikus is praeitu metu pradzios, t.y. 2007 sausio-vasario men koks buvo best lap time pasiektas (ir koks buvo best time Yamahos) ? Idomu koki progresa pati Yamaha toje pacioje trasoje padare per metus laiko.... (Race ir kvalos GP netinka nes tai buvo jau metu pabaiga).

A?

[nepykit]

Nepykitai, ar galetum surasti Malaisijos practise geriausius laikus is praeitu metu pradzios, t.y. 2007 sausio-vasario men koks buvo best lap time pasiektas (ir koks buvo best time Yamahos) ? Idomu koki progresa pati Yamaha toje pacioje trasoje padare per metus laiko.... (Race ir kvalos GP netinka nes tai buvo jau metu pabaiga).

A?

Neskubek dar lyginti pagal sios dienos laikus, palauk rytdienos. Pernai skirtumas tarp antros ir trecios bandymu dienos laiku ~1 sek

Metu tik paskutines dienos laikus:

MotoGP test Sepang, Malaysia. Final day of three-day test. January 24, 2007.

Sepang Test MotoGP: Day Three.

1. Valentino Rossi - Yamaha Racing 2m 00.936s.
2. John Hopkins - Rizla Suzuki 2m 01.026s.
3. Loris Capirossi - Ducati MotoGP 2m 01.274s.
4. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2m 01.664s.
5. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2m 01.691s.
6. Randy De Puniet - Kawasaki Racing 2m 01.878s.
7. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda 2m 01.884s.
8. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Racing 2m 02.266s.
9. Casey Stoner - Ducati MotoGP 2m 02.407s.
10. Marco Melandri - Honda Gresini 2m 02.489s.
11. Carlos Checa - Honda LCR 2m 02.583s.
12. Alex Barros - Pramac d'Antin 2m 02.630s.
13. Toni Elias - Honda Gresini 2m 02.927s.
14. Alex Hofmann - Pramac d'Antin 2m 03.040s.
15. Shinya Nakano - Konica Minolta Honda 2m 03.077s.
16. Makoto Tamada - Yamaha Tech 3 2m 03.308s.
17. Kenny Roberts JR - Team Roberts 2m 03.330s.
18. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2m 03.592s.
19. Shinichi Ito - Bridgestone MotoGP 2m 03.973s.

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Praeitais metais Ducati specialiai slepe savo laikus, vare su racing padangom...

[nepykit]

Honda's engine dilemma continues...
Crash.net Wednesday, 6th February 2008

"Before I would have said 'yeah sure, we'll race the pneumatic-valve', but now maybe we're going to be on valve-springs" - Nicky Hayden.

Nicky Hayden still doesn't know which type of engine he'll be using at the 2008 MotoGP season opener, in Qatar on March 9, but suspects it could be last year's spring-valve design.



The two opening tests of the year - at Sepang and then Phillip Island - saw the lone Repsol Honda rider present, following Dani Pedrosa's hand injury, swapping between the new-for-2008 pneumatic-valve engine, which he hopes to race with, and the 'standard' spring-valve design from 2007.

The problem with the pneumatic-valve powerplant is that it is yet to match the performance of last year's engine - prompting Honda to fit the old spring-valve design into the new chassis, a combination that has been getting more and more track time.

Indeed, on his final pre-season visit to Sepang this week, Hayden rode only with the spring-valve engine, allowing him to concentrate on chassis and tyre development.

But the '07 engine/'08 chassis is far from ideal. The spring-valve has lost ground compared with the latest engines from Honda's leading rivals, while handling is also compromised, since the '08 RC212V chassis was designed specifically for use with the '08 (pneumatic-valve) engine.

"We didn't ride the pneumatic-valve engine at all this week. It's back in Japan and hopefully we'll see it again real soon, because that's what our potential is and obviously that's what this chassis is designed for," confirmed the 2006 MotoGP world champion, speaking exclusively to Crash.net after concluding his Sepang schedule on Wednesday, a day earlier than his rivals.

