FORTUNA HONDA CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS AT CATALUNYA TEST
The final day of official IRTA tests at the Circuit de Catalunya
was watched by 35,000 fans today although they and the MotoGP
riders were forced to endure bitter weather conditions that
made life difficult on the track and in the grandstand.
The BMW Award that took place between 14:00 and 14:45 was
spoiled slightly by the strong wind and rain that hit the
circuit in the morning. American rider Colin Edwards eventually
drove away in the magnificent BMW Z4 after clocking a lap
time of 1'59.492, whilst FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri
and Toni Elias were forced to settle for sixth and fifteenth
place respectively.
In the afternoon FORTUNA HONDA rider Toni Elías followed
his testing programme for today despite the poor track conditions.
Marco, meanwhile, decided not to return to the track after
coming in at 14:45.
Melandri wore a new helmet design today bearing the logo
of the non-profit organisation "Emergency", which
will be auctioned for the charity next week on Ebay.com
The FORTUNA HONDA team now heads to Jerez for the second
and final set of official tests which take place on the 10,
11 and 12 March.
MARCO MELANDRI (2'00.218) 6th fastest: "We
took a step forward today. We continued making satisfactory
progress in understanding the problems that affect us.
In a roundabout way the track conditions actually helped us
with the set-up of the bike but we still have to work hard
to find a comfortable setting for corner entry. I'm already
looking forward to the next set of tests at Jerez next week
- we have to make the most of the remaining time available
to us before the start of the world championship."
TONI ELIAS (2'05.961 ) 15th fastest "This
is not an easy situation but we have to stay focused and try
to find a solution as soon as possible. The conditions we
had to ride in throughout the day didn't make things easy
for us but the key to results is to keep working day by day
and I feel calm about that - I have complete confidence in
myself and my team. Bit by bit things will come together for
us. I feel sorry for the fans, who had to put up with the
rain all day, but for us to ride in the wet was a good opportunity
to check the reactions of the bike in these conditions. We
have to gather all this data together now and save it in case
we come up against similar conditions during the season."
OFFICIAL PRACTICE CLASSIFICATION:
Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'57.102
Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'58.921
Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'59.360
James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'59.619
Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 2'00.001
Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 2'00.218
Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 2'00.225
Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 2'00.551
John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 2'00.621
Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 2'01.249
Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 2'02.177
Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 2'02.197
Alex Hoffman (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 2'04.003
Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 2'05.073
Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 2'05.961
Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 2'06.724
Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 2'06.846
Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 2'07.326
Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 5.13.977
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