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/1542347
t o o o o o loris Copirorsi, his Duori ond his Bridgorlon lircr wGru the bert combinolion or rhc linol trloroGP lort of lhG rcoron in Jcrcr, Spoin. 4ff, a I Spaniard lapping at l:39.663. "lt was a long, hard day, and we tested a lot of new thints on the bike and with the tires," Gibernau said. 'Generelly speakinS. it went tyell. althouSh we took a bit too lonS findint the ritht way to 80, and there was a latde confusion at some point. I would like ro [hank my aeam for the very Sood job done. l m happy wirh lhe way lhe preseason lesling ended. Bridgestone also proved !o be very competitive and very responsive. They brought the right material to allow us to be both up to pace on race tires and very fast on qual jfying tires here. " After topping the time sheets on the sec- ond day of the test, Kawasaki's Shinya - r- Nakano ended up third, with his teammate Randy de Puniet finishing up as the fourth- fastest rider. Nakano's best was a l:39.776. "Yesterday, I felt like we still ne€ded to take another step forwerd, so today we spent a lot ol time lookint for the last small improvements from the suspension, the fuel-injection system and also from the tires," NaLano said. "l'm happy to say we found it, but then everyone else improved towards the end of the test, so we now need to make another small step durinS practice and qualifying for the opening race here. Vy'e know that some of the tuys who didn't have su.h a good test here will be quick to improve once the season starts, so we can't afford to rest on our laurels. HavinS said that, after such a successful test sched- ule over the past months, we will arrive at the llrst race with higher expectations than we have had in the past. l'm (onfident that, an the 2006 Ninja ZX-RR, we have a package that willenable me to improve upon my fifth place in this race last year." The best Honda lap time olthe test went to class rookie Dani Pedrosa. The young Spaniard ended up fourth with a best of l:40.416. "lt's been a very good preseason for me, because each time on the bike, I've b€en able to improve step b), step." the non- defending 250cc World Champion said. "l did a lot of laps over the winter, and thrs rs very useful to get to know the bike, because the step up from the 250 to MotoGP is much bitter than the ltep from 125 to 250. Physically l'm Settins stronSer, and this wall continue throughout the year- I m starting to understand how the tires work, thouth I need more experience with the electronics, on race s[arts and qualification tires. I dont know if l'm ready tor round one - we'll have to wait and see," Pedrosa's teammate Nicky Hayden was the next-highest Honda rider, in sixth, ahead of countryman Colin Edwards. Hayden lapped at a best of l:40.570. "Well, all the testinS's over, and now it's time for the real deal,'' Hayden said. 'Next time we tet on the bikes, it ll be showtime. / E (a ffi A frer (hree days of resling at the jerez , lLrrcurt rn 5parn. two thtnps became clear: The Ducatis appear to be a force to be reckoned with; and Bridgestone, at least durinS this official teams test. appears to have Sained serious tround in the MotoGP When all was said and done, Marlboro Ducati's Loris Capirossi was the fastest of the PlotoGP men, the ltalian lapping at li39.4ll - eiSht-tenths of a second under Valentino Rossis 2005 pole-position time. According to Ducati, althouSh Capirossi's best tame was done on a qualiting tire, he also did a l:40.296 on race rubber. "Three very positive days for us," Capirossisaid in a Ducati press release. "We are well prepared for the season opener, and Iam very happy. My Desmosedic' I @',.*-i t I 4t ], Sefe Gibernou hqd rcqson to imile ot the le5t. He ended up second, behind his teommote Copirorsi. rid estones And C ossi Lead Jerez Test a e tr J'Z ,"-. otla U tlti V t. y'v /' ^J7 responded well to all the setup modifications that we introduced, and now it's per{ect on this track- lt is not easy to find the perfect setup for our GP6, but once it's done, we have a great bike. ln any case, I think that the work done in the past few days v/ill be impor- tant and usefulon other tracks, too, and it will be a Sood starting point for the season that is about to be8in- Today we've been a little bit faster than yesterday - doint 40.2 on race tires is quite an achievement. I enjoyed ridint on qualilyint tires, and I was fast. We must keep our feet on the ground, because lhe others will improve also, but now we can only enjoy this good ending to our winter tests," Makint thrngs even bener {or the ltalian team was thar Sete Gibernau closed ou! lhe test with the second-fastesr time, the a I E @ @ # 16 MARCH 22,2006 . CYCLE NEWS