2006 MotoGP TESTING

2006 MotoGP TESTING

PRE SEASON TEST: Edwards win final test

MAR 12, 2006: Jerez, Spain

• 1.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'39.411
  2.Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'39.663
  3.Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'39.776
  4.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.416
  5.Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'40.468
  6.Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.570
  7.COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.721
  8.Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'40.732
  9.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'40.750
  10.VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.907
  11.Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'41.134
  12.Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.208
  13.John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.208
  14.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'41.380
  15.Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'41.673
  16.Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'41.761
  17.Alex Hofmann (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'42.034
  18.James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'42.686
  19.Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'42.759
  20.Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1'43.513
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT
• Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed their final pre-season test in Jerez today in front of hordes of Spanish fans, after riding thousands of kilometres during a total of fifteen days' testing since January. Following a strong showing at the Barcelona Test last week, the Camel Yamaha Team's preparations have suffered something of a set back here and both riders have been hampered by vibration problems throughout the three days of this test.
  Despite not making as many improvements as they had hoped today, important information has been gathered over the three days which will hopefully enable the Yamaha engineers and Michelin to come up with a solution for the impending race.
• The time-sheets were topped today by Ducati duo Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau, with Capirossi lapping under Rossi's pole-time from 2005 with a lap of 1'39.411. Rossi, Edwards and the Camel Yamaha Team now have the chance to relax at home for ten days before they return to this circuit for the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix on 26th March.
• COLIN EDWARDS (7th, 1'40.721, 82 laps): "It would be nice if I could say that we've solved all our problems today, but sadly it's just not the case and we're still struggling a bit. I think we've really gone in circles a bit here. We've changed a lot of things and we haven't really concentrated on a race simulation or the endurance of the tyre, we've just been trying to find ways to dial out the problems we have. To be honest our pace isn't bad but it's certainly not a winning pace, which is frustrating when we saw in Barcelona last weekend how great our package is when it's all working! Yamaha and Michelin have more than enough information after three days and I am confident that they will come back with something to solve our problems. Anyway, that's it for testing! I'm heading home for ten days to chill out a little bit and let's hope that the new stuff we have when we come back for the race will help us out so we can challenge for a win."
• VALENTINO ROSSI (10th, 1'40.907, 83 laps): "There were so many people here today, it was like a race! Of course it's really nice to have so many spanish fans, but today it's been quite difficult for me even to go from the hospitality to the team truck! Yesterday I was confident that we could find some big improvements today but honestly that hasn't happened and now I am quite worried. The vibration has remained and at the moment we don't know how to solve it. Yamaha and Michelin have done a lot of good work today and we've tried many different tyres and settings, but we are still slow.
  This is the last test and throughout the whole pre-season period we've always been fast and the bike has felt good, but this test has been completely different. At the moment I am not sure what will happen in the race, we'll have to wait and see. I hope that Jeremy, together with the Japanese engineers and the Michelin technicians, can use all the data they have now to understand the problem and see how to solve it."
• DAVIDE BRIVIO - CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR: "After this test we don't know how the race will go, but it's been very important to have this chance to test before it. As the riders say, we've tried many different things and collected a lot of information. Now our engineers will have ten days to work on this and come up with some new ideas and solutions.
  This is the end of winter testing and we've seen that our bike can work very well at different tracks. We need to understand why this hasn't been the case here, but we're convinced we can find a way forward and we know that we still have a very good package."