Hayden, one of only nine riders at the final Sepang test, was second fastest to Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi on both days, but unable to match his own qualifying or race tyre best from the January test (also set with the spring-valve engine). Overall, Hayden was 0.428secs behind Rossi on one-lap Michelin rubber, but the deficit on race tyres was a more worrying 0.98secs.

"The standard spring-valve engine isn't great. It's also not as good as the [spring-valve] engine we raced with here last year," revealed the American. "So that's a little bit frustrating."

"It's just a different engine," replied Nicky, when asked why it wasn't as good. "This engine spec is the spec Dani chose to go with for the spring-valve. It's smooth and easy to ride, but its overall performance isn't real high."

"We're down on radar speed, and acceleration mainly [even with the spring-valve engine]," he continued. "This week I didn't make a jump with qualifying tyres, as I would have liked, but I think generally I feel comfortable on qualifying tyres and they help our bike with acceleration, due to the extra corner speed."

Hayden believes it is unlikely that the spring-valve engine will be improved further, since all efforts are focused on bringing the pneumatic-valve engine up to speed.

"I'm not sure the spring-valve engine is going to get a lot of development from now on; it's hard to develop both engines," he said, when asked if the two designs could be developed simultaneously.

With just two more tests before the season-opening night race, Honda
is facing a difficult decision in terms of which chassis/engine set-up to concentrate its immediate future on - and Pedrosa's injury has clouded the issue further, since the 2007 world championship runner-up needs to ride the latest version of both bikes to form a full opinion.

As such, a final decision only looks likely after Pedrosa's return to action, which the Spaniard hopes will take place next time out at Jerez, from February 16-18.

The official Jerez test is also expected to see the pneumatic-valve engine return to action, and the Spanish appearance could be make-or-break in terms of whether the powerplant is raced at round one.

"Before I would have said 'yeah sure, we'll race the pneumatic-valve', but now maybe we're going to be on valve-springs [at Qatar]," admitted Hayden. "I don't want to commit one way or the other at this point."

But one thing that isn't in doubt is the effort Hayden and his team have put in to try and improve the situation.

"All I can do is ride the bike and focus on what I've got," reflected Nicky. "I think the bike will be all right. We'll see. We'll know a lot more when we get to that first race. We've made some progress, but for sure our rivals look real strong now, so we've got a lot of work still to do if we want to be a contender.

"My guys are working really hard. Everybody says 'it must be so hard for the riders, riding around Sepang in the heat all day' but honestly we've got the easy part!" he smiled. "The team has worked really hard here - and I appreciate that - even though we've still got work to do. We'll just keep trying to chip away."

Pneumatic-valves already control combustion-gas flow for the Suzuki GSV-R, Kawasaki ZX-RR and the latest Yamaha YZR-M1, while Ducati
uses its trademark desmodromic valve system - making Honda the only factory team still running valve-springs.

The satellite Honda teams will get their first taste of the 2008 customer RC212V engine, with which Repsol Honda finished last season, at the official Jerez test.

[nepykit]

Rossi Completes Malaysian Test with Impressive Race Simulation, Yamaha-Racing News Sepang 07/02/2008

Valentino Rossi rounded off a successful three days in Malaysia with another impressive day's testing at the Sepang International Circuit today. The high point of the Italian's day was his race simulation, when he lapped consistently under lap record pace and improved on his time from the January test, as well as on last year's race time.



Rossi was pleased both with the performance of his 2008-spec M1 and with his Bridgestone tyres, today's results indicating that he and his team are on target with their pre-season development. His best time of 2'01.190 was set on a qualifying tyre on his 23rd of 48 laps, putting him second in the standings behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

The Fiat Yamaha Team will reconvene closer to home at Jerez in Spain on Saturday, 16th February for the three-day Official MotoGP Test, the penultimate test before the season kicks off in March.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 2'01.190 Laps: 48
"I'm really happy about today's race simulation and about the overall balance of this test. Everything has gone well and the race-simulation was an improvement on the one from last time; this is the real test of where we are. We've worked on various different items in many different areas but we've had positive feedback throughout. It's given me the chance to better understand the tyres and today's simulation has given me even more information about how they behave. We've worked more at this test on the set-up of the bike to enable it to work as well as possible with the new tyres and we've also continued to work on the new engine, which will be the standard one for this season, and on the electronics. We've still got a lot to do but so far everything is progressing well. Now we're looking forward to Jerez and seeing where we are at a new track alongside all of our competitors."

