From a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha:

GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM TEST
Phillip Island, Australia
Thursday, February 17, 2005

Ambient temperature: 22 degrees
Track temperature: 35 degrees


CHANGE OF SCENERY FOR ROSSI AND EDWARDS AS YAMAHA MOVES SOUTH

Gauloises Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were happy to be out on a different track today, after three consecutive tests in Sepang since November. The riders and their team arrived in Phillip Island, Australia this week for their third three-day test of the year, coming direct from the Malaysian circuit where they finished testing last Sunday. With temperatures somewhat cooler and a sea breeze replacing the humidity of Sepang, both riders made good progress for the first day and were pleased with the performance of their new 2005-spec YZR-M1s at this track.

With a total of 15 other riders from Yamaha, Honda, Ducati and Suzuki sharing the circuit, six-times World Champion Rossi, who celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday, finished the day with the second fastest unofficial lap time. The Italian, who clinched his 2004 championship title at this circuit last year, completed 82 laps of the 4.448 km circuit and set a best lap of 1:30.55. His team-mate Edwards rode 78 laps with a quickest time of 1:31.15, the eighth fastest time of the day. Rossi’s time was bettered only by last year’s Championship runner-up, Honda rider Sete Gibernau (1:30.29). Factory Honda rider Nicky Hayden and Ducati man Carlos Checa were third and fourth fastest, with times of 1:30.64 and 1:30.69 respectively.

Valentino Rossi (1:30.55, 82 laps)
“Today was not so bad. We arrived and straight away found some improvements compared to the bike we had during the October race. We’ve improved the stability and the engine is a little bit faster. We still have work to do on the settings to find a better front-end feeling, so we’ll continue to look for this over the next two days of this test and see if we can make further improvements. We also tested some Michelin tyres today and we’re confident that the bike is getting better. We’re pleased with the work we’ve done this first day.”

Colin Edwards (1:31.15, 78 laps)
“The bike felt good today. We’ve been playing around and experimenting with some settings, but the best one is probably the one we’ve already got. We weren’t really trying too much for fast lap times today, but I’m happy enough with my time. We carried on testing tyres and we’ve collected some good data to work with. It’s so good to be at a different track; it’s like a breath of fresh air!”

Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director
“We’ve finally changed track and this is the first time we’ve been somewhere other than Sepang with the new bike. We’ve started well with both riders and done some good work for the first day. This afternoon it started to get a little bit windy, but the conditions have been mostly okay. It seems like we’ve got a good package and we hope to make some more progress over the next two days.”

Unofficial Lap Times:

1. Sete Gibernau (Honda) 1:30.29
2. VALENTINO ROSSI (YAMAHA) 1:30.55
3. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1:30.64
4. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1:30.69

9. COLIN EDWARDS (YAMAHA) 1:31.15


More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda:

First day of tests in Australia for Alex and Troy

After two testing sessions in the heat of Malaysia, firstly in January and then just four days ago, the MotoGP teams today began a three day session at Phillip Island, Australia, in much fresher temperatures of around 23ºC. The two Camel Honda riders were amongst the first out onto the track and immediately began working on the set-up of their bikes for this technical and demanding circuit. Alex improved on his best time from the Australian Grand Prix here last October whilst Troy felt much more comfortable in comparison with Malaysia.

Ramon Forcada – Camel Honda – (Chief Engineer for Alex Barros)
“Today we didn’t work too much on the set-up because we’re concentrating particularly on tyres. We started out with the same base set-up as Sepang and in order to be able to properly assess the difference between the tyres we decided not to play around too much with the settings. Tomorrow we’ll work more on the forks and the engine, and then the electronics. We saw from the telemetry data that in a couple of corners Alex isn’t as comfortable as last season so we know where we have to make the changes.”

