From a press release issued by Team Yamaha Belgarda:

Date: Thursday 14th November 2002

Circuit: Communitat Valenciana, 4.005 kms, Day 2

THE RAIN HINDERS TESTS
Yamaha Belgarda Supersport team concluded the first of their winter tests at Valencia today, but have only completed a small part of their intended work with the new YZF-R6. Paolo Casoli’s crash yesterday, after just twelve laps, has meant that the team have not been able to do as much development work as originally planned. With regular rider Jamie Whitham not taking part in this test (due to appointments with his knee specialist in England) Italian Gianluigi Scalvini stepped in for the Briton.

POTENTIAL
The few laps that were completed on the new bike confirmed that the new YZF-R6 has a lot of potential. And now Casoli, Whitham and the whole team are eagerly looking forward to the next test on 19th and 20th December. Already it is obvious that the new YZF-R6 Yamaha will be a great bike on the road and give its rider a lot of enjoyment and fun.

CASOLI IMPROVES
Casoli’s crash on Wednesday on the 2002 bike – after only twelve laps — was a tremendous blow to the team. The fall caused caused a cranial trauma but the doctors have have indicated that there is no serious damage. Casoli is still under observation in hospital at Valencia – but only now as a precaution. He is already restless to leave and go back to Italy – and will maybe do so on Friday.

RAIN AND RAIN
Gianluigi Scalvini spent most of the time on the new YZF-R6 Yamaha, trying different Pirelli tyres and suspension set-ups. But, due to the rain, he was only able to complete one dry hour of testing all day. In the afternoon, he tried both the new and old bikes in the wet and also made some practice starts.

TECHNICAL POINTS
“We have not succeeded in collecting all the data we wanted.” explained Yamaha Belgarda Technical Director Silvano Galbusera. “We had quite a lot of lot drawbacks, but we believe the bike has a lot of potential. We will return to our base and carry on our development programme and get ready for the next tests. We are happy with what we could do and also with our first experiences with Pirelli tyres.”

SCALVINI
“The new YZF-R6 has a perfect chassis and it allows me to hold incredible lines. The bike here has nearly a standard engine, but I was very happy with my times. – it’s a sign that Yamaha have done a good job. My fractured wrist from earlier this season prevented me from pushing a lot harder – and of course I was thinking of Casoli, so I didn’t want to do anything stupid.”

CORRADI FLIES
Fastest of this two day test at Valencia was 26-year old Alessio Corradi, who rides for Team Italy-Spadaro – a Yamaha Belgarda satellite team. Corradi posted a time of 1:38.8 – a tenth of a second under the lap record – on the old R6. Corradi will be on the new YZF-R6 in
the next test in December. This superb performance means that the former European Champion will be real contender in 2003.

OVERALL TIMES (13th + 14th November)
1. Corradi (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.80
2. Lagrive (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:40.40
3. Casoli (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:40.42
4. Kaufmann (Suzuki) 1:40.70
5. Scalvini (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:40.90
6. Van den Bosch (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:41.10
7. Kellner (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:41.30
8. Bolley (Honda) 1:43.0