Cycle News

Rossi Leads Sepang Test \ Jalentino Rossi laid down an early markV er to the young pretenders to his MotoGP crown when he clocked the fastest time at the recent Sepang test in Malaysia, aboard the new 2006 Yamaha VZR-MI. The seven-time World Champion clashed on track for the first time with young guns Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, while he also renewed his rivalry with the two riders he believes will pose his greatest threat next season - Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden. He may now be an old warhorse, in comparison to the new young generation sweeping into MotoGp, but Rossi left his rivals in no doubt that his appetite and desire to remain top dog remains unblemished. The 26-year-old was OUt of sorts on the opening day, when he finished only sixth Yamaha's new VZR-M I contender. and it took the Italian less than six laps on the prototype four-eylinder to duck under the 2:03 barrier. "It has been hard work," Rossi said, "but we worked a lot on the new bike, and for me it is already very good. I was fast right from the start, and I am happy with the work Yamaha has done. It has much better stability, and even though it is a little bit different than the old MI, for the first prOtOtype, I can still go fast. The bike is more stable. At this moment, the old one is a bit more reactive, but we have gained a lot in stability. I think we have worked in a way to have an easier bike to control, especially in braking. With the old MI, we had a lot of problems to set up the bike to have a good stability in braking. It seems like we have a little bit more horsepower; it's not a big dif- "It has much better stability, and even though it is a little bit different than the old MI, for the first prototype, I can still go fast. The bike is more stable." - Valentino Rossi fastest, but normal service was resumed on day two when he clocked a best of 2:02.61 to beat Hayden's 2005 lap record by threetenths of a second. That time was enough to secure the fastest time of the test, with Rossi clearly having the seven-week brealk and the prospect of a sun-kissed beach on his mind on the final day, when he clocked only the ninth-best time. Ominously for his rivals, Rossi's best time came on his first appearance aboard ference, but the engine is a little bit faster. The power delivery and the acceleration also seem much beller. We have worked to have a smoother and sweeter power delivery under acceleration. This is good for me, because our bike has always been more nervous than the Honda under acceleration." While Rossi was able to rave about the new bike, his test didn't go without any hitches, not least a spectacular blow-up with Valentino Rossi led the way at the Sepang test on his new Yamaha MI. one of the new MI engines on the second afternoon. Rossi's bike looked more like a name thrower, as a huge trail of flames shot out of the back of his MI on the start/finish straight before he coasted to turn one and returned to the pits. "The engine is already over its mileage limit," Rossi explained. "I felt a noise; it wasn't broken, but I prefer to stop. Jerry Burgess had told me we were qUite close on the mileage, but we decided to try another tire. I didn't see the names, but I think it was a good show." Rossi had also planned to do a 21-lap race simulation on the final morning on the new bike, but he was thwarted by a huge tropical downpour. and his only laps on the Honda: "We Are Tough Enough To Beat Rossi" problem was the highest winter priority and added: "We still have a problem with decel- Honda's obsession with beating Valentino Rossi will drive them to make one last des- Yamaha and Valentino. OUf aim is qUite clear: perate push to end the Italian's golden strealk tion. To achieve this target, we are trying to in MotoGP next season. build a different kind of machine." eration. This is a very important area for us to improve so that we can have a much better HRC bosses can't contemplate the prospect of Rossi waltzing out of MotoGP possibly at the end of 2006 - without them wrestling the MotoGP World Championship back from him. HRC has been powerless to stop Rossi from steamrolling to successive World titles aboard Yamaha's VZR-M I, and the prospect of never beating their former golden boy before he quits has pushed Honda to malke its biggest ever effort for a MotoGP season. RCV project leader Kyoichi Yoshii, the man who is responsible for building a bike capable of ending Rossi's historic run of five Yoshii spent time analyzing Rossi and Yamaha's performance from trackside at last package altogether. The problem is, when the rider hits the brakes, they feel some vibration week's Sepang test, and he said it was clear how Rossi had managed to win 20 of the 33 races he's campaigned for Yamaha. from the rear, and then that sometimes transfers to the front tire, which leads to chatter. In the worst case, it goes to chatter - if not in "His machine seems very soft; every motion the front, then the rear is still vibrating under braking." Yoshii denied that Honda had lost development direction again in 2005 because of the fact that factory riders Max Biaggi, Sete Gibernau and Hayden were giving such different feedback because of their widely contrasting riding styles. But he said that Rossi's key strength is his ability to dissect problems fast and precisely, and his technical shrewd- successive premier-class titles, said: "In 2005, we failed. Next year we have to do better and will be pushing harder than ever. Before Rossi leaves this category, we have to beat him. We believe we are tough enough to beat 8 to beat the Valentino-and-Yamaha combina- is very soft and calm," Yoshii said. "Deceleration is very smooth, and soundwise it is also very smooth; this is a big advantage. On cornering and acceleration we are not so bad, but comer exit speed is almost decided by entry speed, and that is our problem because of the trouble we have with deceleration." Stability under braking has been a longterm Achilles' heel on the RCV and is something that is still seriously affecting the bike, ness made it a much easier task for Yamaha last day were spent testing a front tire on his old MI. Rossi left the teSt safe in the knowledge that he had struck a critical early blow against his rivals, but he acknowledged his bid for a third straight MotoGP title with Yamaha will be tougher than ever. Just a half-second split the top nine riders. "This was only the first test," Rossi said, "and it is already a great battle. I think it will be a very strong year. I think my biggest rivals will be Melandri and Hayden. We have to wait to check the performance of people like Dani Pedrosa, and also I have not seen the new Ducati with Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibemau, but it will be a tough year." Matthew Blrt control is very high, his spirit is so strong - I know him very well. If a rider gives useful and understandable information to the engineers, then the bike develops more quickly," added Yoshii, who also believes that, in Hayden. Honda now has the right man to lead them in the right direction. "I believe Nicky is the right choice to lead development," Yoshii said. "He always tries to explain what is wrong. Many times we have asked him the same question, but he has tried to answer the questions. Some riders don't do that. If a rider's comment is always the same, then it is difficult to analyze what is good or bad. I believe we can work [in a] much more effective direction right now." Yoshii also said that he was heartened by the fact that Italian Marco Melandri won the final two races of the season, to prove, if nothing else, that Rossi is not indestructible. "Sometimes we can overtake Valentino," said Yoshii. "Marco won the last two races, so according to new number-one rider Nicky engineers to give him a bike capable of dom- if [we] make the correct development, then Hayden. Yoshii agreed that curing the deceleration inating. "We know Valentino is so talented, and his it's not impossible to beat him." DECEMBER 14,2005 • CYCLE NEWS Matthew Birt

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