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"This test has been very positive; all the hard work that the Yamaha engineers have put in over the winter is now showing in our good results so I would like to say a big thank you to all of them. We've seen improvement in all the different areas in which we've worked in this week and so we hope that these results will help us to create a competitive package. Today's race simulation was good and an improvement on January, plus the individual lap times within it were fast and consistent. This is a very important indication of our level. We've only done 50% of our pre-season testing, we have two more to go before the first race but we hope to continue improving like this and arrive at the first race in good shape and ready to commence our challenge."

---

Lorenzo on Top Despite Struggles on Final Day in Sepang

Jorge Lorenzo finished his second test of the year in positive fashion today with an impressive lap on qualifying tyres. The young Fiat Yamaha Team rider had a somewhat difficult test overall and was unhappy not to improve in the way he had expected to, but his performance on Michelin qualifying rubber at the end of the day gave him some cause for cheer.



Like his team-mate Valentino Rossi, Lorenzo had planned to complete a race simulation today but he abandoned it after a few laps when he found he was lacking pace, deciding instead to spend the remainder of the day working on set-up and tyre testing with Michelin. His time of 2'00.705, set on the 72nd of 73 laps, was an improvement on his best qualifying time from the January test and good enough to leave him at the top of the day's time sheets, with Rossi in second after a best lap of 2'01.190.

Lorenzo and his team will now enjoy a short break before the Official MotoGP Tests commence at Jerez in southern Spain on 16th February.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1st Time: 2'00.705 Laps: 73
"This has been a difficult test for us but not completely negative. The major problem is still the front end going into the corners; the bike is not stable and we also have a bit of vibration. We've tried many different settings but we haven't been able to improve as much as we expected, so this means that I still need to adapt my riding style in some areas. Today I started to do a race simulation but I came in again because my pace was not good enough. At the end of the day we tried some qualifying tyres and I was able to improve on my time from the last test, so that's positive. I'm not worried about what's happened here; I've had bad days before and I have confidence that we will find the right way forward. I am looking forward to going to a different track now and seeing what happens there."

Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
"After the January test, when we had quite a good pace, we hoped to improve again this time but unfortunately this hasn't been the case. We've tried many different things with the chassis and the suspension settings but we still have some problems going into the hard braking areas. It's been a useful test despite this however because we've had the chance to refine some mapping, improve the cooling system with the new fairing and to find some new tyres with Michelin. Jorge has worked very hard this week; the hot weather makes his job more difficult and of course he's not used to so much winter testing outside of Europe like this, so well done to him. Now everyone has a short rest and hopefully we'll start in better shape in Jerez."

Test Results
1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'00.705
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'01.190
3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini 2'02.135
4. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Honda Gresini 2'02.194
5. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 2'03.021
6. Tamaki Serizawa (JPN) Kawasaki Racing 2'03.623
7. Yamaha Test Rider (-) Yamaha Test Team 2'06.000
8. Yamaha Test Rider (-) Yamaha Test Team 2'06.040

Sepang: Lap Record
Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2'02.108

Sepang: Best Lap
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 2'00.605

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Ar tik nebus taip kad Bridgestonai sudaro visa esme, ypac pastovumui ir aukstu ratu shtampavimui? Paizuresim paziuresim

[nepykit]

Ar tik nebus taip kad Bridgestonai sudaro visa esme, ypac pastovumui ir aukstu ratu shtampavimui? Paizuresim paziuresim

As tai manau, kad Michelin ne tokia kompanija kuri gali ilgai luzinti ir skaitau, kad siemet tokio ryskaus skirtumo tarp padangu gamintoju nebus..

[Username]

O as manau kad Bridgestonai Mishelinus jau ishstume ish F1, ir laiko klausimas kada ishstums ish MotoGP... pasitraukus ju vadovui i dangu, kazkaip visa psichologija kompanijoje biski suprastejo (arba pradejo keistis su nauja valdzia).