MAR 11, 2006: Jerez, Spain

• 1. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'40.047
  2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.544
  3. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'40.791
  4. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'40.839
  5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.859
  6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.915
  7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'40.943
  8. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.954
  9. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.105
  10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.110
  11. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.254
  12. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'41.561
  13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'41.745
  14. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'42.127
  15. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'42.593
  16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'42.636
  17. Alex Hofmann (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'42.647
  18. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'43.797
  19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'43.846
  20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1'45.622

MAR 10, 2006: Jerez, Spain

• 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.910
  2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'41.176
  3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'41.477
  4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'41.499
  5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.680
  6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.730
  7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'41.732
  8. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.740
  9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.861
  10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'41.915
  11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'41.984
  12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'42.106
  13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'42.328
  14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'42.558
  15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'42.938
  16. Alex Hofmann (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'43.274
  17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'43.417
  18. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'44.501
  19. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'44.953
  20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1'45.930
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT: Camel Yamaha Team begin final race preparations at Jerez test
• Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their final three days of pre-season testing at Jerez de la Frontera in Southern Spain today. The 4.423 km Jerez circuit, which will play host to the season-opening Grand Prix in two weeks time, provides the last chance for the World Champion and his team-mate to perfect the set-up of their YZR-M1s before the curtain goes up on the new MotoGP season.
• Following last weekend's test in Barcelona, where Rossi consistently topped the time sheets and Edwards drove away with a new car after winning Sunday's wet 'qualifying' shoot-out, both riders were faced with some traction problems today and are now focused on finding a solution with tyre manufacture Michelin and the Yamaha engineers over the next two days. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was the only rider to lap under the circuit record, setting a time of 1'40.910. Edwards (1'41.730) and Rossi (1'41.861) set the sixth and ninth best times respectively.
• Colin Edwards (6th, 1'41.730, 68 laps) : "After the highs of last weekend, today has shown us that we still have a bit of work to do before the first race. We started with 99% of the same settings that we had in Barcelona and we've only made some small changes; the bike is still working great. However we're missing traction with the tyres and now we need to get that sorted out with Michelin. We need to find the right tyre for our bike at this track, but they're working hard to do just that and tomorrow we should have something new to try. I think everyone's a bit 'tested-out' now so it's just a case of making one last big effort here, then we can all finally concentrate on the first race!"
• Valentino Rossi (9th, 1'41.861, 73 laps): "It's quite a big change coming here after last weekend as we have some problems and the vibration that we had in Malaysia and Qatar has returned. The problem is that the tyres that we have available to us here are not working correctly with our bike, so now we're waiting for some new race tyres for tomorrow and Sunday. We hope that with this we can fix the problem. We've worked a lot on settings and other things today in order to find a way to improve the traction, but in reality we can't do anything until we have a different tyre. We're ninth so we're not very fast! Now we have just two days to prepare before we come back here for the first race so we're going to work very hard with Yamaha and Michelin to solve the problem."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director: "We had some problems today to make our package work like it did last week in Barcelona, but both riders have the same problem so this make it's easier to work on the situation. We exchanged a lot of information between Yamaha and Michelin and in the next two days we will work together to find the right solution. I am confident that with the full cooperation of everyone involved, we can overcome the problem."

2006 OFFICIAL MotoGP TEST: Circuit de Catalunya

• DAY 3 - FINAL, MARCH 5, 2006, WET CONDITION
• 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'57.102
  2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'58.921
  3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'59.360
  4. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'59.619
  5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 2'00.001
  6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 2'00.218
  7. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 2'00.225
  8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2'00.551
  9. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 2'00.621
  10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 2'01.249
  11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 2'02.177
  12. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 2'02.197
  13. Alex Hoffman (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 2'04.003
  14. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 2'05.073
  15. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 2'05.961
  16. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 2'06.724
  17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 2'06.846
  18. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 2'07.326
  19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 5.13.977
• DAY 2 - MARCH 4, 2006
• 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'42.477
  2. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'43.142
  3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'43.245
  4. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'43.388
  5. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'43.784
  6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'43.847
  7. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'43.970
  8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'44.029
  9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'44.246
  10. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'44.369
  11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'44.407
  12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'44.512
  13. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1'44.581
  14. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'45.001
  15. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'45.488
  16. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'45.582
  17. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'45.782
  18. Alex Hoffman (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'46.185
  19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'48.205
• DAY 1 - MARCH 3, 2006
• 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'43.608
  2. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'44.063
  3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'44.070
  4. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'44.197
  5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'44.209
  6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'44.399
  7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'44.556
  8. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'44.672
  9. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'44.702
  10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'44.721
  11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'44.868
  12. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'45.011
  13. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'45.111
  14. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1'45.253
  15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'45.968
  16. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'46.217
  17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'46.603
  18. Alex Hoffman (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'46.606
  19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'47.379

