Valentino Rossi: “Today we made the very first test with the first prototype of next year’s M1”

Yamaha Racing

Sep 25, 2007

Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards had no time to dwell on the disappointment of yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix, getting back out on track today for another one-day test. With the championship now decided, Rossi and Edwards are both focused on ending the season on a high-note with three good races, and it was with this in mind that the riders put in some valuable tyre work today with Michelin.

Rossi also had the chance to try two new prototype chassis for the 2008 YZR-M1, although he continued to use the latest evolution engine, the same as he ran in yesterday’s race. Sharing the track with just five other riders, Edwards put in the second fastest time of 1’47.947 whilst Rossi was fourth fastest with a lap of 1’48.213. There is now a two-week break for the paddock before MotoGP heads to Phillip Island for the Australian Grand Prix.

Colin Edwards - Position: 2nd Time: 1’47.947

“Today was a pretty good day after what happened yesterday. We tested a new front tyre that I am really happy with and a couple of different rears. I think Michelin brought some good new material here and it’s been encouraging to have the chance to try it out with the last three races in mind. We were so focused on the tyres today that we didn’t touch the bike at all. It seems that the stuff we tried was pretty good, so I am much more confident for the next races. Now we go to Australia and the Yamaha seems to always work good there, so I look forward to getting on board again at one of my favourite tracks and getting some results. “

Valentino Rossi - Position: 4th Time: 1’48.213

“Today we made the very first test with the first prototype of next year’s M1. It is not a completely new bike, because the engine is the same as we used yesterday in race, but we tested two different chassis. We used the same engine of yesterday in order to be able to better judge any improvement. One chassis was stiffer than the other and with the stiffer one I felt some vibration, but with the intermediate one my feeling was really very good. Of course this is the first step, but with that in mind it was a pretty good test. Now we must work on the engine for next year. After the last race in Valencia we will test the chassis again, and also a different engine, so I look forward to seeing it there. Today we also tested some new material from Michelin and did some good work, especially with a new front tyre, which gives me a very good feeling.

“Finally, we were also able to understand the problem we had yesterday with the front tyre. It seems that the problem was the temperature; when I re-entered the track after the change the pit-lane was still wet and the temperature of the front tyre dropped drastically. That’s why Colin and I could not ride the bike in the very first laps; we both had the same problem. Now we go to Australia and I am confident we will be competitive there and that we can finish the championship in the best possible way. “

Davide Brivio - Team Director

“Today we have tried two different chassis, in order to give indications to the engineers about which way must take the development of the 2008 bike. One of them seems to work better than the current one and might be a good option to use in the future. I think that today we were able to give a lot of valuable information to our engineers. With both Valentino and Colin we have also worked on the tyres with Michelin and in that area too we were able to give interesting and important information to our partner. We also tested some other new material and we found some interesting things which could help us in the last few races. We are now ready to move on to Phillip Island in good shape, put this result behind us and be competitive again. “

Test Times

1. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’47.894

2. Colin Edwards (USA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’47.947

3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 1’48.065

4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1’48.213

5. K Akiyoshi (JPN) Suzuki 1’49.09

6. A Yanagawa (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team 1’50.229

Motegi: Lap Record

V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 1’47.288