Qatar test

[KUCIAR666]

Testing heats up for Team SUZUKI MotoGP

Team SUZUKI MotoGP travels to the hot desert circuit at Losail near Doha in Qatar this weekend for the second test in its busy pre-season schedule.
With the start of the 2006 season just over a month away, every lap recorded on the dry and sometimes dusty 5.38km circuit will aid development of the all-new Suzuki GSV-R prototype race bike, which showed significant initial potential during last month?s test in Malaysia.
Team SUZUKI MotoGP racers, John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will also undertake a comprehensive race tyre test with Bridgestone. The Japanese factory has new compound, construction and profile front and rear tyres to trial at Losail. The slippery nature of the track surface and the expected high temperatures will make sure the latest generation tyres are tested to their limits.
Team SUZUKI MotoGP will be in Qatar for three days before heading off to Malaysia for a further three-day test. Then the team will return to Europe for the two Official MotoGP tests in March, before the first round of the MotoGP World Championship takes place at Jerez in Spain on Sunday 26th March.

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:
?Following the last test at Sepang the factory has been working very hard in the short time that it had available. It has conducted many bench tests as well as testing on its own track to improve the durability and consistency of the new GSV-R. We know the bike is a lot faster than the previous version and we have the chassis to make it handle well. It?s an exciting new bike in many ways, and the teething troubles experienced in Sepang are likely to be ironed out for this test.
?Losail is a great place to come for testing because it will give us a chance to look at how the bike and the Bridgestone tyres perform in the most extreme of conditions. We have only raced at Qatar twice before and never conducted a test here, so every extra piece of data that we can obtain from these three days will be vital to the progress of Team SUZUKI MotoGP and our partner Bridgestone.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

Unofficial times:
1. Carlos Checa - Yamaha Tech 3 1'58.22 - 68 laps
2. John Hopkins - Suzuki MotoGP 1'58.87 - 60
3. Shinichi Ito - Ducati 1'59.80 - 61
4. James Ellison - Yamaha Tech 3 2'00.12 - 73
5. Chris Vermeulen - Suzuki MotoGP 2'00.65 - 67
6. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2'00.91

 

[KUCIAR666]

Rossi and Edwards quick to get going in Qatar

Qatar, Losail
6/2/2006

Testing for the first time at the Losail International Circuit in
Qatar, Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were
pleased to get back in the saddle on their new 2006-specification YZR-M1s
today. Both riders made the most of good temperatures to put in some fast
laps at a track where both of them enjoy riding. Although they are only
joined on the track here by the MotoGP Teams of Suzuki and Tech 3
Yamaha, as well as test riders from Ducati and Kawasaki, Rossi and Edwards
were encouraged to finish the day at the top of the time sheets and are
looking forward to more improvement over the next two days.

Both Rossi and Edwards were inside the lap record of 1'57.903; the
World Champion with a time of 1'57.36 after just 48 laps and his American
team-mate just behind after 77 laps with a best time of 1'57.52. Suzuki
rider John Hopkins was third fastest with a time of 1'57.66 and Tech 3
Yamaha pilot Carlos Checa, making a return to Yamaha after a year's
absence, was fourth with a lap of 1'57.94.

Valentino Rossi (1'57.36, 48 Laps)
"It's always nice to be fastest, although of course here we don't have
Honda or Ducati. Everything went very well today and I am pleased with
this first day of work. As we're quite close to home I have no problem
with jet-lag, unlike at Sepang, so I feel like I have plenty of energy
for these three days! The temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than
at the race last year and so we are able to have quite good grip and to
use the tyres at 100%, enabling us to go quite fast. Anyway with the
new bike we have much more grip than with the old M1, but as in Sepang we
have a tiny bit of chatter, so we are doing a lot of work with Michelin
to fix that. Michelin have come here with many new tyres and so we are
working a lot with them to test as much as possible. The new bike is
already at a good level and now we are working hard on finding the right
settings for it. I'm looking forward to the next two days."

Colin Edwards (1'57.52, 77 Laps)
"Unlike Valentino I get pretty bad jet-lag here, coming from the US, so
I felt pretty tired today! I hope to get a good night's sleep tonight
and to have a bit more energy tomorrow. The track is getting cleaner by
the minute as more rubber gets laid down, so the grip is improving all
the time; it's already much better than in the race last year. Michelin
have a lot of new tyres here so we're spending a large part of our time
on testing the new stuff with them. I really like this track, I've
always gone good from the first time I came here so it's an enjoyable place
for me to test, plus the weather is great. The new bike really is
better in every way and now I've just got to build my confidence with it. At
the moment I am feeling stronger with every lap. It was a good first
day and I was pleased to be able to get going so well so quickly."

