Rossi and Yamaha M1

Rossi using 2008 & 2009 Yamaha M1 bikes for Jerez analysis

Wednesday, 26 November 2008

Second on the timesheet on day one in Jerez, MotoGP World Champion clocks his fastest time with latest prototype.

Chilly conditions failed to put Valentino Rossi´s progress on ice at Jerez, with the 2008 MotoGP World Champion feeling ever-more-comfortable on the 2009 Yamaha M1 prototype. The Italian tested the bike for the second time on Wednesday afternoon, braving the cold conditions to work with the machine in a three-hour stint.

The Italian was second on the timesheet behind Dani Pedrosa and, like his Repsol Honda rival, was using both the latest machinery and the model used at the end of the 2008 season. Particularly pleasing for Rossi was the fact that his quickest time of 1´40.135 came with the 2009 bike.

`I am happy about this first day because my performance has been good from the beginning and I have been fast all day,´ said Rossi after his 1:30pm-onwards session. `Unfortunately it´s been quite cold and there were only three hours when it was possible to go fast, but we were able to get quite a lot of work done in this short space of time.

`We have tried some different things on the old 2008 bike and we were able to make some improvements, then we also tested several new things on the prototype bike, and I am happy because I did my fastest lap with this bike.´

Rossi has far less rubber at his disposal than before as a consequence of the new single-tyre rule, but was happy with the eight tyres available. Two front and two rear specifications, provided in duplicate, were nonetheless to the reigning titlist´s liking.

`Bridgestone have brought good tyres here; so far I don´t see any problems with the new rule and it seems they´re doing a good job. They have also resurfaced the track and it has made a big difference; they have got rid of all the bumps and like this it´s great fun to ride around. I think we will be able to go faster now,´ concluded the 29 year-old.