GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM MAKES STEADY START AT SLIPPERY ESTORIL
Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards
began adjusting their YZR-M1 machines to the demands of the
Estoril circuit in typically mixed weather conditions on the
windy west coast of Portugal today. Thick black rain clouds
blew intermittently across long stretches of blue skies and
warm sunshine, with occasional rain showers leaving the track
surface slippery and unpredictable. Despite the changeable
conditions, which are expected to continue for the rest of
the weekend, Colin Edwards was able to follow on from a positive
day of tests at Jerez earlier this week with another step
forward in the set-up of his YZR-M1. Edwards is using a shorter
exhaust system to his Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Valentino
Rossi, as he has done ever since Yamaha’s private pre-season
tests at Phillip Island last month, and the American was particularly
impressed with its performance at this tight and twisty circuit.
Whilst Edwards was fourth fastest over today’s two free
practice sessions, neither of which contribute to the formation
of the grid for Sunday’s race, Rossi lapped sixth fastest
with a time still some way off the circuit lap record of 1’38.423
which he set on the Yamaha YZR-M1 last season. Alex Barros
(Honda) was quickest in both sessions, clocking a best time
of 1’38.516 in the afternoon. The action will continue
in Saturday’s third free practice and qualifying practice
on Saturday.
COLIN EDWARDS, (1’39.144, 47 laps)
"This morning was a bit of a waste of a session because
I had a slow puncture on the front tyre. Despite that I went
out this afternoon and it felt good straight away –
we definitely made an overall improvement to the bike at the
Jerez test. I find that the throttle connection to the engine
is much better with the new exhaust, which is an important
aspect at this circuit. I’ve never ridden the Yamaha
here before but I had a feeling it would work well and in
the twisty sections it’s awesome. MotoGP racing is never
easy but if we can work on our strong points and make those
twisty sections even better then we have a good chance. ”
VALENTINO ROSSI – (1’39.446, 37 laps)
“Friday isn’t so important for the grid any more
but it is important to use this time constructively to work
on the set-up. We are okay but we have some difficulties,
especially with the rear end, and there is not a lot of grip
at this circuit anyway. I was close to falling twice in that
session. Some things are not working perfectly and the conditions
are making it very hard. It’s difficult to get the tyre
to the right temperature, especially on the left side, because
the conditions are changing all the time. We are not at our
maximum yet but I hope the weather is better tomorrow so we
can sort everything out. People are talking about rain on
Sunday but I’m not worried because we know our bike
works well in the wet.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR
“It was quite cold today and there were strong winds,
as well as light spells of rain, which made it very difficult
to get the tyres to perform to 100%. That is not an ideal
situation when you are trying to find an initial set-up for
a circuit but it is the same for everybody. Colin is going
well and showing signs of improvement from Jerez, whilst Valentino
still has a few problems to fix. With the new qualifying format
we can dedicate the whole of Friday to collecting information
so now we can look ahead to using it to make improvements
tomorrow. Hopefully the weather is on our side!”
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