Daniele Romagnoli - Colin Edwards' Crew Chief
"We very quickly found a good base-setting here today, much better than
what we had at the race here last year. We've improved the front-end
grip a lot and therefore Colin has much more confidence already in the
front. It seems the new bike works well at this track and the lap times
were good today. We made a good start."


Unofficial Lap Times:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 1'57.36
2. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 1'57.52
3. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1'57.66
4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 1'57.94
5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1'58.62
6. S. Ito (JPN) Ducati, 1'58.90
7. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 1'59.81
8. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 2'00.43

Losail Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 1'57.903
Losail Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 1'56.917

Ambient temperature: 24.7 degrees
Track temperature: 38.0 degrees
Humidity: 73%

 

[KUCIAR666]

Tech 3 Yamaha Team

The three-day test at the Doha venue saw the Tech 3 team complete for
the first time. It was the first possibility for newly-signed Carlos
Checa to ride the 2006 YZR-M1. Even with the new Dunlop tyres Checa was
straight on the pace, while his teammate James Ellison also made great
progress.

Carlos Checa (1'56.95)
"I am satisfied with this first test although of course we have many
improvements to make. It's important to be realistic, even though the
times have been good, and to keep focused and working hard. Obviously one
of the main areas we need to work on is the tyres. They work well in
these conditions and I am happy with the front, but we need to work a lot
on the rear. We need to do as much testing as we can during the next
days in Sepang to find the right mix and to find a better situation for
the rear.
"I really want to say thank you to Yamaha, Dunlop and all the other
people who helped to make this possible given me the chance to be back on
the grid. In January my situation was not so good and I have had to
fight hard to come back, but now I have this chance and I am happy for it.
I think this new M1 is definitely the best Yamaha I have ever ridden so
this is very exciting.
"Now we need to go to Sepang and continue to work in the same way.
Everyone will make comparisons and look at the times but at this time that
should not be our focus. We have started work and we have a lot more to
do. We must not hurry to be in front at the moment, but focus on
development. For myself I have finished to think about my previous situation
and now I just want to focus on my sporting activities for this
season."

James Ellison (1'58.98)
"I feel like I am improving slowly. I've had to change my style a bit
but I am getting there. It's been great to have Carlos here, I have
really learnt some things from following him, especially about lines and
the use of the rear brake. I hit a bit of a wall on Monday and Tuesday
morning but once we got over that things have really got better. Now I am
going about two seconds faster and, as I said, following Carlos and
then Valentino a bit also today has really helped me to understand some of
the changes I need to make. I'm now trying not to ride so fast round
the corner but just to use the bike's own power to take me round. The
tyres are much better here and we've improved in that area since the last
test in Sepang. There were a couple of different tyres that I liked
here last year and Dunlop have made a combination of those two and that's
the main one we've been using here. I wasn't looking forward to going
back to Sepang but after today I am feeling much better about it. The
stability is much better and we're using a bigger wheel on the front
which is working well. It will be interesting to go back to Sepang now and
see if we can improve there also."

Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director
"A very good test altogether. I think it's been a really good idea to
come here to test; the facilities and track are great, it's close to the
conditions we can expect in the race and everyone is very helpful here!
Our biggest news of course is that we now have two riders and it's been
great to come here with a full team and with Carlos. It's been a good
three days. The performance of Carlos has been better than anyone
expected for his first outing on the Dunlops, so this is encouraging. There
were three Yamaha's at the front today and this makes me very happy.
Carlos is already riding well and fast and James has improved considerably
over the three days. We're looking forward to Sepang although we know
it won't be so easy for us there. Anyway, we're looking to the future.
Once again I want to thank Yamaha, Dunlop and everyone involved for
making this a possibility."

 

[KUCIAR666]

Team SUZUKI MotoGP makes further advancements on final day

Team SUZUKI MotoGP has finished its test in Qatar with John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen completing long test runs on their new Suzuki GSV-Rs.


Both racers finished off their respective test programmes with full race length runs to assess the race distance performance of their respective new GSV-R prototype race bikes at the Losail International Circuit. Hopkins also tested a new evolution Bridgestone race tyre over a full distance and was pleased with the consistency of the new rubber.
Vermeulen concluded his testing schedule by knocking almost another second off his previous best time to record a fastest lap of 1?57.88. The young Australian star also completed further long tests on the newest generation Bridgestone tyres and was happy with the improvements he made throughout the test.
Team SUZUKI MotoGP now head off to Sepang for its third and final private test before returning to Europe for the Official MotoGP tests in March. The first round of the MotoGP World Championship will be at Jerez in Spain on Sunday 26th March.

