The second day of the final pre-season MotoGP test was again played out in difficult weather conditions today with riders having to splash through a water-filled morning before being able to enjoy some dry track time later in the afternoon.
Valentino Rossi was finally given the conditions that allowed him to show his pleasure at being back on the YZR-M1. In the afternoon’s dry spell and on a European circuit he knows well, the nine time Champion rose quickly to the top of the timesheets, staying there until the close of the day and reminding everyone that the special relationship between ‘the Doctor’ and the M1 has not lost its magic.
Teammate Jorge Lorenzo, yesterday’s fastest rider in the wet, was just 0.015 seconds behind Rossi as today’s session ended, the reigning World Champion continuing to stay on the pace at the sharp end of the time scores.
Valentino Rossi
“Today's test session was very positive for us. I’m so happy, especially because we used a different style of setting. It is very important for us to understand this setting, which can help and effect my riding style to ride the bike in a better way and stay more constant, especially with good lap times on old tyres.
To make the first position with a time of 39.5 is good and also being as fast as Jorge. Me and my team are very happy with the pace and I think we will try to continue to work on this way.”
Jorge Lorenzo
“The track was dry but not in perfect conditions today, there was not so much grip and we had some problems in some corners, where the bike was not very stable.
In general it was a very positive test. We worked on suspension and electronics today and we saw that compared to Austin the Yamaha's were much more competitive.
There are three Yamaha's in the top three and that is good for the motivation of the brand. The track is not in the best condition, it’s dry but it’s not perfect because of the rain. I think we have to focus on getting more stability on acceleration and get more comfortable with the race pace.”
Yamaha Factory Racing Press Release
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