The factory team get their year underway with a strong Sepang test performance.

With Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo both inside the top three times at the first official MotoGP test of 2010 in Malaysia, it was a successful outing for the Fiat Yamaha team.

Rossi was the only rider of all 17 present to get under the 2’01” mark, as he set a time of 2’00.925 on Friday, whilst Lorenzo’s time of 2’01.680 made him third fastest behind Ducati’s Casey Stoner.

Rossi left the garage just after 1pm on Friday as morning rain meant the track did not dry out until lunchtime, and when he did emerge the World Champion completed 32 laps on his YZR-M1 prototype – just under half a second slower than his own record pole position at the circuit, set in 2009.

“After yesterday this second day has been very good as well, even though we lost a few hours to the rain, and by the end we were still able to finish all our work,” explained the Italian. “We worked on the new bike to find a better setting and I was happy to be the fastest overall - even though this is just testing this is important for me!”

“At the next test we will have a few more new things but we’re already happy because we’re fast and strong. There is room to improve of course; Sepang is always a good track for the Yamaha so we will have to wait until Qatar to get a better understanding of our level, but we have made a great start.”

Lorenzo started his work late in the morning but completed the bulk of his 60 laps after lunch. A big improvement on his Thursday time and a comfortable feeling with the new M1 were positive results for the Spaniard.

“I felt much better today and I was able to be fast straight away,” he said. “It wasn’t a big problem yesterday, it’s just that after such a long break I forgot how to ride a little bit! I need a bit of time, but it was much better today. I’m happy about my performance and about my feeling with the new bike. Yamaha have made good improvements without changing the best parts of the bike and this is the best way. They have made some good modifications to the chassis and the engine and this has already improved our pace.”

Lorenzo added: “We don’t have many days on the bike until the start of the season so we will make the most of the time here next month to continue our good work.”

MotoGP Sepang Test, Malaysia

Session 3 - 05/02/10

source : motogp.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=740

“I don’t have anything to comment on this” - Jorge Lorenzo.

Fiat Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, whose pit garages are already separated by a wall, will no longer directly share data during a grand prix weekend.

The change first came to light during a press release Q&A with Rossi’s team manager Davide Brivio, released by Yamaha on Thursday to coincide with the official Fiat Yamaha team launch during the Sepang test.

“In 2010 we will have small changes [in terms of information sharing between Rossi and Lorenzo], compared to 2009,” Brivio said.

“In consideration of the fact that the two riders are the main rivals for the championship, we have decided to respect this competition internally and to respect their own ways to race and to approach the competition, so during the weekend the two teams will be much more independent and the challenge will be closer.

“Not much information can be exchanged between the two teams.

“At YMC level, back at the office, the engineers can compare the data and the information, but the two teams inside the garage can work more independently from a technical point of view.”

Later on Thursday evening, during a Yamaha press conference, Crash.net asked Fiat Yamaha team director Masahiko Nakajima - who oversees both sides of the factory Yamaha garage - about the change.

“Yes,” Nakajima replied. “So each team [Rossi and Lorenzo] has their own data. You can’t see the other team’s data. Only Yamaha engineers can see all the data and then feed it back to both riders.”

Rossi and Lorenzo, first and second in the 2009 world championship, then took to the stage and were asked about the increased secrecy - and who had suggested it.

“I think that Jorge - already in 2008 but especially last year - demonstrated great speed and also a good attitude to fix and set-up the bike,” replied Rossi. “Now Jorge has two years in MotoGP so everybody in the team are agreed that it is possible to make his own way.

The MotoGP team unveiled its new 2010 livery today, on the morning of the first test of the pre-season in Malaysia.

The Championship-winning Fiat Yamaha team will field the same line-up as last year with World Champion Valentino Rossi and runner-up Jorge Lorenzo once again spearheading its attack.

The two-day test for official MotoGP riders begins today, February 4, the first of three pre-season tests before the first race at Qatar on April 11. The Fiat Yamaha Team will hold a press conference at the Sepang International Circuit at 6.30pm local time. Lin Jarvis, Davide Brivio and Wilco Zeelenberg, Lorenzo’s new Team Manager, will be joined by Shigeto Kitagawa and Masahiko Nakajima at the press conference before the riders have their turn – Rossi and Lorenzo at 7pm and then Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies at 7.30pm.

Speaking about the forthcoming season Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, said “2009 was the most successful year for Yamaha’s racing activities for many years. It will be difficult to repeat such a performance but we are intending to try! We are fortunate to have the same fantastic rider line-up with Valentino and Jorge and we are looking forward to getting started with our work on track.”

He continued: “Of course, Yamaha has not been able to escape the difficulties caused by the global economic situation but MotoGP forms an important part of the company’s recovery plan. The MotoGP program is a very important brand image promotion activity and the racing requires us to demonstrate all of our company’s power in engineering, organisational and passion if we are to be successful at the top level.”

“We are extremely fortunate to have retained all of our existing loyal sponsors and even to have added a few more to the team. Our title sponsor Fiat is with us for a fourth year and Petronas, Packard Bell and Yamalube will continue as major sponsors of the team. We have two new sponsors in the form of Yamaha Indonesia, who join us with the aim of promoting their activities in Indonesia, the most important market for Yamaha at the moment, and Iveco. We have also retained all of our existing technical sponsors and suppliers.”