YAMAHA REPORT: Edwards drives away in new car after Catalunya success (MAR 5, 2006)

• Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards clinched the first MotoGP accolade of 2006 as he charged through treacherously wet conditions at the Catalunya Circuit to the fastest time of the 40-minute MotoGP Official Practice and the prize of a brand new car. After a brief appearance in this morning's dry free practice, Edwards emerged with a string of fast laps at the end of the afternoon session to usurp his otherwise dominant team-mate Valentino Rossi, who was unable to respond with a late effort of his own after a falling whilst leading the time sheets on his twelfth lap.
• Today's success concludes a positive weekend for Yamaha, which saw Rossi set the pace in dry conditions on Friday and Saturday, with Edwards and Carlos Checa (Yamaha Tech 3) in close attendance. The surprise of today's session was Checa's team-mate James Ellison, who showed his prowess in the wet with the fourth fastest time as he continued to adapt to the YZR-M1 machine. Checa also challenged for the car today but, like Rossi, slid out of the session in turn ten, where Kenny Roberts Junior's (Team KR) efforts also ended as he too mounted a challenge for the fastest lap. The exciting curtain raiser to the season now gives way to three more days of official tests at Jerez, starting next Friday, before the season proper gets underway at the same circuit in three weeks' time.
• Colin Edwards (1st, 1'57.102, 15 laps) "When I saw the weather before the session started I thought to myself that the car would end up in the hands of whoever was prepared to take the most risks. In the end the times came quite comfortably and we were able to keep chipping away throughout the session, just getting faster and faster, and to be honest I think I could have knocked even more time off with another couple of laps. This is a confidence boost for me but I have been saying since the last couple of tests that we are in good shape and this proves it. The team have been working so hard to come up with a bike that works out of the box and I believe we have that now. When you have a bike like that and it works in the rain too, then you know you have something special. It is nice to win the car but every rider out there wants to win races. I feel I am in a position to do that this season."
• Valentino Rossi (3rd, 1'59.360, 11 laps) "After I saw that I could not win the car I thought the best thing was for Colin to win it, so I am really happy for him. We have been working hard together over the winter and he deserves this success. I was setting some fast lap times and my pace was good but I made a mistake in braking and unfortunately that was the end of my practice. Anyway the most important thing from this weekend is the way the bike performed in the dry on Friday and Saturday and also in the wet today. This gives us a lot of confidence for the season. Now we go to Jerez for another test and it will be interesting to see if we have solved the problem we had with the vibration. If we have done that, then we are ready for the first race."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is nice for the team to start the season by winning the first 'trophy' available. It was a pity there wasn't a closer battle at the end between Colin and Vale but the important thing is that the car ended up at Yamaha! We have had a good winter of testing and now we head to Jerez to make the final preparations before the first race."

FEB 16, 2006: Malaysia, Sepang (lap record, Capirossi/Ducati 2005, 2'01.731)

