Updated: News From MotoGP Team Testing At Brno

Updated: News From MotoGP Team Testing At Brno

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team Test
Brno, Czech Republic
Monday, 23 August, 2004

YAMAHA’S WORK CONTINUES IN BRNO

The Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team continued working today at the Brno circuit in the first day of a two-day test, joined by most other riders in the 2004 MotoGP line-up. Within twenty-four hours of claiming their respective second and sixth places in yesterday’s Czech Grand Prix, riders Valentino Rossi and Carlos Checa were again lapping the picturesque Brno circuit with their YZR-M1 machines and ended the day faster than the rest of the pack.

Rossi made the fastest lap time of the day (1’58.247s) after putting in an arduous 82 laps. For around 20 of those laps the World Champion tested a newly designed front fairing on his Yamaha machine but then switched back to his current M1 fairing. Rossi’s team-mate Checa was also on form today, finishing with the second fastest time of 1’59.016s and around 80 laps under his belt. Both riders took advantage of the warm and sunny conditions to work on their dry weather settings, as well as testing Michelin tyres and working on electronic mapping.

“There wasn’t so much time during the weekend to work on set-up in the dry”, said Team Director Davide Brivio. “So this was a good chance to improve, and the times today were good. The Michelin tyres they used today were very good, again this showed in their lap times. The track temperature was much higher today as well which of course helped.”

Of his new fairing, Valentino Rossi commented, “I made some laps with the new fairing but couldn’t really feel a difference, although the nose of the bike looks very different. The engineers will analyse the data and decide when we will use the new fairing again. For sure it won’t be in the next race in Portugal because it was our first test with it.”

Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha continues testing at the Brno circuit tomorrow.

LAP TIMES:
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’58.247
2. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 1’59.016
3. Makoto Tamada (Honda) 1’59.120
4. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) 1’59.413
5. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1’59.429
6. Colin Edwards (Honda) 1’59.431
7. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1’59.459
8. John Hopkins (Suzuki) 1’59.475
9. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’59.486
10. Max Biaggi (Honda) 1’59.608
11. Sete Gibernau (Honda) 1’59.609


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda:

BRNO – TEST DAY 1

First Day of testing for the Team Telefonica Movistar Honda MotoGP.

After the incredible win of the Czech Republic GP, the Spaniard Sete Gibernau started testing today around 15.00. He totally lapped 37 laps, 1.59.6 his best time.

Sete worked together with the team on comparative test: he tried the new parts brought to Brno by HRC and compared the performances of the new bike with the old one. Tomorrow another important test session in order to know better the new bike and to decide what kind of bike to use in occasion of the next GP to be held in Portugal next 5th Sepetember.

Sete’s team mate Colin Edwards tested different rear tyres in order to solve the problem found during the race of yesterday. He lapped the whole day, 1.59.4 his best time


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
FUCHS KAWASAKI RACING TEAM DEVELOPMENT TEST
23RD AUGUST 2004 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GRUELLING TEST FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI’S NAKANO AND HOFMANN

Less than 24 hours after finishing in the points in Sunday’s Czech Republic Grand Prix, Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, were back on track and racking up the laps as they continued the development of the Ninja ZX-RR during the first of two days of testing at the Brno circuit.

Determined to solve the front end chatter problems that plagued him during yesterday’s race, Nakano completed more than 70 laps as his crew worked to find a combination of suspension and geometry settings that would eliminate the chatter. A change to the latest Öhlins forks towards the end of the day brought about a definite improvement to the front end of the bike, as well as offering better stability under braking and more feedback from the front tyre.

Nakano will continue to work on refining the chassis balance of his Ninja ZX-RR tomorrow, before moving on to test the latest front rubber from Fuchs Kawasaki’s tyre partner, Bridgestone.

There was no rest for Hofmann’s crew after yesterday’s Czech Republic Grand Prix, as the 24-year-old German’s race bike had to be stripped down immediately after the race to allow the latest engine and chassis components to be fitted ready for today’s test.

With so many new components and settings to test and evaluate, Hofmann’s crew set a gruelling pace as they worked their way through an intensive test programme. After completing 73 laps by time the red flag brought an end to today’s session, Hofmann’s feedback on the new components was positive and he was confident that further improvements could be made during tomorrow’s final day of testing.

Shinya Nakano: 70 Laps/1’59.73
“We were all disappointed after yesterday’s result, and that definitely provided the motivation we needed to get through today’s test schedule, as well as trying to find a solution to the front end chatter that caused me so many problems in the race. For most of the day we didn’t seem to be making much progress with the chatter, but a change to the new Öhlins front forks and some modifications to the chassis balance for the final hour of testing made a big improvement. The new forks definitely feel more stable under braking and they also give more feedback from the front tyre. We’ll continue with these forks tomorrow, when we’ll be working to refine both the suspension settings and the chassis balance.”

Alex Hofmann: 73 Laps/2’01.11
“It’s been a long, tough day, not just for me, but for my crew as well. We completed more than 70 laps around one of the longest circuits on the MotoGP calendar working our way through today’s test schedule. It’s tiring, but the fact that we had such positive results from the new components we tested today made it all worth while. The changes to the engine have made a noticeable improvement, as have the latest Öhlins forks we tried for the first time in the bike today. We know where we need to be in terms of lap times and, while we’re not quite there yet, the progress we’ve made today has certainly brought us a lot closer to our goal. Overall, it’s been a good day and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow and improving things further.”

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Coordinator
“Both the riders and crew have had to work really hard to get through what was a pretty intensive test schedule today. While Alex started the day testing new engine and chassis components, with encouraging results, Shinya and his crew concentrated on eliminating the front end chatter he experienced during yesterday’s race. The latest Öhlins forks Shinya tried towards the end of the day certainly reduced the amount of chatter, but it’s not just one thing that is causing the problem; we need to find a compromise between tyre, suspension settings and front end geometry if we are to eliminate this chatter completely. This is what we’ll concentrate on with Shinya tomorrow, while Alex continues to work on the balance of his bike while tyre testing for Bridgestone.”

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