FREE PRACTICE – MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - SEPANG
ROSSI AND EDWARDS BEGIN SET-UP CHALLENGE IN SEPANG
HEAT
Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards
completed a hard day’s work with their Yamaha YZR-M1
machines as preparations got underway for the Malaysian Grand
Prix with two free practice sessions today. Both riders were
eager to test the performance of their bikes at this circuit
after a positive recent test in the Czech Republic, however
it quickly emerged that the setting the team found at Brno
was not as well suited to this layout or track temperatures
in excess of 45ºC, which put the tyres under extreme
stress.
After making dramatic changes to the bike for the afternoon
session, reigning World Champion Rossi was able to knock almost
a full second off his time within the first six laps, giving
him renewed confidence after a disappointing morning when
he could only manage the eleventh fastest time. Edwards suffered
similar problems but was unable to solve them in time for
an assault on the top positions today. The American is hoping
to find a quick solution in tomorrow morning’s final
free practice before qualifying takes place in the afternoon.
Last year’s winner Loris Capirossi (Ducati) set the
pace today, dipping under pole record time with a lap of 2’01.711.
There was bad news, however, for fellow title candidate Dani
Pedrosa (Honda), who suffered a knee injury in a high-speed
crash this afternoon.
VALENTINO ROSSI (7th – 2’02.970; 41
laps)
“It’s been a difficult first day – more
so in the morning than the afternoon, which means we are working
in the right way. I was confident after the Brno test, especially
about the tyres and the way we are using them with the M1.
Unfortunately in the conditions we have found here that setting
doesn’t work so well and we had a few problems with
tyre life. So in the afternoon basically we adapted the setting
using the data we gathered in the January tests, when I was
very fast, and things improved a lot. Tomorrow we’ll
move even closer to that setting and I’m very confident
we can make a big improvement again. Loris was very fast today
and it looks like it will be a tough challenge to beat him,
but we have good base data for this circuit and I’m
sure we can get back to the pace I know I am capable of here.”
COLIN EDWARDS (12th – 2’03.355; 41 laps)
“That was a really hard day and not what we were hoping
for at all. I’m pretty disappointed after the good test
we had at Brno because I expected to be in good shape from
the start here. I couldn’t find a good set-up today
and there was no way for me to ride the bike properly. We’re
going to have to work in a completely different direction
tomorrow and try to sort the situation out before qualifying.
Valentino seems to have improved by going back towards the
settings from January, despite the fact that the bike we have
now is very different from the one we had then, so maybe this
is the way to work. We will have a think about things tonight
and start again tomorrow!”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“Today everyone has had to work very hard! Both riders
have been testing different things and now we have to put
it all altogether to find the right package and make sure
we are competitive both in tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying
session and Sunday’s race. Valentino is very close to
the top and I think with a little bit more work he can be
in good shape tomorrow. Colin is struggling a little at the
moment but hopefully he too can improve in the morning. Tomorrow
the weather might change things but we hope that it stays
dry so that we can continue to make progress.”
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