• 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 2'01.92
  2. Valentino Rossi(ITA) Yamaha, 2'02.06
  3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 2'02.20
  4. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 2'02.33
  5. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2'02.34
  6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki, 2'02.47
  7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 2'02.65
  8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 2'02.66
  9. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 2'02.70
  10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2'02.86
  11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 2'02.87
  12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 2'03.00
  13. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2'03.64
  14. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati, 2'04.18
  15. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda, 2'04.30
  16. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati, 2'04.82
  17. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 2'05.70
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT
  Valentino Rossi (2'02.06, 34 Laps) "27 years is quite a lot and I am definitely getting old, although most of the time I still feel like I am only 16! Today we couldn't do much because of the weather but overall it's been a very interesting test. I am especially happy because we have made some good progress to solve the problem with the vibration. We have some new data now and we understand better why it's happening, and how to finally fix it. We're not yet at 100% and I think we can go faster, but I am feeling confident.
• Before the Jerez GP we might receive a small improvement for the engine, and hopefully we will have a bit more power. The test in Barcelona isn't so important for us but the final one in Jerez is very useful, as it's just a week before the first race and the conditions will be similar. Now we're close to the start of the season and it's already becoming clear who the main challengers will be; Melandri and Pedrosa especially are looking very fast and it also seems like Ducati are strong. I think it's going to be a very exciting year with some wonderful races!"
• Colin Edwards (2'02.33, 28 Laps) "Today was a bit of a wash-out for me! This morning we only tested a couple of tyres and then it looked like it might rain, so we decided to get started on our long run. Unfortunately I only had time for my warm-up and half a lap before it rained, so that was kind of it for the day! Anyway it's been a good test, we've learned a lot more about the bike and we've been able to try quite a lot of new things which seem to make sense. We're definitely not chasing our tails anymore and the bike is better than it was on Tuesday when we started; that's the most important thing. In general the new bike is great, pretty much everything is better than last year and now I am just counting down the days to the start of the season."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director: We have concluded our overseas testing sessions and now we're going back to Europe for the final two tests. The conditions in Barcelona won't help us so much with the bike development but anyway we will try to make the most of it. The important test will be Jerez, which will be the final opportunity for some key preparation before the first race. At the moment we still have a small problem to solve with vibration but apart from that everything is going well. Now we have to work in cooperation with Michelin to find the best combination between the new bike and the new tyres, because both have great potential."
• The Yamaha Tech 3 outfit again surprised with very competitive times of Carlos Checa, who seems to have made the chance to Yamaha and Dunlop effortlessly. Yamaha debutant James Ellison however could not progress on the strong last day test results he achieved in Qatar. He will need some time to digest the input of the last tests to recalibrate himself for the Barcelona IRTA test starting on March 3.
• Carlos Checa (2'02.66) "The times have been really good this week and I am quite happy and surprised with the progress we have made so far. We didn't know what would happen coming here after the good first test we made in Qatar and we were prepared to have some problems, but things have been better than we expected and I am happy. The new bike is excellent, as I said before, and now we're starting to understand more about the tyres with Dunlop and how to work together with what we have. We have tried quite a lot of new things with Dunlop this week and there are some good improvements; we have found much better grip here which is helping me to have more confidence.
• "Anyway despite all this and the times we have set, I don't want to be overconfident or to start to think that things are going to be easy. We have only done two tests and, although the initial signs are good, we can't afford to relax. We have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. The conditions here have been quite strange and now we go to Barcelona, which is a very different track and with much colder weather. Let's wait and see what happens there. Of course it's my home track so it's always nice for me to ride there, but we have a lot of hard work ahead of us so I won't let anything distract me."
• James Ellison (2'05.70) "This test has really been one that I would like to forget! We started with the settings we had in Qatar because everything felt good there, but they were a mile off for this track so we gradually started to go back to what we had here in January. We got the times back to what they were then but I couldn't go any faster. My riding style is all wrong for here, comparing the data with Carlos' it's clear that I am still carrying way to much corner speed - a hang-over from my Superbike days - and I am having a real problem to make the change. I need to be running in fast on the brakes, stopping the bike, turning it and then firing it out, but it's not easy at this circuit, which I find very difficult. The encouraging thing is that I have been losing all my time on just three corners, so if I can crack my corner style, which I know I can, then I believe I can start to be more in touch with Carlos.
• "We've been pretty unlucky with the weather as well. Most of the time I spent on the old tyres, and then when we put some new stuff in yesterday it immediately started to rain! Exactly the same thing happened today; we tried some of the good tyres and the grip was much better straight away, but then we needed to change the bike at the front and as soon as we did that it started to rain again.
• "Anyway, I think I've just been thinking about everything too much! Now I am going to go home and spend some time mountain-biking - my second passion after riding motorcycles and my best form of training. I hope that I can clear my head a bit and go to Barcelona in a new frame of mind. I think I just need to just go there, ride the bike, trust in my ability a little bit and stop trying to think about too many things at once! I really like Barcelona so I hope it will be a big improvement there."
• Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "We are really happy and pleasantly surprised with the performance of Carlos this week. He was fast in Qatar, but it was only the first test and we knew that Qatar has always been a good track for Dunlop. We didn't know what would happen here, since Sepang has always been one of the more difficult tracks for Dunlop. Anyway, Carlos has been fast all week and it's looking very promising, we're very pleased with the situation with him. We certainly didn't expect this level of results that quickly so well done to Yamaha, Dunlop and Carlos for the work they've done together in a short space of time.
• "With James things have been more difficult and we haven't made as much progress as we had hoped. He's done a lot of laps but we haven't been able to find the right way forward for him. This is a difficult track for him and I think, after three tests here, he needs a break and a change of scenery. I hope that a bit of time to rest now will help him so that we can make a new start in Barcelona.
• "Overall it's been an important test and once again we've learned a lot. We also got the chance to do a couple of runs in the rain which was good. The most important thing is that we're leaving with bikes and riders in good shape for the tests in Spain and we're looking forward to the start of the season."

