Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Colin Edwordr wos the foslest in lhe wel, ond thot eorned him the keys to lhe Brrtw o l wi$ only Ducati test rider Vttoriaflo GEreschi slower. The ,rantic wet session wEs amudnS and, for Edwards, rew-arding, but not the impor- tant bllsiness of the weekend- That had taken place over the prcceding two days - in dry but very cool conditlons. Rossi was the tesrest on both d4/s, throw- in8 down a clear waming that not only ls his ma.hine much improved. but rhat hls form is as Sood as ever. Always the favorite for the seasofl, the odds shortened still ,urther. "We have done sorne very good work," he said. "On the first day we tested some tires, ard on the second concentrated on the bike. Ohlins gave us a new front fork, and the result was veD/ 8ood." Dmbpshod Ch€a was second overall, six- tendrs slov/er, hrt his comrnenB echoed fle Seneral Hing that in such low tenrper&rre6, the rEsults miSht not be possible to rep€d in dl€ h€d of the race h€re ld6r in dle )"eril "We still have some questions about endumme, but we haYe shown we are not so far avray," he said. Another unexpecled poiting came from Nakano on the all-new KawEsaki, within iust over a tenth of a second. "This is a newexperieme, for me and the team," the Japanese rider raid, "ln the past we have itruggled at this first European test. It's a real boost for the team." It was also a boost also for tire suppliers Bridgestone, for whom the low-8rip Caalunfa circuit had b€en a problem track in the past. Michelin's latest tire has been acknowledged as a step for- ward; its Japanese riv_als showed they had been able to match it. "We were very worried about this test, because this was one of our worst circuits - but we have found our new tire profile and compound has been a bit improve- ment," said motorg/cle racin8 chi€f Hiroshi Yamada. Edwards was next, waxing lyri- cal about his first I4otoGP season in the same teilm as the Previous year ''Usually l'm still learnint everybody's name at this point," said Edwards, who was equally full oI praise for the new bike. "There's not one thin8 about it that's better. It jurt does everything betten" Gjbernau was fifth, adaptin8 to the Ducati. "The lap time is one thing," Gibemau said, "but we really need to find conristency and to make the bike more predictabl€ for the different con- ditions you find in a race. The Sood thint for me is that now my problems are the factory's problems. Until now, my problems iust stayed in rny own pit [a reference to his nonfactory status with Hondal." Gibemau stayed out in the wet after the dash for the car, .ontinuing to improve, and ending up fastest in the wet. Fremhman and former 250 rider Randy de Puniet was an impressive sixth overall, in spite of a heayf crash on the first day, and underlininS the improvement to the fully redesigned Kaw'asaki. Suzuki's Hopkins was seventh on the equalty improved Suz'rki- That left the Hondas in a moit unexpect- €d situation, with the best of them - Hayden's Repsol bike - only eighth. Cautht out by weather problems in teslint ahd the late development of his exclusive new machine, HRC may only be a few days behind $e others, but they are still distinct- ly behind, with the seaso. approachinS fast. "The clock is ticking," said Hayden. "we need to make some improv€ments fast." Hayden ran the most l+s of anybody - 87 on the first day, and an amazing 103 on the s€€ond. "The new bike has some good polnts; ir's more stable on the brak*. and filrnr real w6ll," he said. "But we have a lot oI anove lent and not !o mtrch traction on the comer e)dts-" Pedrosa fail€d to match his strong form at previous t6ts, and he was lfth, one place behind fellow Horda rider Tarmda" afid less than a tenth faster $an Roberts Jr. on the hybrid Robens Honda, Melandriwas strugglin8 in l2th. "l don't know exactly what the problem b, but I cannot ride smoottrly and hold rny lines like ar the end of last year," l,lelandri said, "l have to take the corner in three sections." Loris Capirossi was l3th after missing much of the second day, suffering from a stomach virus. Then carne Elias, Vermeulen, Ellison, Cardoso and Ho{mann, with test riders Okada (Honda) and Guareschi (Ducati) roundint out a field of 20. There is one more round of tests in Jerez, Spain, before the season begins at the same circuit on March 26. ,Mi.hde, Scott $amaha firmly chimed the first honors of I *e lOOf MoroGP reason, headinq the time sheets on all three days of oflicial team testing in CataluqE, Spain, and winninS the 4o-minute televired dash for the big prize in the wet on Sunday, Harch 5. But the man who took home the keys to the 24 BMW corwertible was not Vaientino Rqasi, who crashed in his attempt at setting the tastest lap. lt was his Camel Yarnaha teammate Colin Edwards who ended up on top, widl a flying lap fully 1.8 seconds ,aster than that of Rep6ol Honda's Niclg Hayden, who slofted into second only at the very end ofthe session after struSgling to pi.k up the pace on the firn two days, "l didn't realty wam to risk too much, but as it tumed out, rt was okay," said Edwa.rds, who Jtayed on board while odler serious contenders lbnny Rob6rts ,r (Robertr Honda) and Carlos Ch€ca (Dunlop Yamaha) both crashed at the rahe point as Rossi, under braking at the end of the back straight. Rossi ended up third in that session, after running out of time foa a second attempt. "l'm happy, because we lound that the bike is very good in the wEt as well as the dry," Rossi said. "l was ready lor that pole position - my rhythm was good, but maybe I ljed too hard. There is a liale dip in the track there, and that caus€d the problem. But the mon important thing was to be fastest in the drl,, yesterday-" The surprise of the weeken'd cahe from Brit ,ame6 Ellhon, who h6 h€en haviq8 proL lems geftln8 up to speed as he adapB from $e WCM of last )€ar to his factory Dunlotr backed Yariaha. He was dymmite in the rain, ho.r'eler, taking an ea.l/ lead in the shon- prize session by a marsive twg re

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