John Hopkins:

?We didn?t do quite as much as we would have liked today for one or two reasons. But nevertheless it was good to get a long run completed and to see that Bridgestone has improved tyre consistency compared to the race here last year is a big bonus. I feel that the new bike has so much more potential than last year?s. It is more consistent and easier to ride and I know that I am now ready to race it at a higher level. We still need a certain amount more performance out of the bike and a bit more durability in some areas. But I am confident that Suzuki will make big steps prior to the first race in Jerez. I?m looking forward to going to Sepang next week ? one of my favourite tracks ? and see what I can do there, that?s for sure!?


Chris Vermeulen:

?We got through lots of work here at Losail and I?m beginning to feel that I?m getting to know the GSV-R and the Bridgestone tyres really well. I am very pleased with how my guys are working and Tom O?Kane and I have managed to get the bike set up to suit my style well. My technique has improved since the start of the test at Sepang in January and this has helped me to find more consistency from the bike. We still need more speed from the GSV-R, but it is certainly a very nice package to ride at the moment and I am looking forward to the Sepang test and getting back to Europe.?


Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?We got through a lot of work at this test and we now have a better motorcycle and a better Bridgestone tyre than we did for the race last year. The team has done a fantastic job over the three days and we now need to maximise the benefits from this test and to keep things pointing in the right direction.

?The bike still needs more performance but the potential in this machine is massive compared to last year?s bike. For me one of the most positive points of this test has been the performance of both riders. They have given full effort and application and have made no mistakes ? which is really all you can ask of them. John is riding superbly well and if Chris can keep closing the gap on John as he has done over the last three days, then we should have two very competitive riders come the first race at Jerez.?

 

[Alan Hodges]

Mr Biaggi

see that max has no ride after all - even WSB do'nt want him:bang:

suggest that 4 wheels is his only hopefl4g71

Alan:yo:

 

[Judge Dredd]

he wont stay there long either once he starts moaning about how bad his kit is.

 

[KUCIAR666]

Another test completed for for Camel Yamaha Team in Qatar

Qatar, Losail
8/2/2006

The Camel Yamaha Team finished their third day of testing at the Losail
International Circuit with the track to themselves today, all other
teams having begun testing one day earlier and finished yesterday. Alone
on the track, Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were quickly able to
complete the remaining Michelin tyre work they needed to do, before
concluding the test with long runs in the afternoon.

Neither Rossi nor Edwards improved on their times from yesterday of
1'56.53 and 1'56.81 respectively, and these remain the fastest times from
the three days of testing. However both riders still lapped under lap
record pace today, Rossi setting a best time of 1'56.78 after 49 laps
and Edwards 1'57.07 from 57 laps.

The Yamaha riders and team members now have a five day break before
they rejoin the rest of the MotoGP paddock for the final 'winter' test in
Sepang, Malaysia on 14th, 15th and 16th February.


Valentino Rossi (1'56.78, 49 Laps)
"Today was not quite as good as the last two days, mainly because the
condition of the track was slightly worse and we didn't have such good
grip. I think that last night there was a lot of wind and with only two
bikes on the track today it wasn't enough to clean the surface
properly. Anyway we continued to work, did our long run and found out some more
information about the new M1 in different conditions. We have some
vibrations and our top priority now is to find a way to fix this; I hope we
can do that in Sepang. Anyway, in general this has been a good test and
we have made some more improvements. The times have been quite good and
we've done some important work with Michelin. Now I go home for a few
days to rest before we start again in Sepang next week."


Colin Edwards (1'57.07, 57 Laps)
"Overall I am really happy with this test and I am looking forward to
the season ahead. I am especially pleased with the setting of the bike,
which we seem to be improving all the time. Both Yamaha and Michelin
have worked really hard over the winter and, together with the new tyres,
we've got a really good package. My long run was not bad this afternoon
and the encouraging thing was that my times were consistent, even later
on as the tyres started to go off slightly in the heat. It's difficult
to compare to last year's race since the conditions are so different,
but this year's Qatar race is only two months away now, so we hope that
the work we've done at this test will put us in a good starting
position for that weekend. The general progress of the bike has been great
over just two tests this year so now we will hopefully be able to keep
working like this in Sepang next week."


Davinde Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
"It was interesting to come here in very good conditions and we got
some good information which we can work on for the start of the season.
It's good to now go immediately to Sepang to check again the settings
that we found there at the first test in January. Sepang is the last
really important test for us before the start of the season."


Unofficial Lap Times:
Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 1'56.78
Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 1'57.07

Qatar Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 1'57.903
Qatar Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 1'56.917

Ambient temperature: 28.1 degrees
Track temperature: 44.0 degrees
Humidity: 50.3%

 

[KUCIAR666]

he wont stay there long either once he starts moaning about how bad his kit is.

in Poland we're saying:

it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest