Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Day One Lap Times From IRTA Test At Suzuka:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 2:05.060
2. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 2:05.250
3. Max Biaggi, Honda, 2:05.397
4. Daijiro Kato, Honda, 2:05.397
5. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 2:05.529
6. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 2:05.847
7. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:06.363
8. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 2:06.704
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:06.797
10. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 2:06.810
11. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 2:06.873
11. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 2:06.873
13. Akira Ryo, Suzuki, 2:07.200
14. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 2:07.300
15. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki, 2:07.332
16. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:07.346
17. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 2:07.404
18. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 2:07.457
19. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 2:07.583
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 2:07.626
21. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 2:07.979
22. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 2:08.014
23. Makato Tamada, Honda, 2:08.045
24. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:08.346
25. Tamaki Serizawa, Moriwaki Honda, 2:08.646
26. Akiyoshi, Suzuki, 2:09.002
27. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 2:12.275

Highest top speed: Capirossi, Ducati 186.05 mph (300.08 kph)


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Although misfortune stuck Yamaha riders Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team) and Carlos Checa (Fortuna Yamaha Team) during the early stages of the Suzuka IRTA test – held March 30 – the former bounced back to produce the second fastest time of the day. Soon after the session began Barros found himself in the gravel trap after fellow competitor Andrew Pitt (Kawasaki) collected the rear end of the #4 M1 as the pair entered the circuit’s new chicane. Although both riders recovered from the incident unhurt, Barros was forced out of action for a portion of the morning session as preparations were made to his number two machine. Barros’ determination shone through, however, when the Brazilian ended the day with a 2:05.250 – produced on his final lap, while sampling the new ‘R series shaped’ M1 fairing for the first time. Barros completed only a handful of laps with the new bodywork but was full of praise for Yamaha’s efforts, especially as he was only 0.045 seconds behind Valentino Rossi (Honda, 2:05.060) after a less than perfect day.

For Checa it was an intermittent electrical gremlin that hindered his progress, although the cause is still to be confirmed. As a result Checa was also forced out of action for most of the morning session while preparations were made to his second bike. He concluded the day with a 2:07.583 (19th). His Fortuna Yamaha Teammate Marco Melandri went slightly faster with a 2:07.404 to be 17th quickest.

Gauloises Yamaha Team
Alex Barros 2nd, 2:05.250: “I very happy with the new fairing, the feeling is much better because of the improved aerodynamics. It was a big effort for Yamaha to produce this in time for this test, because its not a simple case of just putting a new fairing on, you need to change many small things so that it fits well. But it was well worth the effort because now it looks much faster – and as you can see looks count for a great deal.

Shinya Nakano
“The day didn’t start off so good, however, as Pitt and I had a coming together. It’s a mistake easily done, I know I’ve made the same mistake myself, but we’re both lucky to be unhurt. The only thing was it meant a big delay, which put pressure on us to get through everything we wanted to test today. We did manage to get a good base set-up, but tomorrow will surely be more productive.”

Olivier Jacque 24th, 2:08.346: “It was not a very good day for me. We had a few problems, which we needed to sort out, and that meant I didn’t get the track time I’d hoped for. Tomorrow better be better.”

Yamaha Factory Testing Team
Norick Abe 10th, 2:06.810: “I like this track very much, and I am determined to put in a good show next weekend for the home crowd. We have many things to test still, but overall the bike is improving. We still need to fine-tune the drive characteristics off the turns, but we’re getting there.”

d’Antin Yamaha Team
Shinya Nakano 16th, 2:07.346: “In the last 30 minutes I managed to make some improvements, but overall it wasn’t a great day. It started off with a silly mistake that saw me crash when I lost the front of the bike under brakes. It then took a while to get back on track, but it eventually started to come good.”

Carlos Checa
Fortuna Yamaha Team
Marco Melandri 17th, 2:07.404: “It wasn’t too easy out there today, but we did manage to get a fair bit done. We found a good tyre and a pretty good base setting to work from for the rest of the test, and that will be a big help for next weekend.”