[nepykit]

Third straight AMA-SX sweep for Yamaha, Yamaha-Racing race report 11/02/2008

Yamaha owned the top steps of the podiums in both the AMA Supercross and Lites West Coast classes last Saturday in San Diego. Chad Reed clinched his fourth victory in succession on the San Manuel YZ450F, and fifth from the six rounds of seventeen held so far. Jason Law steered the Yamaha of Troy YZ250F to his third win on the trot and of his career.



In front of more than 64,000 fans in the Qualcomm stadium Reed edged his lead in the standings of the AMA series (also an FIM World Championship) to 35 points while Lawrence leapt to the top of the Lites table for the first time and has a margin of 2 points over Ryan Dungey.

Australian Reed continued Yamaha's splendid record in San Diego, notching the 12th win for Yamaha in a history that stretches back to Mike Bell's first success in 1980. It was Reed's fifth personal triumph in the southern Californian city and forged a landmark 100% ratio for the racer across the state.

The 25 year old took part in an entertaining 20 lap main event with Honda's Davi Millsaps. The pair traded the lead in the opening circulations before Reed assumed control for nine laps but then he slipped off the Yamaha and handed the initiative back to Millsaps. Showing calmness and determination Reed reeled off a steady four laps to draw the American back to his front wheel and regained the advantage with only a few minutes of the race remaining.

"I was horrible all day, and I'm so happy to get this win," said the rider who now has 31 victories - just one of three riders to have accumulated more than 30 in the history of the sport. "I got out front, and Davi passed me back, and I knew I needed to get in behind him and let the race deepen for a few laps, and then try and make a pass and a break. I got a pretty decent gap, and then I just lost concentration and lost it. But I'm pumped to get another win in San Diego, and to win all of the rounds in California - I don't think anyone else has ever done that before."

Millsaps was also passed by Tim Ferry before the chequered flag. Reed's advantage in the championship over Kevin Windham (fifth position in San Diego) means that the 2004 champion can even afford to miss a race and still hold control.

Yamaha factory team's Josh Hill was sixth in the main event. AMA Motocross Champion Grant Langston was out of action with an eye complaint while the third member of the crew, Broc Hepler, is expected to be out of the Lites series for six weeks after breaking his hand last weekend in Los Angeles.



The growing confidence and form of Jason Lawrence hit a peak in San Diego when the 20 year old hole-shotted and led all fifteen laps of the main event on his YZ250F, seizing control of the series from Ryan Dungey in the process, who had previously headed the championship since the opening race.

"I had the 18th gate pick and I was way out here on the outside, but I got to the first turn first, somehow. I don't know how. I was amazed to see a clear track. From there on I was just trying to be smart and not crash," he said. "I was trying to keep tabs on Dungey and he actually crashed again. That's the third race in a row that he's cracked under some pressure, so we have two more races, and I'm up by two points - I'm just trying to win the title."

Round seven takes place next weekend in the Reliant stadium as the AMA/FIM competition travels east to Houston.

Crowd: 64, 241
Weather: Dry

2008 AMA-SX San Diego, CA 11/02/2008
Race 1 - 20 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 17'0.000
2 Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 0'2.300
3 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'4.100
4 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'5.800
5 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'9.600
6 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'19.200
7 David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 0'25.500
8 Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA 0'30.000
9 Nicholas Wey KTM USA 0'38.500
10 Jason Thomas Honda USA 0'49.000
11 Troy Adams Honda USA 0'52.600
12 Kevin W. Johnson Yamaha USA -1 Laps
13 Paul Carpenter Honda USA -1 Laps
14 Travis Preston Honda USA -1 Laps
15 Jeff Alessi Honda USA -1 Laps

Rider Standings 09/02/2008

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 147
2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 112
3. Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 99
4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 85
5. Andrew Short Honda USA 85
6. Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA 70
7. Mike Alessi Suzuki USA 69
8. Nicholas Wey KTM USA 65
9. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 64
10. Ivan Tedesco Honda USA 53
11. David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 49
12. James Stewart Kawasaki USA 47
13. Paul Carpenter Honda USA 43
14. Charles Summey Yamaha USA 39
15. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 38

Manufacturer Standings 09/02/2008

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 147
2. Kawasaki 122
3. Honda 120
4. Suzuki 83
5. KTM 65

[nepykit]

Fantastic 1-2 results at first 2008 race for Yamaha Motocross Team, Yamaha-Racing News 11/02/2008

The 25th edition of the Starcross International at Mantova in Italy kick-started the 2008 European motocross calendar last weekend and it was a positive meeting for the Yamaha Motocross Team as David Philippaerts took his first overall victory on the YZ450FM and Josh Coppins filled second position. The inaugural race of the year saw factory representation from all the manufacturers and a large quota of world championship riders line the gate.