Jarvis concluded: “Last but not least I would like to say welcome back to all of our team staff and also to extend a warm welcome to our two new team members; Wilco Zeelenberg joins from the successful Yamaha Supersport team as Jorge’s new Team Manager and Davide Marelli comes in as his new data technician.”

2010 Valentino Rossi unveiled in Sepang, Malaysia

Will Rossi win his 8th MotoGP world championship this year? We certainly hope he will…

The Fiat Yamaha MotoGP Team today unveiled the 2010-spec version of seven-time MotoGP world champion, Valentino Rossi, at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Rossi’s bike, the 2010 Yamaha YZR-M1 was also displayed alongside the rider.

‘On the 16th of February, I will be 31. I will be a little older [but] I always try to be at the top of my shape, improving and trying to adapt to the new bike. You always need to adapt yourself to the new bike, to the new regulation. If you think you are at the top of your performance, it is a big problem! Every season has its own story, it is more and more difficult and you always have to be faster. I will try again, as usual,’ saidRossi.

‘It is very difficult to say now who will be the hardest rival this year. I think all of them are on the same level, it is difficult to beat any of them. They are very strong riders, they can be fast on every track and condition and through the entire season and they are all capable of winning the championship. The 2010 bikes will make the difference, but I think all three riders [Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa] will be the more difficult to be beaten,’ said The Doctor, speaking about his rivals.

‘In order to improve the 2010 M1, we have decided to focus on two aspects. Our aim is to develop a more stable bike, with more grip. The second direction, which is the most important, is the engine. We need more horsepower, despite the new rule that limits the number of engines through the season. We need more power and longer life of the engine. This will not be easy for Yamaha, but I know that they have been working very hard on this,’ said Rossi, speaking about the 2010 Yamaha MotoGP racebike.

2010 Yamaha YZR-M1: Tech Specs

Engine: Liquid-cooled crossplane crankshaft 800cc inline-four
Power: More than 200bhp
Top speed: Above 320km/h
Gearbox: Six-speed cassette-type, with alternative gear ratios
Chassis: Aluminium twin tube delta box, multi-adjustable steering geometry / wheelbase / ride height, aluminium swingarm
Supension: Ohlins USD forks and Ohlins rear shock, all
adjustable for pre-load, high and low-speed compression and rebound damping
Wheels: Marchesini 16.5-inch
Tyres: Bridgestone, 16.5-inch, available as slick, intermediate, wet and hand-cut
Brakes: Brembo, twin 320mm carbon front discs, two four-piston callipers, single 220mm stainless steel rear disc, twin-piston calliper
Weight: 150kg

Note: The new Jorge Lorenzo, with minor revisions for 2010, was also unveiled at Sepang. Changes may include mildly reduced cockiness and arrogance, and slightly enhanced maturity.

source : motogp.com & fasterandfaster.net

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=728

The MotoGP riders complete their first day of testing in Malaysia, with the 2009 World Champion topping the timesheet.

A busy first day of testing for the official MotoGP team riders concluded at the Sepang International Circuit on Thursday, as work on the 2010 prototypes that will compete in this year’s World Championship continued.

Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi set the fastest time of the field of 17 participants, and the Italian’s time of 2’01.411 on the new M1 was just under a second off the pace (2’00.518) which secured him pole position in the 2009 race at the track, as he continued with the development of the chassis and engine first tested at Valencia last November.

Casey Stoner’s Ducati Desmosedici GP10 was separated by a gap of 0.491s, as the Australian put in 42 laps. The Ducati Marlboro team are trying out new forks and two fairings – used in the final four races of 2009 – on the machine, which also has a redesigned engine.

Settling straight back in, Colin Edwards enjoyed his session on the M1 of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team. The American, who took fifth place in last year’s Championship, was the third and final rider to make it under the 2’02 mark, with a best lap of 2’01.932.

The first rider out on track for the day was Loris Capirossi, who emerged at 9.07am local time. The Italian clocked the fourth quickest lap of day one, as his 58 laps turned in a time of 2’02.102. The official Suzuki team has three chassis to test for the veteran rider (one from 2009, two new), whilst the new engine will be available at the next Sepang test at the end of February.

Jorge Lorenzo waited until the penultimate lap of his 57 turns to set his time of 2’02.165 as he also rode the new M1. The 2009 World Championship runner-up finished the day with a 0.754s gap to rival and team-mate Rossi.

Repsol Honda are testing their new bike with slight modifications to the chassis which was used at the Valencia test. Their engine, modified for better endurance, and some new electronics are being given a run through by Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, who were sixth and eighth respectively on the timesheet. The Italian was 0.465s behind Lorenzo, with Ducati Marlboro’s Nicky Hayden in seventh (2’02.792).

Mika Kallio’s first experience with the Desmosedici GP10 of the Pramac Racing team delivered a lap just under the 2’03 mark, as he completed 70 laps and was ninth on the sheet.

Of the rookies, Héctor Barberá topped the times on his Ducati of Team Aspar with a best lap of 2’03.030, set on the 57th of his 59 laps. Following the Spaniard, the remaining seven riders all recorded times within 0.7s.

Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) was 11th, with Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) preceding Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki), Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP). For the Gresini team, Simoncelli has at his disposal a factory spec RC212V.

Rain at 4.30pm local time forced the riders off track, half an hour before the scheduled finish of the day’s activities, and action is scheduled to resume on Friday morning at 9am local time.

MotoGP Sepang Test, Malaysia

Session 2 - 04/02/10

source : motogp.com & crash.net

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=725