From a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

YAMAHA RIDERS LEAVE DONINGTON FOR SUMMER BREAK IN CONFIDENT MOOD

Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Carlos Checa continued lapping at the Donington circuit in Great Britain today after just one day of rest since Sunday’s British Grand Prix. The Yamaha factory team were joined by two other MotoGP teams today, the Repsol Honda Team and its riders Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden, and Honda Gresini rider Sete Gibernau. Similar to the weekend, the conditions were overcast with scattered showers at the Derbyshire track. Italian Rossi and Spaniard Checa continued evaluation and set-up work with their YZR-M1 machines, testing different chassis settings and new engine mapping.

Winner of his fifth Grand Prix of the year at Sunday’s Donington event, Yamaha rookie Rossi tested a new front fork setting and a different chassis set-up, as well as different engine mapping to ensure smoother engine delivery. Rossi completed several laps in the morning on his M1 machine, with a fastest time of 1:29.82, just over one second slower than his pole position record from Saturday of 1:28.72. The 25-year-old finished testing earlier than planned after a small fall in the early afternoon.

“That was a really strange fall, the track was mostly dry but it was starting to rain and there were a few wet patches,” explained Rossi. “My front tyre hit a wet patch and I did a kind of wheelie, the bike just went upright. It was coming out of the Melbourne loop, before Goddards. Anyway I was fine and was able to ride the bike back to the pits.

“It has been a useful test, we have found some good information. The new front fork setting improves braking stability, and the new engine mapping is making the bike easier to ride in general. I finished early anyway today because I only had some Michelin tyres to test but the track conditions were not suitable at that time. We had done most of what we set out to achieve today. I will now go on holiday with some friends for a good rest.”

Carlos Checa also had positive comments on his day’s work, having tested longer than his team-mate Rossi.

“We worked on some different settings and tested new engine mapping, as well as tyres for Michelin,” said Checa, who finished sixth in Sunday’s race. “I’m going on holidays with a good feeling about the bike, and will look forward to coming back to race in a few weeks. I don’t think the Yamaha engineers are going to have much of a rest!”

Rossi currently leads the MotoGP World Championship ahead of Honda riders Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi by 22 points, and Carlos Checa lies in seventh position with 72 points. The MotoGP paddock takes a three week break before the season recommences at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on 22 August.

UNOFFICIAL LAP TIMES:

1. VALENTINO ROSSI 1:29.82
2. SETE GIBERNAU 1:29.94
3. CARLOS CHECA 1:30.08
4. ALEX BARROS 1:30.08
5. NICKY HAYDEN 1:31.00