Across the three 20 minute and 2 lap motos on the rough and hard-pack sandy Italian terrain, Philippaerts rode strongly and did not drop out of the top three to post finishes of 2nd, 1st and 3rd. Coppins suffered from a spill in Saturday’s qualification heat that left the New Zealander with a sore shoulder. The 30 year old slipped off again on a chaotic first lap of the opening sprint but recovered to obtain a set of 7th, 4th and 4th positions.

Philippaerts was a convincing winner in Moto2 and should have perhaps won the first race also if he did not need to briefly slow while in second place to sort out a brake concern. In the final outing he was unable to chase Jonathan Barragan but the Spaniard had mechanical trouble early in race two and was physically fresher than his peers.

The team were testing for two days this week prior to their first competitive appearance of 2008 and will be clocking up kilometres again on the YZ450FM in the days after Mantova. The new Kayaba suspension units have had a benefit, and the improvement in the front end feeling of the chassis - helping the bike turn quicker - has been met with all-round approval from both riders.

Aside from the motos, that took place under bright sunshine but in modest temperatures, spectators were also treated to the ‘One-on-One’ contest in which selected riders from each class fought over one lap. Coppins was particularly sharp with his starts and won three face-offs (including a defeat of 2007 title rival Steve Ramon) to reach the final against 2007 pole position specialist Tanel Leok. Only a brave move from the Estonian through the triple on the second part of the lap prevented Coppins from walking away triumphant from this particular novelty, unique to the Starcross meeting.




In the MX2 category Martin Barr was Yamaha’s top performer with a decent seventh place overall. Manuel Monni was also in the top ten with ninth position.

Yamaha Motocross Team will be action again next week with the first round of the Italian championship taking place at the Montevarchi circuit. Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider Antonio Cairoli was present as a spectator in Mantova and will join his team-mates Matteo Bonini and Alessandro Lupino at Montevarchi as the Italian squad open their account for 2008.

David Philippaerts, 1st position:
“This is a good start to the year and I am very happy for the team and everybody. The bike was really good today. It is very fast, maybe too fast for me at the moment! In the first race I had a small problem with the brake and had to stop quickly but my riding was good after that and I had some nice lines. In the second I was determined to win and passed many riders in the first corners. It was quite easy in the end. Barragan was fast in the last race but because he had a problem earlier he might have been fresher than the rest of us. We still have some time before the first Grand Prix and we are going in the right direction; my condition is getting stronger and the bike feels better each week. I am especially pleased with my starts today.”

Josh Coppins, 2nd position:
“I am happy it is all over as I don’t really like this track and I crashed on Saturday and hurt my shoulder. It was a tough weekend. I got to the last round of the ‘One on One’ but Leok just got by me on the triple. In the first moto I went down on the first lap and did pretty well to come back to 7th from 15th or 20th; something like that. I fought hard and my shoulder was tight afterwards. The second race was going OK and I moved past Pourcel for third at the end but unfortunately I got caught up with a lapped rider and that pushed me back. In the last I felt the pace with my shoulder. Overall there were too many mistakes and having two crashes was not good. However, we are on the podium so it was not a waste. We also rode the bike for the first time this week and I am pleased with what we have so far.”

Mino Raspanti, Team co-ordinator:
“I am really happy for the riders. The results were not really important this weekend but it was still good to do well and take the momentum we had from testing onto the race track. We had made some changes to the bike but the practice track is always different to the races where everything is much rougher and quicker. We have started our programme now and can begin counting down to the first Grand Prix."