FEB 15, 2006: Malaysia, Sepang (lap record, Capirossi/Ducati 2005, 2'01.731)

• 1. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 2'01.80
  2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 2'01.87
  3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 2'01.89
  4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2'01.90
  5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 2'01.93
  6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 2'02.06
  7. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 2'02.20
  8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki, 2'02.37
  9. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2'02.62
  10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 2'02.65
  11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 2'02.66
  12. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 2'02.87
  13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2'02.93
  14. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda, 2'02.95
  15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2'03.18
  16. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati, 2'04.23
  17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati, 2'04.65
  18. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 2'05.08
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT
  Work ended early for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards today when day two of the Camel Yamaha Team's Sepang Test was cut short by a mid-afternoon rainstorm. The Team spent the morning working on different settings and testing tyres with Michelin, looking to eliminate the vibration that the riders have been experiencing lately, before the rain came down after lunch. Both riders ventured out in the wet on the 2006-spec M1, the first time they have been able to see the performance of the new bike in these conditions, but the track soon started to dry out in patches and they decided to call it a day after just a few laps.
• Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 2'01.80, followed by Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 2'01.87). Rossi, who celebrates his 27th birthday tomorrow, was close behind him with a time of 2'01.89 after 47 laps, whilst team-mate Edwards completed 57 laps and set the seventh fastest time with a lap of 2'02.20. The Camel Yamaha Team has one final day of testing remaining tomorrow.
• Valentino Rossi (2'01.89, 47 Laps): "This morning we did quite a lot of laps and we were quite fast and consistent, so I was happy. We worked very well with Michelin and with one or two new tyres that they brought we made some good improvements to the vibration. Unfortunately in the afternoon it rained and we couldn't go on as we wished. We made a few laps in the rain just to see how the new bike was in the wet; we had some new things to try with the electronic mapping in these conditions, but we needed more time. After a few laps the track started to dry and then with the conditions half wet and half dry, we had to stop. Tomorrow we might do a long run and we will also continue with the work we started today."
• Colin Edwards (2'02.20, 57 Laps): "The weather was a real disappointment today because we had a lot of work to do and we weren't able to complete as many laps as we had hoped. Anyway in the morning we concentrated on a new front fork setting and generally played around, looking for some improvements to the chatter issue. We didn't have enough time to do everything but we definitely made some steps in the right direction. We tested a couple of tyres for Michelin but then the rain came down. We did a few laps in the rain, just to check some settings and try out a couple of new things for Yamaha, and everything seemed okay in that area. Tomorrow we're going to get started nice and early as we've got a lot still to do; I really hope the weather is better!"
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director: "Unfortunately the rain stopped us from completing all the work we wanted to do, but anyway we tried to use these conditions as best we could to check some things with the new bike. Tomorrow is our final day of testing in warm conditions before we return to Europe and we have to try to use all the time we have available to us."