Alex Barros – Camel Honda – 1:30.61 (89 laps) 3rd fastest
“Today I was already able to do a 1:30.6, one tenth quicker than my best time from the GP here last year, but I am still not completely satisfied because my pace isn’t that good. I need a bit more grip on the front and we also need to work on rear traction. Today we tried some different tyres but we’ve still got some more to try tomorrow on the front and the rear. I’m sure we’ll also work to improve the set-up of the bike tomorrow, working on the suspension and electronics. There’s definitely room for improvement as far as the set-up is concerned”.

Santiago Mulero – Camel Honda (Chief Engineer for Troy Bayliss)
“Troy was the first rider out today, when the temperature of the track was still quite low. This is his circuit and he is determined to improve, which has given the whole team a lot of motivation. We’re working a lot on the geometry of the bike, on the suspension and the electronics. We know we’ve still got a long way to go but we’re working with maximum effort and concentration.”

Troy Bayliss – Camel Honda – 1:31.8 (97 laps) 13th fastest
“It’s nice to be back in Australia at my home circuit. I’ve got a lot of references here and I know my way around really well, so when I had the same feeling here as in Sepang I was sure that it is something we have to work on in the set-up of the bike. More than anything it means that if we can get things right here, we’ll be okay at all of the other tracks. We have to work hard and we started to do that today without stopping. I did almost a hundred laps and we’ve already come up with a few modifications to try tomorrow.”

Unofficial lap times
1. Gibernau (Honda) 1:30.32; 2. Rossi (Yamaha) 1:30.57; 3. Barros (Camel Honda) 1:30.60; 4. Hayden (Honda) 1:30.61; 5. Biaggi (Honda) 1:30.65; 6. Checa (Ducati) 1:30.69; 7. Capirossi (Ducati) 1:30.81; 8. Edwards (Yamaha) 1:31.21; 9. Melandri (Honda) 1:31.32; 10. Tamada (Honda) 1:31.42; 11. Hopkins (Suzuki) 1:31.32; 12. Roberts (Suzuki) 1:31.61; 13. Bayliss (Camel Honda) 1:31.80; 14. Xaus (Ducati 1:32.27; 15. Elias (Ducati) 1:33.54


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

MotoGP test Phillip Island – Australia. Day one of three-day test. February
17, 2005.

Honda MotoGP teams quickly on the pace in Phillip Island

MotoGP winter testing resumed at Phillip Island, Australia today the opening day of the planned three-day test. Following the successful three-days of testing in Malaysia last week the Honda teams were immediately on the pace in Australia with Telefonica MoviStar Honda rider Sete Gibernau setting the fastest time of the day. Gibernau’s time of 1:30.290 was just over a tenth of a second outside the pole position time set at the GP at the track last October.

Repsol Honda factory team rider Nicky Hayden circulated the magnificent 4.448km track faster than ever before to claim second quickest time of the day. The young American has never shown his best form at Phillip Island but his performance today was more than promising and the progress made by the 2005 model Honda RC211V 5-cylinder 990cc overshadows the abilities of its predecessor.

Hayden’s teammate, Italian Max Biaggi was also in good form as he acquaints himself with the new machine and his new technical crew. Today Biaggi spend his time chasing a good set up for the circuit and will go for a fast lap tomorrow.

Marco Melandri was consistently fast all day and despite a crash at turn 8, the right-hand hairpin, the young Italian was pleased with his performance. He lapped constantly in the 1:31 bracket, just outside his qualifying time at the GP at Phillip Island last October.

The Camel Honda team worked hard all day, Alex Barros spent his day concentrating on tyre testing and Troy Bayliss chasing a solid base set up for his RC211V. The three-day test is vital to Bayliss. Phillip Island is his home circuit and the Australian believes that, if he can find the elusive optimum settings for the RCV it will stand him in good stead for the coming 17-round world championship season.

The fastest man at the Malaysian test was Konica Minolta Honda rider Makoto Tamada could not repeat his outstanding performance today. Tamada was quick to find his rhythm and setting fast times, faster than at the grand prix held at the track lapping, but his progress was halted by a crash. The Japanese star was taken to hospital for a check up that revealed nothing more than sever bruising to his left hand and left foot. The RC211V was not so lucky sustaining serious damage in the crash and leaving Tamada with one machine to complete the remaining two days of testing.