[nepykit]

Wednesday Feb 13 2008 WSBK Qatar - Test, Ducati-Corse News

BAYLISS AND FABRIZIO COMPLETE FINAL TEST SESSION IN QATAR BEFORE SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP OPENS

Losail (Qatar), Wednesday 13th February: Bayliss and Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) took to the track this week in Qatar, taking part in the final test sessions before the Superbike championship begins on 23rd February. Faced with blistering track temperatures, Bayliss got back to business after an enforced rest period due to a broken collarbone, and clocked up a total of 55 laps on Wednesday with a fastest lap time of 1m58.8s. Team-mate Fabrizio registered a fastest lap time of 1m59.6s, completing a total of 71 laps on this, the second and last day of testing for the Ducati Xerox Team.



Troy Bayliss 1m58.8s
"I'm pretty happy with how things have gone here. On Tuesday we sorted out a few "gremlins" so to speak. We had a brand new bike here and it always takes a bit of time to run in so we hope that we have solved those problems before next week's race. We've tried different things today with regard to set-up and I managed to complete 55 laps. Lap times were good and we were able to do a long-run after lunch too which went well. I'm also pretty positive about my condition, as although yesterday I wasn't feeling so comfortable with the bikes settings, I felt much better today after we changed a few things and I think I can say I'm pretty much back to normal. I'm happy I still have another week to get even fitter before next week."

Michel Fabrizio 1m59.6s
"It went well here this week. Yesterday we had a few technical problems but today it all went much better and I'm happy with the progress we made. Today I managed to do 10 laps, each in under 2 minutes, and a total of 71 laps. I'd say that we're ready for the race next week and I can't wait for the championship to begin!"

TIMES (Wednesday): Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m58.8s; Corser (Yamaha) 1m59.0s; Haga (Yamaha) 1m59.6s; Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m59.6s

[nepykit]

Yamaha duo all ready to race after final test, 13/02/2008, Yamaha-Racing news, Losail, Qatar

Circuit Length: 5.380km
Temp: 24°C
Weather: Dry, sunny

Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (both Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) made their final pre-race preparations for the 2008 World Superbike season at the Losail International Circuit today; the same venue that serves as the championship kick off on Saturday 23 February.



The Losail track surface was not in as good condition as it was for the team’s previous winter test around the 5.380km circuit in Qatar, but the main objective of this showing was to ensure that all the latest equipment would be in prime condition when points become available for real next week.

The team brought four all-new machines and all of the latest specification, but as this was not an official test the riders had to use a more limited stock of tyres than usual.

Corser was second fastest rider of all on the final day, posting a 1’59.0, with Haga only marginally behind with a time of 1’59.3.

Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) was also out testing in preparation for the start of the year, running his latest spec of Yamaha YZF-R1 machine in his one-man team. He set a best of 2’00.7, on off-the-shelf Pirelli control tyres. Yamaha’s second French WSB team GMT94 did not attend this last pre-season test.

Troy Corser (2nd - 1’59.0 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
“We tried a few new things with the variable intake settings for example, but only a little bit at this test. That said, we still found a lot of positive stuff over the past two days. It was mostly a shakedown test, with a bit of back-to-back comparison of the different bikes and I feel really confident with our starting package for this coming season. The only downside was that I felt a bit feverish this afternoon, aching a bit, like am catching the ‘flu, so it wasn’t that much fun on the bike sometimes. The results were still good, so I’m confident in the bike and team. With what we found today, I would be happy to go and start the championship tomorrow.”

Noriyuki Haga (3rd - 1’59.3 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
“It has been good to test so close to the start of the season and things went well with the bike. We only really had one type of tyre to test so we had to make changes in our suspension settings to be able to work with them. We found a setting that worked, which shows that we know how to adjust the bike in a good way. We will see how we get on during the race weekends but my long run this morning went well. I think when we get the real race tyres, we will be ready to go.”

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Things went well, a positive test for us all. We arrived here with four completely new bikes, so the first day was spent mostly running things in and checking the bikes over. On the final day we did some long runs and in the end we were quite satisfied with the performance of both riders and the bikes. We used tyres that we didn’t use in the previous Qatar tests as well. The times were not as good as they were in November but the track conditions at this circuit are quite changeable. The important thing was to make our final preparations and I can say that we are ready to race now.”

