From a press release issued by Belgarda Yamaha:

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH TO TEST THE YAMAHA YZF-R6.

The Dutch rider Jurgen Van den Goorbergh will test the Yamaha Belgarda World Supersport YZF-R6 on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th December at Valencia. It will also be the first time Jamie Whitham will ride the new 2003 bike–having missed the first tests in November as he was recovering from a knee operation.

WAITING FOR GASOLIO
Thirty-two year old Van den Goorbergh is temporarily substituting for Paolo Casoli who was injured in the November test. The strong trauma to the head is not yet reabsorbed completely, but his general condition is improving daily. This bodes well for a complete physical recovery, but the doctors want to make sure that Casoli fully convalesces before allowing his return to the racetrack.

MAIO MEREGALLI
“In the first Valencia test, we collected little data. Casoli was unfortunate because he did not even complete a lap on the new bike ­ and Whitham wasn’t even there. The start of the World Championship will soon be with us and we cannot afford to waste any more time, so we asked the very experienced Jurgen Van den Goorbergh to work with us now and in the January tests. By then we should have found a good base set up for the bike and hopefully we should have some idea of how Casoli’s condition is coming along. These are our priorities.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH
He was born on 29th December 1969, at Breda, in
Holland. He entered GP racing in 1991 and has taken part in 164 races. Valencia will mark his Supersport debut.

WHITHAM’S FIRST RIDE ON THE NEW YZF-R6
“I missed the first test in November on advice by my specialist. My knee would not have been fully healed and strong enough – and if I crashed, it might’ve caused big problems. Now, it’s much stronger and I am looking forward to seeing how good the new Yamaha is.”

A LOT OF WORK
In two days, Whitham and Van den Goorbergh will have a lot of Pirelli tyres to test. The team’s technicians will also be focussed on all other aspects of the new bike ­ engine, chassis etc.