Rossi glad to be back on the bike

Rossi glad to be back on the bike

Valentino Rossi was sufficiently recovered to continue testing in Sepang on Sunday, after missing the middle day of the three-day test yesterday due to a throat virus. The reigning World Champion was still not feeling 100% fit, but managed to complete 35 laps, including a long run, before finishing the day early at around 4pm.

“Unfortunately I caught a virus yesterday and I wasn’t able to test,” explained Rossi, who was fourth fastest today with a time of 2’01.275. “ I felt a bit better today and this morning we did a good job. We made some good laps and a race simulation, but I started to feel tired again over the last five laps.

“The bike is good and I have a good feeling with it; we’ve fixed some problems and tried some new tyres. Now I need to go and get some sleep so I can be ready to test in Phillip Island.”

The Gauloises Yamaha Team now moves on for another three days of testing at Phillip Island, home circuit for Rossi’s Australian Crew Chief Jeremy Burgess.

“We didn’t go through as much as we would have liked here due to missing a day, but what we did do was very good,” said Burgess. “We confirmed some things from the last test and we’ve certainly moved on this weekend, working mainly on tyres and improving the settings on the bike.

“Michelin have developed some good tyres. Now we go on to Phillip Island and I think we’ve got the same aim as every other team on the grid; to have the bike ready for the first race in April!”

Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards continued working until a little later and ended the test pleased with the progress made and a satisfactory, if tiring, long run.

“The race simulation was hard and I had to take a bit of a breather at one point,” said Edwards, who set a best time of 2’01.641 after 81 laps. “There were about six laps when I was slower than I could have been.

“81 laps is a lot for one day, especially the third day of a test, but we really needed to do the long run in order to get the information. We’re still working on the new bike, but I’m feeling a lot happier and we are making progress.

“The bike was great all day, very consistent and the tyres that Michelin have given us are great. I’m ready to move on now to some new scenery in Australia!”

Gauloises Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio added: “After three tests in a row in Sepang, it is good to have a change and see how our new machine performs at a new track. Despite Valentino’s illness, we did a good job here with both our riders.

“Both did a race simulation and we collected a lot of good information from this. Now we move to Phillip Island to test again next weekend, where we will continue our preparation for the next season.”

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