FEB 14, 2006: Malaysia, Sepang (lap record, Capirossi/Ducati 2005, 2'01.731)

• 1. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2'01.66
  2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2'01.89
  3. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha 2'02.00
  4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2'02.15
  5. Valentino Rossi(ITA) Yamaha 2'02.20
  6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2'02.64
  7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.75
  8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2'02.86
  9= Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha 2'03.40
  9= Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda 2'03'40
  11. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati 2'03.51
  12. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2'03.52
  13. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda 2'03.58
  14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda 2'03.66
  15. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki 2'04.02
  16. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 1'04.10
  17. Alex Hoffman (GER) Ducati 2'05.40
  18. Jose Luis Cardosa (SPA) Ducati 2'05.81
  19. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha 2'05.90
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT
  Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their last three-day test in Sepang today, where they rejoined the rest of the MotoGP grid at the popular Malaysian venue. Fresh from their test in Qatar last week, Rossi and Edwards completed more valuable development work with the 2006-spec YZR-M1, both finishing the day in the top five on the unofficial time sheets. Focusing almost entirely on ironing out the small vibration problems they have been suffering from lately, fast lap times were not the aim of the day for the Yamaha pair. Despite this however, Rossi and Edwards were on the pace and well inside lap record time. Edwards was third behind Marco Melandri (Honda, 2'01.66) and Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2'01.89) with a best lap of 2'02.00 from 54 laps whilst Rossi, who also completed 54 laps, was fifth with a time of 2'02.20.
• Colin Edwards (2'02.00, 54 Laps) "It was seriously hot out there today and pretty exhausting! Today we concentrated on fixing the little bit of chatter we've had and played around with some front fork settings, just trying to dial it in. We made some good progress and we have a new front-end setting to try in the morning; we hope that this will be the final key. Honestly we didn't really concentrate much on lap times but it seems that they came anyway, so I'm pretty happy! The bike already feels even better than it did here in January, the new stuff we have from both Yamaha and Michelin is great and after Qatar I am feeling really confident, especially with the front-end. It's all going well so hopefully we can make the final steps we need over the next two days."
• Valentino Rossi (2'02.20, 54 Laps) "Today we worked almost entirely on trying to solve the vibration problems that we have had. We changed many things, tried various different settings and collected a lot of important information throughout the day. Now we are looking forward to using all this information over the next two days and we are confident that we are close to fixing the problem. Once we've been able to fix it, we will be able to use this bike to its full potential. Yamaha has done a great job and the potential of this bike is very high, it's a big improvement to last year's M1 and I am sure that once we've solved this one remaining issue, things will be very good."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Of course fixing this vibration is now our main focus and today we worked a lot with the entire team to try to find the right way forward. We had great cooperation between the two riders and both crews, exchanging information and experience and this is very important for the team's progress. We've been working on data collection today and we will continue tomorrow, trying some new things and gathering more information to help us. We've already done many days testing with this new bike and mostly it's going very well, now we have two more days here to continue with our improvement."

