Reigning 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, who will ride for the Fiat Yamaha Team in 2008, got his first taste of the YZR-M1 today as he tested with Yamaha for the first time in Valencia this afternoon. Valentino Rossi, who will partner Lorenzo next season, has returned home for further treatment on his right hand, which he broke during qualifying last Saturday. 20-year old Lorenzo, who hails from the Balearic Island of Mallorca, completed 52 laps throughout the afternoon as he took the time to get acquainted with his new machine. He finished a creditable tenth in the unofficial lap times with a best lap of 134.320, and will complete another full day of testing tomorrow.
Jorge Lorenzo:
(10th, 134.32, 52 laps)
I’m very proud to be here in this garage and it’s been quite an emotional day for me. I’m very happy to have the chance to try my new bike and I enjoyed myself a lot today. My first aim has just been to get comfortable on the bike and to try to understand as much as I can about it. I went very gently because the difference in power from my 250 bike is very big! I am definitely a long way from the limit but I think I made a good start. We need a lot of time and a lot of kilometres in order to learn about the bike, but I am looking forward to improving at each test.
Daniele Romagnoli Jorge Lorenzo’s Team Manager
This afternoon the aim was to get Jorge comfortable on the bike this is the most important thing at this stage. We adapted the handlebars and ride height to suit him and changed around a few other things to get him into the right position. We also worked a bit on the engine braking system because for him this is one of the biggest changes between a two-stroke bike, which is what he is used to, and a four-stroke MotoGP bike. He put in a lot of laps and it’s been an interesting and exciting day for everyone. We’re looking forward to having another whole day tomorrow.
Masahiko Nakajima Fiat Yamaha Team Director Today has been a sort of team launch because we had new staff members joining the team and, above all, our new rider Jorge Lorenzo. I think that today we did a good job and it felt like there was a good atmosphere in our garage. We only had three hours of testing but Jorge completed 56 laps; more than any other rider today. Each run was more or less ten laps and this means that he was able to keep a high level of concentration. His attitude towards the development of the bike was very good. Jorge learnt a lot today and I am sure he will learn even more tomorrow.
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