Factory Yamaha MotoGP Test Wrap Up

Valencia MotoGP Test

Unlike Tuesday's testing, the next year's MotoGP grid didn't have to deal with rain on Wednesday, making for a longer session.

And the factory Fiat Yamaha team of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies took full advantage of the situation, staying in the top three on the time sheets as they did on Tuesday.

Lorenzo and Spies completed all Yamaha test requirements earlier in the day, and both were able to then evaluate some different Bridgestone tires ahead of the 2011 MotoGP season.

The 2010 MotoGP Champion came out strong like he did on Tuesday, but was beat by 0.054 of a second for the day by Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner. Although Lorenzo was a bit slower Wednesday on the prototype Yamaha M1, his time of 1:32.012 from Tuesday was still the fastest time out of both days of the traditional post-season MotoGP testing.

Lorenzo and his Yamaha Crew Chief Ramon Forcada both commented on the performance at the final day of Valencia testing.

Jorge Lorenzo says: "Basically we tried some new tires from Bridgestone today, they had quite a different feeling, but there wasn't a big difference in general performance. We also reconfirmed the settings we tried yesterday so we've given Yamaha some good data to work with over the winter. I'm very happy with how the test has gone; I'm quite tired so I'm looking forward to having some rest now and coming back strong to start again."

Ramon Forcada says: "Today we finished the testing plan we made. There weren't so many things to try as we did a really good job yesterday. We finished the Yamaha test plan so this morning we evaluated some tires and provided some good information to Bridgestone for their development."

"We've finished early as we tested everything we needed to and Jorge felt good about all the results. It's been a long season and after the emotions of the last Grand Prix races it's time to let him go and have a rest! The new bike has the same feeling as the 2010 machine but with improvements, allowing us to be faster and perform better in a number of areas."

The 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Spies remained consistent throughout both days of testing on his new factory ride, taking third fastest on both days. After his impressive, initial performance on the Yamaha M1, Spies will return home to America before starting off his second season in the MotoGP Championship on a factory ride.

Spies and his Yamaha Crew Chief Tom Houseworth both responded to the Valencia testing performances.

Ben Spies says: "We've had another good day and another day of learning. We messed with the bike a bit, changed some settings and went in a positive direction. So another good session working with the new crew again, I'm very happy with it."

"I read some comments from Jorge about the new engine for next year, he seemed to be happy with the way that was going so I look forward to seeing that in Malaysia. I'm looking forward to now having a couple of months of then getting back to it!"

Tom Houseworth says: "We tested the prototype again this morning, we collected the data from yesterday and following a meeting last night made some setting changes for today which we tested with very positive results."

"Once we had achieved these we went ahead and tested the Bridgestone tires, testing three options, one of which Ben really liked a lot. The test has been very productive and very promising for the future on the new bike. Ben is really optimistic and looking forward to continuing at Sepang."

The Fiat Yamaha MotoGP riders will not take a three-month Winter break before official MotoGP testing resumes at Sepang Feb. 1-3.

MotoGP: Ducati and Rossi Day 2 Report

MotoGP Valencia Test

With all the energy and excitement surrounding the news of Valentino Rossi testing the new Ducati at Valencia for the traditional two days of post-season MotoGP testing, the results were anything but spectacular.

During Tuesday's testing, Rossi was 10th fastest, his Valencia results almost two seconds slower than his former teammate, the 2010 MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo.

And Wednesday's testing didn't show any improvements; the nine-time World Champion was 15th fastest out of 17 riders, 1.659 of a second slower than the fastest man on the track, which is also who Rossi replaced, Casey Stoner.

Just like stated yesterday, the General Manager of Ducati Corse Filippo Preziosi said the two days of testing for the 2011 MotoGP season were not about fastest lap times, but more importantly, deciding what engine configuration to progress with, either the "Big Bang" or the "Screamer."

After completing most of his 56 laps aboard the Ducati GP11 with the "Big-Bang" engine on Tuesday, Rossi was scheduled to do additional laps with the "Screamer" on Wednesday. But instead, Rossi completed 70 laps with the "Big Bang" while working closely with Preziosi.

Due to amount of emphasis the latter received during the MotoGP testing, the "Big Bang" is likely the configuration that the 2011 Ducati Team of Rossi and Nicky Hayden will use next season. This is the same engine Hayden and his former teammate Casey Stoner used throughout the 2010 MotoGP season.

After spending seven years with Yamaha, Rossi has much work to do in adapting to the Ducati GP11, and Preziosi says this will be the objective of Ducati - to match the bike to Rossi's riding style, allowing Rossi to ride like Rossi.

Filippo Preziosi says: "After these two days of tests we will go back to Ducati for a meeting, where we will decide which path to take between the two engines, the big bang and the screamer, although the information we have is pointing towards the former. It will be a decision we will make by analyzing the data in depth as well as planning the way forward around all the other things we learnt at the test."

"The objective is clearly to allow Valentino to ride like Valentino! We know we have to improve the bike in order to achieve this, especially the front end. He has given us some very precise information and now it is down to us to use it."

"We would obviously have liked to give him the opportunity to go faster today but even though that wasn't the case he has impressed everybody over the last two days with the way he works, his calm approach and his positive attitude towards everything."

Rossi's teammate completed 91 laps on Wednesday, the most of any rider. He tested both the "Screamer" and "Big Bang," and was quicker on the latter, eventually posting the sixth-fastest time.

Filippo Preziosi says: "Nicky also worked very hard, as usual, and set a good lap time on the new Bridgestones as well as the ones we were already using, which is another big positive. Now we have to work to give them both a more competitive bike for the next test."

Next, Preziosi will meet with the engineers and technicians in Ducati Corse headquarters, and likely decide on what engine to proceed with for the 2011 MotoGP season, and the "Big Bang" is the likely candidate.

Both Rossi and Hayden will return home now for a Winter break before the next official test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia from Feb. 1-3, 2011.