Honda rider lap times and quotes:

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1:30.290 – 101 laps.
“Today we were looking for the confirmation of the work done at Sepang and I’m very satisfied because we lapped fast from the very beginning. We worked on the chassis and did front and rear tyre testing. As we had nothing new to test we concentrated on doing quality laps, riding constantly on a rhythm of 1:30. Together with the team we have done a good job, training for the race. Probably tomorrow we will have some new details to test, but from Sepang to here the time is too short for big improvements on the bike.”


Marco Melandri, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1:31.328 84 laps:
“I could be quite satisfied of this first test day at Phillip Island because I was riding with a constant pace of 1:31. This afternoon I made a stupid mistake and crashed at turn 5 (the right-hand hairpin) while I was testing a modification at the front fork. It was a pity because I was doing well. After the crash, without consequences, I decided to stop testing for today because I’d like to have some changes on the bike. In particular I’d like to adapt the gearbox values to my riding. All in all I’m confident for tomorrow.”


Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1:30.530 – 97 laps.
“We’ve had a really positive day today. I’ve managed to get my best ever lap around here and we’re still on last year’s race tyres. We’ve re-conformed a lot of settings with the new 2005 machine after three days in Malaysia last week. The Phillip Island circuit has always held a problem for me getting onto the start and finish straight, in the past I’ve been sliding around so today we concentrated on trying to solve that problem and just about did. For the next two days I’m going to work on my lap time and try and find some speed. Today proved the new 2005 machine is a definite improvement and Honda’s work has paid off.”


Max Biaggi Repsol Honda: 1:30.652 – 96 laps.
“We enjoyed good conditions today and continued our work, it’s definitely a case of ‘work in progress’ in the Repsol Honda pit garage. The lap time today could have been better but we’re here to improve the race set-up. We have a new group of people and the Honda engineers need information and feedback and that’s what today was about and we were able to continue the work from Sepang last week. I’m convinced the Repsol Honda team is the best team and we will be making life hard for the rest this season as we try to steal the championship back.”


Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 1:30.610 – 89 laps.
“Today I was already able to do a 1:30.6, one-tenth quicker than my best time from the GP here last year, but I am still not completely satisfied because my pace isn’t that good. I need a bit more grip on the front and we also need to work on rear traction. Today we tried some different tyres but we’ve still got some more to try tomorrow on the front and the rear. I’m sure we’ll also work to improve the set-up of the bike tomorrow, working on the suspension and electronics. There’s definitely room for improvement as far as the set-up is concerned”.


Ramon Forcada – Camel Honda. Chief Engineer for Alex Barros
“Today we didn’t work too much on the set-up because we’re concentrating particularly on tyres. We started out with the same base set-up as Sepang and in order to be able to properly assess the difference between the tyres we decided not to play around too much with the settings. Tomorrow we’ll work more on the forks and the engine, and then the electronics. We saw from the telemetry data that in a couple of corners Alex isn’t as comfortable as last season so we know where we have to make the changes.”


Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda: 1:31.801 – 97 laps.
“It’s nice to be back in Australia at my home circuit. I’ve got a lot of references here and I know my way around really well, so when I had the same feeling here as in Sepang I was sure that it is something we have to work on in the set-up of the bike. More than anything it means that if we can get things right here, we’ll be okay at all of the other tracks. We have to work hard and we started to do that today without stopping. I did almost a hundred laps and we’ve already come up with a few modifications to try tomorrow.”


Santiago Mulero – Camel Honda. Chief Engineer for Troy Bayliss.
“Troy was the first rider out today, when the temperature of the track was still quite low. This is his circuit and he is determined to improve, which has given the whole team a lot of motivation. We’re working a lot on the geometry of the bike, on the suspension and the electronics. We know we’ve still got a long way to go but we’re working with maximum effort and concentration.”


Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 1:31.42 – 31 laps.
“I’m very sad about what happened today because it was the first day of testing and my lap times were giving me many satisfactions, since with a race setting on my bike, I was driving faster than during last year’s Australian grand prix. Now my only hope is to be able to continue, even if surely not in my best physical conditions, to work during this test to develop the bike and obtain important data for the grand prix we will have in the upcoming season. I feel a lot of pain in my left hand and foot, but luckily I didn’t get seriously injured: let’s hope that ice will help me out and will let me ride my bike also tomorrow.”


Giulio Bernardelle – Konica Minolta Honda Technical Director
“During today’s accident the bike had some serious damages and it will not be possible for us to fix it for the rest of this test. Therefore, if Tamada will feel better, the program will allow us to develop our work only on one bike. This morning we made many technical adjustments on the frame of the bike, and if the physical conditions of the rider will improve, tomorrow we will follow the schedule of work that we have planned. Even if we only had the chance to see the bike on the course for half the day, we are very satisfied of the results, because they made us understand that we will be able to compete at the highest level also on this circuit during the season which is about to begin.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Suzuki GSV-R’s new colour-scheme gets its first outing

Team SUZUKI MotoGP showed off its brand new team livery during testing at Phillip Island in Australia today.

The new colours that will adorn the Suzuki GSV-R race bike this season were officially launched at Bridgestone’s New Year Reception last month. Today was the first time the striking design took to the racetrack and both Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins were impressed with their new-look bikes.

Roberts Jr said: “The bikes look fantastic – the new design has made all the difference to the shape of the GSV-R. It is yet another step forward in the new team image and shows more commitment from Suzuki.

“I rode the 2004 bike today as a back-to-back comparison with this year’s model and was very pleased to feel the improvements we have made already. The latest version of the GSV-R now not only looks better but is starting to feel it too.”

Team-mate Hopkins was equally impressed, he said: “The bike is now awesome to look at. I’ve also got some new Alpinestars leathers to match it and the fresh image is really good for the team.”

Bridgestone was in attendance at the Phillip Island test to record its own promotional video featuring the latest version of the Suzuki GSV-R; again proving the Japanese tyre manufacturer’s dedication to Team SUZUKI MotoGP as a long-term technical partner.

Team Manager Paul Denning said: “This is the first time I’ve seen the bike out on track and I must say that it looks ace. The team is still working hard on making the GSV-R as competitive as possible, which is still the most important task at present, but to have the bike in its new colours was great to see.”

Team SUZUKI MotoGP continues testing at Phillip Island until February 19th, before travelling to Europe for further tests next month. The first round of the MotoGP World Championship is at Jerez in Spain on April 10th.


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

SETE GIBERNAU, THE MOST CONSEQUENT AND FASTEST RIDER OF THE DAY

Phillip Island, 17th of February 2005 – After the hot test session at Sepang, nice emperatures (20 degrees the air temperature, 30/40 degrees the asphalt) welcomed the motogp riders at Phillip Island, a complete and technical track that requires a perfect set up of the bike.

A positive day for both Telefonica Movistar Honda team riders. Sete Gibernau worked particularly on the chassis and did different front and rear tyre tests, confirming the work done at Sepang. His team mate, Marco Melandri, at his debut with the RC211V at Phillip Island, was running with a good pace when a crash, without consequences, obliged him to stop before the end of the test session.

SETE GIBERNAU – 1:30.29 – 101 laps :

“Today we were looking for the confirmation of the work done at Sepang and I’m very satisfied because we lapped fast from the very beginning.

“We worked on the chassis and did front and rear tyre testing. As we had nothing new to test we concentrated on doing quality laps, riding constantly on a rhythm of 1:30.

“Together with the team we have done a good job, training for the race. Probably tomorrow we will have some new details to test, but from Sepang to here the time is too short for big improvements on the bike.”

MARCO MELANDRI – 1:31.3 – 84 laps:

“I could be quite satisfied of this first test day at Phillip Island because I was riding with a constant pace of 1:31.