FEB 7, 2006: Losail International Circuit in Qatar

• 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 1'56.53
  2. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 1'56.81
  3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 1'56.95
  4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1'57.87
  5. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1'58.33
  6. S. Ito (JPN) Ducati, 1'58.85
  7. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 1'58.98
  8. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 1'59.46
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT
  Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards continued the good work they began yesterday with a second day at the top of the time sheets at the desert circuit of Losail, Qatar today. Spending the majority of the day testing tyres for Michelin, Rossi and Edwards completed 60 and 76 laps respectively on their 2006-spec YZR-M1s.
• Rossi was once again fastest, setting a best lap of 1'56.53 with Edwards close behind him with a time of 1'56.81. Yamaha Tech 3 rider Carlos Checa was third fastest, according to the unofficial lap times, setting a time of 1'56.95. The Camel Yamaha Team will continue for one final day of testing tomorrow whilst Yamaha Tech 3, Suzuki and the Kawasaki and Ducati test teams have finished their Qatar testing today.
• Valentino Rossi (1'56.53, 60 Laps) "We managed many laps today, everything went very well and I am quite pleased. In the morning we worked mostly on settings and we have now nearly fixed the chatter we were experiencing. We made some small modifications and the bike responded quickly and it is giving me a very good feeling now. After that we worked for the rest of the day with Michelin and tested most of the tyres that they brought with them; the new things they have brought here seem to be extremely good. Our main target with them is to keep the performance level of the tyre up after 15 or 20 laps, and it seems we're improving in this area and our times were consistent throughout the day. With these new tyres and the new M1 combined we have much better stability and grip. For sure we don't have most of the other teams testing here so it's hard to judge exactly where we are, but I think anyway we can tell that we are doing okay."
• Colin Edwards (1'56.81, 76 Laps) "Today has been great, I'm really happy. We got going on the new Michelin stuff after lunch and they've made some great improvements. We had some new things to try for Yamaha, but we mostly concentrated on tyres. I'm really starting to feel confident with the bike and to believe in myself again. This is my first time in MotoGP to be with the same team for two years running and it's great not to have to worry about adjusting to a new bike and team at the start of the season. It feels really good to be back with the best team and on the best bike! I can concentrate entirely on my race preparation without any distractions or worries and the new style I adapted to last season now feels totally natural. I feel like I have all the tools in place for a really good season. Tomorrow we're planning to do a long run and we have a few more tyres to test; I am sure we'll make some more progress."
• Jeremy Burgess - Valentino Rossi's Crew Chief "Everything is going well so far. The test has been successful and the weather has been good. We've been able to test everything that we wanted up to now and we've confirmed everything that we found out in Malaysia. We're proceeding well towards the first race!"
• 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."

FEB 6, 2006: Losail International Circuit in Qatar

• 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
• YAMAHA TEST REPORT
  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."

JAN 23-25, 2006: Malaysia, Sepang

• 1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati 2'01.03
  2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2'01.08
  3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2'01.12
  4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2'01.51
  5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'01.60
  6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2'01.69
  7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki 2'01.78
  8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.18
  9. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2'02.30
  10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 2'02.43
  11. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'02.54
  12. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda 2'02.67
  13. K. Akiyoshi (JPN) Suzuki 2'02.80
  14. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2'03.05
  15. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati 2'03.20
  16. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda 2'03.37
  17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati 2'03.50
  18. S. Ito (JPN) Ducati 2'03.60
  19. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha 2'04.17

