Day two of the Valencia test started under better conditions than yesterday, allowing Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies a full morning’s riding in the Spanish sunshine. Both riders had completed their testing schedule by the lunchtime break, giving the Yamaha engineers enough data to work over the winter break for the first of the 2011 tests in Sepang at the end of January.
Lorenzo gave a repeat performance of yesterday, moving quickly to the top of the timesheets and remaining the fastest rider of the day until the last hour, dropping to second position by just over one tenth of a second. Having completed all Yamaha testing requirements early on the 2010 MotoGP World Champion spent some time evaluating tyres for the next season before calling it a day at lunchtime. Lorenzo now heads home for some well-earned rest over the winter.
Team-mate Spies was also ahead on his schedule for the test, putting some of yesterday’s data through it’s paces this morning with positive results. He then also spent some time evaluating tyres before wrapping up at lunchtime to draw his test time to a close. The American’s impressive speed on the 2011 prototype YZR-M1 bike saw him second fastest rider for the majority of the day behind his team-mate until the last hour, finishing the day third fastest. Spies now heads home to the USA for his winter holiday to recharge before the Sepang test in just under three months time.
Jorge Lorenzo
Rider No.1 – Position: 2nd Time: 1’32.179 Laps: 30
“Basically we tried some new tyres from Bridgestone today, they had quite a different feeling, but there wasn’t a big difference in general performance. We also reconfirmed the settings we tried yesterday so we’ve given Yamaha some good data to work with over the winter. I’m very happy with how the test has gone; I’m quite tired so I’m looking forward to having some rest now and coming back strong to start again.”
Ben Spies
Rider No.11 – Position: 3rd Time: 1’32.322 Laps: 49
“We’ve had another good day and another day of learning. We messed with the bike a bit, changed some settings and went in a positive direction. So another good session working with the new crew again, I’m very happy with it. I read some comments from Jorge about the new engine for next year, he seemed to be happy with the way that was going so I look forward to seeing that in Malaysia. I’m looking forward to now having a couple of months of then getting back to it!”
Ramon Forcada – Crew Chief for Jorge Lorenzo
“Today we finished the testing plan we made. There weren’t so many things to try as we did a really good job yesterday. We finished the Yamaha test plan so this morning we evaluated some tyres and provided some good information to Bridgestone for their development. We’ve finished early as we tested everything we needed to and Jorge felt good about all the results. It’s been a long season and after the emotions of the last Grand Prix races it’s time to let him go and have a rest! The new bike has the same feeling as the 2010 machine but with improvements, allowing us to be faster and perform better in a number of areas.”
Tom Houseworth – Crew Chief for Ben Spies
“We tested the prototype again this morning, we collected the data from yesterday and following a meeting last night made some setting changes for today which we tested with very positive results. Once we had achieved these we went ahead and tested the Bridgestone tyres, testing three options, one of which Ben really liked a lot. The test has been very productive and very promising for the future on the new bike. Ben is really optimistic and looking forward to continuing at Sepang.”
Positive test for Edwards and Crutchlow in Valencia
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team concluded a successful two-day test session at the Valencia circuit today, Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow both satisfied with the start of their preparations for the 2011 MotoGP campaign.
With no repeat of the rain that disrupted the opening day of action yesterday, the MotoGP field was able to take advantage of more favourable conditions today. A strong wind though meant conditions were still not perfect, but Edwards and Crutchlow were able to complete over 100 laps between them.
Edwards carried out more development work on a revised chassis and engine package, the 36-year-old confirming the potential of the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 machine in a short 34-lap run. He was also able to further assess the performance of new Bridgestone rear tyres and set a best time of 1.33.325 to finish 12th on the timesheets.
Crutchlow continued his impressive transition to MotoGP, the British rider spending the majority of his time concentrating on adapting his riding style rather than making big changes to the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine. Crutchlow made major progress in getting accustomed to the lighter and more powerful MotoGP machine and he finished ahead of nine-times world champion Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi and Toni Elias. His best time of 1.33.483 was only 0.2s slower than the best lap Ben Spies set during last weekend’s 30-lap race and the former World Supersport champion was less than a second away from the top six. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now begins a thoroughly deserved winter break before the paddock r econvenes at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia in early February.
Colin Edwards
Position: 12th Time: 1’33.325 Laps: 34
“I feel pretty tired now after six days of riding but this test has been very positive and we have gained a lot of good information about next year’s bike. I was able to confirm a few things we found out yesterday and the 2011 bike has a lot of potential. The chassis and engine are a definite step forward and we can look forward to next year with a lot of optimism. I want to thank my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew for their fantastic effort and support again this year. I’m now looking forward to the winter break, spending a bit of time relaxing before training hard and getting ready for 2011 when we get back on the bike at Sepang in early February.”
Cal Crutchlow
Position: 12th Time: 1’33.483 Laps: 74
“I am really happy with the way today went. To finish with a consistent pace and feeling much more comfortable on the bike, I am already excited about being back on track in Malaysia. Obviously I’ve got so much to learn and I’d say the biggest challenge is learning how hard you can push the Bridgestone tyres. They are completely different to what I am used to but I am making progress, pushing without taking too many risks at this stage. There’s no doubt that the pace in MotoGP is unbelievable and you have to push to your maximum on every single lap. To be less than 1.5s off Stoner at my first proper test is a real boost for my confidence and I was able to do a lot of laps in the 1.33 bracket, which was race pace last weekend. I feel really at home in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and together I think we can look forward to a positive 2011.”
RESULTS
1 CASEY STONER (HONDA) 1’32.066
2 JORGE LORENZO (YAMAHA) 1’32.179
3 BEN SPIES (YAMAHA) 1’32.322
4 MARCO SIMONCELLI (HONDA) 1’32.450
5 DANI PEDROSA (HONDA) 1’32.497
6 NICKY HAYDEN (DUCATI) 1’32.583
7 ALVARO BAUTISTA (SUZUKI 1’32.738
8 RANDY DE PUNIET (DUCATI) 1’32.836
9 ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (HONDA) 1’32.942
10 HIROSHI AOYAMA (HONDA) 1’33.105
11 HECTOR BARBERA (DUCATI) 1’33.168
12 COLIN EDWARDS (YAMAHA) 1’33.325
13 CAL CRUTCHLOW (YAMAHA) 1’33.483
14 LORIS CAPIROSSI (DUCATI) 1’33.740
15 VALENTINO ROSSI (DUCATI) 1’33.761
16 KAREL ABRAHAM (DUCATI) 1’33.793
17 TONI ELIAS (HONDA) 1’34.800
