Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128370
Yamaha Completes MotoGP Test in Oz auloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed the last day of a three-day test in Phillip Island, Australia, on March II, with both improving slightly on their times from the day before after taking advantage of an improvement in the weather. But the team had to cope with rain for the first two days that left the track with a lack of grip, and that meant lap times were still off the mark set by the Honda boys in their recent test at the seaside circuit. Sharing the circuit again with fellow Yamaha riders Ruben Xaus and Toni Elias, Rossi and Edwards worked hard throughout the final day on settings and tire testing and were able to complete 83 and 79 laps, respectively. Rossi set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:30.+1 - slower than the I:29.68 he recorded at the last test in Phillip Island when conditions were better. "Today, the weather was better, but the track conditions were still not very good," Rossi said in a team release. "The track has been so affected by all the rain before on the previous days that it was still quite difficult, and this is why we did- G n't improve the lap times much. We were able to do some good work, howev- er, and continue working on the bike settings and testing tires for Michelin, so it was a worthwhile day. Now I'm really looking forward to moving on to Barcelona with everyone else and continuing to develop the new bike as we move closer to the first race." Edwards set a best lap of I:30.50, one-tenth of a second faster than his best time from the last test. Spaniard and MotoGP rookie Toni Elias completed 73 laps with a best of I :31.8S, and his fellow countryman and last year's MotoGP Rookie of the Year, Ruben Xaus, finished the day with a best lap of I:32.61 from I 18 laps. "The sun shone today, but the track still wasn't great," Edwards said. "With all the rain and just four bikes on the track for only a couple of days, there wasn't enough rubber laid down to have a really good surface to test on today. Despite that, I'm really happy with my progress, and we've had some really good stuff to work with from both Yamaha and Michelin - I feel I'm going totally in the right direction. This is the last quiet test, and from here on out, it's getting seri- ous' It's now on to Barcelona with everyone else; I just need to buckle down and start getting some consistently good lap times." to do commentary for the Speed Channel Buckmaster a No-Go at Daytona amaha came to Daytona International Speedway nearly a week early to get a jump on the AMA weekend. The team's four Y riders took part in the Formula USNChampionship Cup Series weekend, hoping to sort out their R6s. A mostly wet winter testing season cut their track time nearly in half. By the end of their AMA racing (on Thursday, March 10) three of the four riders had fallen, and one, Damon Buckmaster, had broken his shoulder and suffered lung complications. Only Jason DiSalvo managed to remain upright for the week. Buckmaster pulled out of the Supersport and Superstock races on Wednesday morning after encountering breathing difficulties overnight and before his doctors had seen the X-rays of his broken right shoulder. The plan was to fiy back to California on Wednesday afternoon. But as he was about to leave his hotel for the airport, complications arose and his doctor advised him to return to Halifax Medical Center for a chest X-ray. The scan revealed "blebs" - small air-filled sacs in his lungs that can be fatal if they burst. He was prohibited from fiying for at least 10 days, possibly 14. Instead he remained at the track 14 MARCH 23, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS broadcasts, after which he was to drive cross country to his California home. "I've got the shoulder issue that I need to take care of," Buckmaster said. "I wouldn't be able to muscle the bike around. Having a few breathing difficulties now, I can't lie on my back, I can't lie on my side. It's something I need to take care of before I get on a race bike." Buckmaster said the ball joint at the top of the humerus in his right arm was fractured. ':<\t this angle," he said, his right arm hanging in a sling, "it's out of the joint. As soon as you lift it up it rolls into the joint area. That's the problem, if it cracks and breaks off in there." After viewing the X-rays, Dr. Arthur Ting AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At K&W Cycle in Shelby Township, Michigan, on Friday, April 8. Team Kawasaki's James Stewart, Michael Byrne, Grant Langston and Matt Walker are scheduled to attend. OPENED: Casa Grande Cycles in Casa Grande, Arizona - 30 miles south of Phoenix. Casa Grande is a Suzuki motorcycle, ATV and scooter dealership. For more information, call S20/316-9368. and Buckmaster's personal physician, Dr. Bryan, both agreed that surgery wasn't nec- AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Exim- essary. Buckmaster said he wasn't worried about missing the multiteam test at Infineon Raceway next week. port Cycles in Houston, Texas, on "I'll think about testing, but right now I March 19. Ducat; Austin's Neil Hodgson is scheduled to appear. For more information, call 713/99S-7494. have to think long term. It would be about five weeks [to the next AMA race, April 2224, at Barber Motorsports Park]. It would definitely give my shoulder time till the next race. I think it will heal well enough on its own in this four- or five-week break." Henny Ray Abrams AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Hattar Motorsports in San Rafael, California, on March 19. Ducati Austin's Eric Bostrom is scheduled to appear. For more information, call 41 S/4S6-334S.