YAMAHA TEST REPORT: Camel Yamaha Team happy with progress in Sepang

• The Camel Yamaha Team completed their three-day test in Sepang, Malaysia today with more promising work on the new 2006-spec YZR-M1. Both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards concentrated mainly on work for Michelin in the morning and made some important progress in this area with the tyre manufacturer. After lunch both riders then completed a long run in order to gather information about the new M1 in race conditions, and were both pleased with the performance of the bike and the improvement in times from the race in September.
• Sete Gibernau (Ducati) was fastest today with a time of 2'01.03. Rossi, who captured his seventh World Championship title at this track in September, set a fastest lap of 2'01.60, which puts him fifth fastest over the three days according to the unofficial times. Edwards' best lap of the day was 2'02.54 but his fastest time from the three days remains the 2'02.00 that he set yesterday.
• The Camel Yamaha Team now has a 12-day break before heading to Doha, Qatar for their next test on February 6th, 7th and 8th.
• Valentino Rossi (2'01.60, 60 Laps)
  "This morning we worked 100% on tyres with Michelin. Last year at the race here we had some problems in this area but Michelin have brought a lot of new tyres here and they seem to be very good. We've been working with them to find a better grip. This afternoon I did the race simulation which was also promising. In general I am happy with this first test and with the evolution of the new bike; I already have a good feeling with it. It's not so different from the 2005 version but it's better in many areas. Yamaha is working especially hard on improving the stability of the bike and making it easier to find the right setting. The engine is also better. Now it's important that we try the bike at a different track and I think it will be interesting in Qatar. Last year I was able to win the race there, one of the best races of the season, but we had some problems throughout the weekend. It will be good to see how the new bike performs there."
• Colin Edwards (2'02.54, 62 Laps)
  "In the morning we worked a lot on tyres and setting, and made some progress to get rid of the chatter we had yesterday. This afternoon I did a long run and was quite pleased with it. It was much faster than I was in the race last year, so that's proof that we've made some progress. The tyre I used is maybe not the one I would have chosen for the race, but it worked okay all the same and we've found some other good new stuff with Michelin. Overall I think it's been a good first test. It's helpful to have the chance to get used to the new bike at a track we know well and I'm pretty excited about it. Everything has improved and the package seems to work. We've had a few problems this week, and we need to understand why they happened, but we've got plenty more time before the first race. I'm looking forward to going to Qatar, a track I really like, and seeing how the bike goes there."
• Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
  "It has been a good first test and we have some positive results for both riders. They both managed to complete many laps and made some excellent progress with the new bike. It's been very important to test the new bike here to check that everything is okay and it was also useful to end with the long run. Now we go to Qatar where it will be interesting to see our bike at a different circuit."
• Tech 3 Yamaha Team
  The Tech 3 Team have completed the three-day test in Sepang despite an ill James Ellison.
  Being the first chance for Ellison to ride the 2006-spec YZR-M1, the focus was mainly on gathering data for Dunlop and getting a feel for the new version of the M1.
• Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director
  "It's been a hard test, but in the end it's been quite important for us. We've done a lot of tyre testing, which was our main aim for the week and we are quite happy with the directions we've found for the front and rear. James has done a really good job, especially considering that he's been ill, and it hasn't been easy for him. Our main mission for this year is to develop with Dunlop and this has just been the start of a long year's work. We're very happy with the new M1, it seems that Yamaha has done an excellent job over the winter and this new bike is a big step forward from the old one.
• Obviously the main thing is for Dunlop to get as much data and laps done as possible. With this in mind and as everyone knows, we are still hoping to have a second rider and we are working as hard as possible to try to find a solution and a way to attend the test in Qatar with two riders."
• James Ellison (2'04.17)
  "I got sick over a week ago and I really hoped it would be okay by now but I was at my worst on Monday for the first day of the test! It was really disappointing because we had so much to do! Yesterday and today were better and we managed to get a lot of laps done and make some progress. I am pretty knackered after the three days! The bike is really good, the main difference I can see from the one I rode last year is in the power.there's more of it! This circuit is not one of my favourites and I find it quite hard, but I am a little disappointed with my times over the days. Obviously I am much faster than I was in the race last year but I am still off the pace a bit - I thought I could be a bit closer to the main group. I am definitely not fast enough considering that I am on a factory Yamaha. With Dunlop the main problem is traction - with qualifying tyres it's great but with race tyres we have some problems and some chatter in the rear. I hope that in Qatar - a track I really like and where Dunlop performs well - we can do better and make more progress."