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MotoGP: Yamaha's Lorenzo in
Top Three on Final Day in Spain
2008 Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo
signed off for 2007 in impressive style in Jerez today, finishing
third overall and recording a best time of 1'39.464 on qualifying
tyres, just 0.062 seconds off the 2007 race pole position.
Lorenzo completed 90 laps on the final day of testing in Spain,
including a long run in which the MotoGP rookie recorded more
impressive times. After eight days of testing since the end of
the season, Lorenzo is looking increasingly comfortable on his
new bike and he was also able to complete some tyre testing today
with Michelin, finding some good rear-tyre rubber. Lorenzo's
2008 team-mate Valentino Rossi was 11th today after stopping
early due to some pain in his recovering hand, the Italian recording
a best time of 1'41.538, whilst Dani Pedrosa was fastest with
a lap of 1'38.562.
The Fiat Yamaha Team will now enjoy a month-long winter break,
before getting back to work at Sepang in Malaysia on 22nd, 23rd
and 24th January 2007.
Jorge Lorenzo (3rd, 1'39.464, 90 laps)
"Today I felt even better than yesterday and I did a very
good test session. Yesterday I had some pain because of the number
of laps I had done the day before, but today I was fully recovered
and everything went well. I felt very comfortable with the M1
and during the race simulation I had very positive impressions.
The lap times are becoming faster and faster, and this means
that we are working in the right direction. The traction on the
rear is improving, thanks also to the new material from Michelin,
so I am satisfied. Actually I didn't expect to be so fast in
the race simulation; I went beyond my expectations. At the end
of the third day we can say that this has been a very good test
session and my overall feeling is, of course, better than after
the Sepang test. We still have a lot of work to do, but the atmosphere
inside the garage is concentrated, relaxed and very professional,
so I am sure we will achieve our goals before the season starts.
I am looking forward to being in Sepang, in January, to test
new engine specifications and to try to be even faster."
Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager
"Today was a positive day. We continued to improve the set-up
of Jorge's bike and we found a good basis to work from. We also
tested new tyres from Michelin and we found some good material,
above all for the rear, that accepted the torque of the engine
well and had good grip. Jorge keeps on improving his feeling
with the bike and now we can say that he finally feels comfortable
with it. Today we completed a long run that was definitely positive,
especially since it's the first one for Jorge riding the M1.
He was very fast, even faster than the 2007 race pace. Finally
he tested two qualifying tyres that enabled him to lower his
best time by one second, and we consider this to be a very good
result. I would like to thank the rider, who rode a huge amount
of laps, and the team, who performed a great job throughout the
entire test session. Now let's take some well-deserved rest and
then we will meet again in Sepang in January, to start the new
challenge."
Masahiko Nakajima Fiat Yamaha Team Director
"Today Jorge rode 90 laps, so first of all I would like
to say that the amount of laps he did in three days has been
very impressive, with an average of about 80 laps per day! There's
no need to say that we are very happy with his attitude in all
the tests held so far. At the end of this test session, Jorge
is third overall and this is quite impressive for us. It means
we are on the way to achieving the final goal, which is to adapt
the bike to his riding style. Jorge showed us his talent and
potential, and demonstrated that he has the ability to give us
very good data and information to help in the work for next season.
We are still on the way to defining the base set-up of his bike,
but it is quite evident that his riding is becoming closer to
that of the other MotoGP top riders. He is braking better and
has better and better corner speed, and we have not found the
final set-up yet! Now we know how to improve his bike further;
we know the right direction and now we need to analyze the data
we collected here in Jerez and then fix the final set-up at the
next Sepang test in January".
Lap Times
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'38.562
2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1'38.848
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1'39.464
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1.39.747
5. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1'40.121
6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1'40.184
7. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1'40.185
8. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1'40.213
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1'40.398
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1'40.984
11. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1'41.538
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1'41.619
13. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1'41.715
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1'41.793
15. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1'42.343
16. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.42.850
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1'43.001
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