MARCO SIGNS THE FASTEST TIME
The Fortuna Honda riders are back at work for the third round
of test in preparation on the 2006 season. There is no doubt
that this three-day test session will be very important to
confirm the work done so far. The teams have in fact all the
reference data on this track as they tested here with the
new bike at the end of January. The first day of testing was
characterized by hot temperatures in the morning and a light
rain in the afternoon that forced the riders to stop in the
garage. They could go back on track for only a short time
before 06.00 p.m.. A crash without consequences in the morning
didn’t stop Fortuna Honda rider Marco Melandri to continue
working in the afternoon, signing today’s fastest time
(2’01”65). In total, the Italian rider completed
74 laps. His team mate Toni Elias continued to do experience
with the RC211V. The young Spanish rider still needs to do
as many kilometres as possible in order to feel more comfortable
on the bike. Only at the time he can start pushing in order
to improve his lap time.
MARCO MELANDRI (74 laps , 2’01”65):
“We still have a lot of work to do on the new bike.
The positive point is that I’m quite fast on the single
lap whereas we don’t have enough traction to have the
rhythm I’d like to have for the race.”
TONI ELIAS (65 laps, 2’03”51):
“I’m not happy. At the moment the feeling with
the bike is not the one I’d like to have. I need more
time on the bike, I need to run a lot of kilometres and to
feel more comfortable. Tomorrow I will start working with
Michelin technicians for some tyre testing. I’m confident
that this will help me a lot to find a better feeling and
to improve my rhythm.
Temperature: 29°-34° the air temperature, 33°-45°
the asphalt temperature
UNOFFICIAL LAP TIMES
1.M.Melandri (Honda) 2 01 65
2. D.Pedrosa (Honda) 2 01 89
3. C. Edwards (Yamaha) 2 02 00
4. J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2 02 15
5. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2 02 20
6. L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2 02 64
7. R.De Puniet (Kawasaki) 2 02 75
8. N. Hayden (Honda) 2 02 86
9. C. Checa (Yamaha) 2 03 40
10. C. Stoner (Honda) 2 03 40
11. T. Elias (Honda) 2.03.51
12. S. Gibernau (Ducati) 2 03 51
13. K. Roberts (KR Honda) 2 03 58
14. M.Tamada (Honda) 2 03 66
15. S. Nakano (Kawasaki) 2 04 02
16. C. Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2 04 10
17. Hofmann Ducati 2 05 40
18. Cardoso Ducati 2 05 81
19. Ellison Yamaha 2 05 90
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