[nepykit]

Cairoli hungry for third MX2-GP world championship, Yamaha-Racing News 14/02/2008

The 2007 FIM MX2-GP Motocross World Championship was very much a success story for Yamaha De Carli rider Antonio Cairoli. The Sicilian blazed a path through the season’s statistics book on his YZ250F. Along with the 10 GP wins and 21 moto chequered flags the double world champ’s consistency meant that he only dropped out of the top two twice from 28 MX2-GP races. Add an MX1-GP debut triumph, an Italian MX2 title and a European Supercross championship and it hard to believe how Cairoli can top this performance in 2008.



Despite his many races and vast amount of silverware gained through the past twelve months the popular rider insists that his motivation for an attempt at a third MX2-GP crown (to equal the quantity set by former Yamaha great Alessio Chiodi) remains high, not to mention keeping his hoards of native fans content with his endeavours on Italian soil.

“I did a lot of races in 2007 but I feel fresh and ready for another challenge in 2008,” the 22 year old said. “My main goal is of course another world title but I also want to retain an Italian championship. The Supercross was a lot of fun at the end of the year although I am still not sure if I will do the tour again at the end of this season.”

An arduous 2007 saw ten months of racing in three separate series leave Cairoli with little time to recharge his batteries and take stock. The racer, who splits his time between his Sicilian home and bases in Rome and Belgium, did manage to hit the ski slopes for several weeks and also think about the competition he faces onboard his new Red Bull-backed YZ come Holland on April 6th for round one of fifteen in the FIM world championship.

“It was good to get some holidays,” he commented “I did not travel far and instead chose to relax for three weeks at home and do some snowboarding in northern Italy.”

“I think this season Tommy Searle, Nicolas Aubin and Davide Guarneri will be real threats. I think we will have some surprises and there will be some young riders that can fight with me for the championship; it will be fun.”

For the second year in a row the De Carli team fields Cairoli, Matteo Bonini and Alessandro Lupino in both international and national competitions. The squad get their 2008 calendar underway this weekend with the first round of the Italian championship at the Montevarchi circuit.

In perhaps something of a preview as to his future plans Cairoli will be steering a YZ450F in the MX1 category. “Of course we are looking towards 2009 and MX1 for Tony,” said Team Manager and Owner Claudio de Carli. “It is crucial that he starts to adapt to riding the 450 and that we can get the bike set-up for him in racing conditions. The Italian championship starts early and they are important races for us but it is also a way in which we can build up to the world championship.”

[nepykit]

Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda top Jerez time sheets on opening day of three-day MotoGP test, Honda-Racing February 16, 2008.

American Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda topped the times sheet at the end of day one of the three-day IRTA MotoGP test at Jerez today. In cool 18 degree temperatures and windy conditions Hayden, from Owensboro, Kentucky, put in an amazing 107 laps of the 4.423 km Spanish circuit. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion tested a variation of the latest RCV chassis which has a modified stiffness characteristic to the chassis he has run with in the previous two winter tests, while running with the 2008 version of the RC212V equipped with standard valve springs. Hayden also spent a large part of his day testing new tyres for Michelin.



Hayden’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa returned to action at Jerez still nursing his hand injury sustained at the Sepang test in January. Today was about testing his physical condition and working his way back into action. The hand is quite tender and Pedrosa could manage no more than five consecutive laps before returning to the pits to ‘Ice’ his hand in a bid to reduce the swelling.

The HRC satellite teams arrived on track at Jerez with their RC212V Hondas in complete 2008 technical specification. Until today the teams had been equipped with 2008 chassis’ powered by engines in 2007 spec. The new engine has delivered the promised improvements in every area. Better acceleration, improved mid-range power with a smoother delivery and an increase in top power has impressed the riders ad is reflected in the lap times they set today.

Randy De Puniet took his LCR RC212V Honda to second fastest time. The Frenchman has been consistently fast all through winter testing and ran close to the top of the order all day today. De Puniet found the new engine more tractable than the old plot a great improvement as the team had struggled to find optimum rear end traction during the November 2007 test at Jerez. With the new engine and a solid base line set up for the rolling chassis De Puniet tested a variety of tyres for team supplier Michelin, again with positive results.