“This afternoon I made a stupid mistake and crashed at turn 5 (the right hairpin) while I was testing a modification at the front fork. It was a pity because I was doing well. After the crash, without consequences, I decided to stop testing for today because I’d like to have some changes on the bike. In particular I’d like to adapt the gearbox values to my riding. All in all I’m confident for tomorrow.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM STARTS TESTING AT PHILLIP ISLAND

New track for the Ducati-Bridgestone pairing as Desmosedici GP5 development continues in Australia.

Phillip Island (Australia), 17 February 2005 – The Ducati Marlboro Team leaves behind the torrid heat of Sepang after three days of winter testing that concluded last Sunday to begin another three-day session, this time at Australia’s Phillip Island circuit.

Spring-like temperatures of around 20° (track 40°) characterised the first of the three days of testing scheduled for the Italian team. This gave Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa an ideal opportunity to set up the Desmosedici GP5 and put in a considerable amount of mileage around the technical island circuit.

Ducati engineers focussed mainly on suspension set-up today, and several different solutions that had already been tested previously were again used in preparation for tomorrow, when the work will specifically revolve around the development of the Bridgestone tyres.

Carlos Checa, who was quite satisfied with his first intense day of activity on the Australian track, completed 89 laps, setting a quickest time of 1:30.69. The Spanish rider tried several different set-ups and was pleased with the handling of his Desmosedici GP5.

“Yes, I managed to establish a good feeling with the bike today, but we still have a lot of work to do”, admitted Carlos. “If the weather tomorrow is the same as today, we will be able to test the rear tyres in excellent conditions”.

Loris Capirossi was able to leave his bout of flu behind in Malaysia together with the stifling heat and humidity and he returned to the track rested and determined to get the most out of this penultimate winter testing session. Loris totalled 78 laps, ending the day with a best time of 1:30.81. Even though Loris’s team concentrated on obtaining a good race set-up, the Italian rider went out a few times with tyres that had been used previously and tested a number of different rear suspension solutions.


“I’m a lot better now and it feels good to get back on the track again” declared Loris. “I want to use every minute of these tests to continue the development of the bike. Today we focused on the suspension set-up, we worked well and succeeded in laying the groundwork for the next two days we will be spending here”.

The Ducati Marlboro Team will continue testing at Phillip Island on:
Friday 18 February
Saturday 19 February.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TOUCH DOWN IN AUSTRALIA

The Fortuna Yamaha Team were at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia today to continue their preseason testing programme, just a few days after completing a three-day session at Sepang in Malaysia. Rubén Xaus and Toni Elías have continued with their process of adaptation to the Yamaha YZR M1.

Fortuna Yamaha rider Rubén Xaus completed his first laps on a completely different circuit with his new bike and continued with his testing programme, working on a variety of technical aspects. The Spaniard was today able to complete 50 laps despite missing most of the last test through injury.

His team-mate Toni Elías, meanwhile, also worked on different technical aspects but basically concentrated on his main current focus, to complete as many kilometres as possible to aid his adaptation to the premier-class.

The best time of the day was set by the Spanish rider Sete Gibernau (Honda 1:30.29) followed by Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha 1:30.55) and Nicky Hayden (Honda 1:30.64).


Rubén Xaus, (1:32.22, 50 laps)

“I was really looking forward to getting back on the bike! We’re testing different aspects which are giving us some positive results – we’re making progress. I think the M1 has adapted quickly to the new circuit and I had a good feeling by the end of the day. We tried two different types of tyres and had good results. I’m really happy with the whole team and the job we are doing.”

Toni Elías (1:33.48, 78 laps)

“With this being a completely new circuit with the M1, I’ve taken things very carefully today. It’s a fast and narrow circuit, where a basic mistake can be paid for dearly, so I opted to just ride the bike and continue to get to know it bit by bit. The fact I need to adapt more to the M1 is even more apparent at this circuit. We’ve tested suspension and tyres over the course of the day and I’m making progress.”