Carlos Checa 19th, 2:07.583: “It was an unlucky day for me today. It was frustrating to start things off with an electrically issue, but we were testing a new electronic component that caused the problem, and it was better it occurred at the test rather than during the race weekend.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM OFF TO A POSITIVE START IN SUZUKA


The Desmosedici debut in Japan was positive for both riders who were very satisfied at the end of the first MotoGP test day in Japan.

Fine weather conditions but rather low temperatures (around 10 C degrees in the morning and no more than 14 C in the afternoon) allowed a regular test session to be carried out by the MotoGP teams.

The demanding and recently modified Japanese track did not create any particular problems for the new Ducati Desmosedici which proved, once again, to have already reached an advanced stage of development and able to adjust well to different circuits.

The Japanese track is one of Capirossi’s favourites: the Italian was among the fastest riders all day, and closed the day with the fifth fastest lap time overall with a 2:05.529.

“I am very pleased with the work we did today,” said Loris. “The bike is working well and we are testing some new Ohlins forks that are already responding well. The modifications to the final part of the track suit me and Suzuka remains one the circuits where I am most at ease. Tomorrow we’ll continue the set-up work on the forks and I am very confident that we can be even faster.”

Bayliss, who celebrates his 34th birthday today, had never ridden at Suzuka before, and began to get accustomed to the circuit in today’s 6-hour test, constantly improving his pace throughout the day and finally achieving his fastest lap time of 2:07.300.

“I am very happy to have an opportunity to do a two-day test before the race next Sunday and also with the way everything went today,” said Troy. “We did a good job and I’m already fairly satisfied with my set-up. This is a long, difficult circuit but I’m already getting more and more familiar with it and I’m sure we can do even better tomorrow.”

Tomorrow will be the final practice day for the MotoGP teams before the official start of the 2003 World Championship next Friday.


More, from a press release issued by Camel Pramac Pons:

TOHRU UKAWA AND MAX BIAGGI ROUND OFF A PROMISING IRTA TEST OF CATALUNYA.

The Camel Pramac Pons riders played a major role in the second day of the IRTA test session taking place at the Circuit de Catalunya, the last practice in Europe before the start of the MotoGP World Championship on April 6th in Suzuka, Japan. Tohru Ukawa was the only rider to come anywhere close to the “pole” of Loris Capirossi, beating his best time at this circuit by some margin, while Max Biaggi improved considerably on the previous day’s times, but he feels that there is still room for improvement if he is to be amongst the leaders in the first race of the season.

Tohru Ukawa, 1:43.832 (84 laps)

“I have a good feeling on the bike and was able to set a really fast time. In fact I have improved a lot on my best lap time from last year at this circuit. Yesterday I went to ground when I lost the front of the bike and this affected my progress, but today I felt full of confidence again. We spent the whole day working on various suspension and tyre settings. I think I am ready for the first race and I am looking forward to putting in a good performance in front of my home crowd”.

Max Biaggi, 1:44.32 (92 laps)

“Today we managed to find a much better set-up than yesterday. The bike was more balanced and although I am still not happy with the way it enters the corners, I felt more comfortable riding it. I know that the problems we are having can be resolved with a new clutch part which other riders have already, but while I wait for it to arrive I must make the most of the material I have. I have also tried new tyres which I could not use yesterdy and this made an improvement The better balance of the bike and the improved tyre performance allowed me to set a good time”.

Antonio Cobas (Technical Director)

“Today we were lucky with the weather and finally we could complete a lot of work on the bike set-up. We are very happy with the time set by Ukawa who has practically finished his preseason preparations as the bike is set up correctly for him, and there is nothing left to test. As far as Biaggi is concerned, his bike is different and we still have work to do so that he feels more comfortable on it and we hope to shortly receive new parts to help improve this”.

Sito Pons

“The outcome of these two days of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya is positive, and was rounded off by an excellent time set by Tohru Ukawa who narrowly missed being the fastest here today. For the first time we have been able to see all the riders and bikes of the championship together on the track and it is clear that there is strong competition. It promises to be a thrilling season”.

The Camel Pramac Pons team will be back in action at the IRTA MotoGP practice sessions at Suzuka (Japan), scheduled for the 30 and 31 of March.