San Carlo Gresini Honda riders Alex De Angelis and Shinya Nakano gave positive feedback about the latest engine developments the two men ending the day in sixth and seventh places respectively separated by a mere three-tenths of a second. Both men worked on finding a base set up for their RC212V’s then spent a large part of the day working with Bridgestone to evaluate a series of race and qualifying tyres brought to the track by the Japanese m,anufacturer, with very positive results.



Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda RC212V, spent his day on general machine set up and tyre testing ending the day in very buoyant mood, impressed by the step forward the machine has made. The young Italian is not a great fan of the Jerez circuit but the new RCV has given Dovizioso a fun day at Jerez for the first time and he ended day one more than satisfied with his performance.


Honda rider lap times and quotes.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 39.200s – on lap 84 of 107.
“All in all, a pretty positive day. I would definitely say this was the best first day of tests we’ve had so far this year. And we knew it was important, because the weather experts are saying there’s a really good chance of rain the next two days. I tried a different chassis, it felt slightly better with a little more feel on the front, so we used that most of the day and it felt pretty good. We went through a few other things, not making big changes because we’re getting closer to the season now, just a few little settings changes, and when I thought things felt better the stopwatch normally went along with it, which is always good. At the end I did race distance and it didn’t feel too bad. We were able to get into the 40s on race tyres, though we still need to get in there a little deeper, we still need to improve a bit.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 41.352s – on lap 37 of 37.
“The priority here is to check my physical condition. The hand still isn’t 100 per cent, today I couldn’t really do more than five laps at a time. The hand is very painful, especially during braking and direction changes. I am icing it after every ride in an attempt to keep the swelling to a minimum. I will continue icing it tonight and we will see how it is tomorrow morning. If the swelling is okay and I feel okay, we will continue riding. Today I was just trying to ride at a safe pace for my condition, so we weren’t really able to do any work on the bike or with tyres.”

Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 39.444s – 82 of 82.
“I am quite satisfied today. Since the first laps in the morning I felt that the bike was much better than the last test in November. I started to set good lap times on race tyres and my pace was very consistent. Once I came out with a new compound rear tyre I immediately cut six tenths of a second compared with the best lap time of last November and I felt surprised about it. Honestly my pace on race tyres has been impressive since the first run-out on this bike. Then, at the end of the session, I lapped on qualifiers clocking up some consistent and fast lap times. We got the new engine here but I was expecting something different. The power delivery is very smooth and like it but the maximum power has to be improved. We will work on it.”

Alex De Angelis, San Carlo, Honda Gresini: 1m 40.165s – on lap 72 of 75.
“It has been a positive but difficult day because of the strong wind that was present throughout the session. It was really interesting to try out the new Honda engine, which as we expected is better than the previous version in every aspect. However, we still need some more kilometres on it and some different circuits to confirm the results from this test. We also had some really positive feedback from the new material from Bridgestone.”

Shinya Nakano, San Carlo, Honda Gresini: 1m 40.192s – on lap 76 of 82.
“I’m really happy to be here in the new colours of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini. Today we completed a lot of laps because the weather forecast for tomorrow is not so good. I’m happy with the new Honda engine because it is easier to make the most of the power. We also tested the latest batch of tyres from Bridgestone – qualifying and race rubber - and the results were positive in both cases.”

Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 1m 40.767s – on lap 43 of 58.
“I’ve never had a good feeling with the Jerez circuit, but riding this RC212V I was almost immediately in a position to ride very fast and have a lot of fun. We didn’t want to run qualifying tyres, but instead we decided to concentrate on the setting to find a good balance between the new technical items we have now. I’m very satisfied with the engine – it’s more powerful than the previous one for sure. We are also working on different tyre solutions with Michelin to allow me to be both fast and consistent. We have been trying different profiles and both the 16 and 16.5-inch rim sizes. We have been improving, even if we have some small problems and we’re quite close to the lap times you usually do here in Jerez in race trim, so that is very positive.”