Yamaha makes good progress at final IRTA test

Jerez, Spain
25/3/2005

Gauloises Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards finished the first
day of the Jerez IRTA Tests with the third and tenth fastest times, and both
riders were happy with the work they completed over the eight hours of track
time. With sunny conditions prevailing throughout most of the day, the pair were
able to continue with the work they had done during the three-day test in
Catalunya last week. Rossi completed 67 laps and Edwards 87, both concentrating
mainly on Michelin tyre testing, and they finally stopped an hour early with two
days of the test still ahead.

Of the 22 MotoGP riders testing, 15 lapped faster than the existing lap record
of 1'42.788, which was set by Rossi during the Spanish Grand Prix in 2003. The
quickest lap of the day was from Suzuki rider John Hopkins, who posted a time of
1'40.893, just a fraction shy of Rossi's pole position from last year's race.
Hopkins was followed by Nicky Hayden (Honda, 1'41.045), while Rossi spent part
of the day at the top of the time sheets before finishing third fastest with a
best lap of 1'41.273. He was followed by Spanish Honda rider Sete Gibernau,
fourth fastest with a time of 1'41.397. New Yamaha recruit Edwards was tenth
fastest with a time of 1'42.018.

Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Toni Elias and Ruben Xaus also completed the first
day of the Jerez IRTA test with a smile after making consistent progress. Both
riders completed many laps, with Elias clocking up 90 laps and Xaus 110, and are
confident that the test will continue in such a positive note for the remaining
two days.

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) - 1'41.273

"I am happy with today because the bike worked well. It was the first time for
us with the new bike at this circuit and I had a good feeling from the start. We
continued working on settings; we found a good base setting in Barcelona, which
we've continued with here. We've tested some good tyres from Michelin today,
with improved traction. I think it will be possible to try to fix some other
small problems tomorrow and make more progress, but we're already in a good
situation. It might rain tomorrow but this wouldn't be a bad thing anyway, it's
important to try the bike in the rain at some point!"

Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team) - 1'42.018

"We spent all day focusing on testing tyres and we've made some good decisions
to help us to move forwards in our preparation. We've been trying a new tyre,
but we haven't been able to find the right way forward with it and for now we've
decided to discount it and go back to what we know works for us. I'm pleased as
it's good to make this decision and now we can continue working forwards. We'll
now concentrate throughout the next couple of days on improving setting and more
tyre testing for Michelin. I feel quite good and I think we can make some final
improvements here before we come back in two weeks for the first race!"

Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director

"After Barcelona we looked forward to seeing how the bike goes at another new
circuit, and it seems to go quite well. Today both crews and the riders have
made a good job and we have cleared some doubts that we had. Overall today has
been a step forward for everyone. Now we'll continue to test more options over
the next two days and hopefully finalise our preparation for the coming season."

Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team) - 1'42.270

"I am very happy with the progress we made today. We did a great job. I am more
and more confident on the bike and we continually improved lap after lap. We
need to keep working in this way as we still have a lot to do, but if we do I am
confident that the results will come sooner rather than later."

Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team) - 1'43.467

"I have improved more today than in any other test so far this year. I was
consistent and felt that I'm starting to really understand the M1. I've just got
to keep approaching it like this, step by step. We tried a New Michelin tyre,
which I was very happy with, and a new short exhaust that lets me hear the
engine better. Bring on tomorrow."

Official times - day 1:

 1. John Hopkins (Team Suzuki MotoGP)        1'40.893
 2. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team)         1'41.045
 3. VALENTINO ROSSI (GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM)  1'41.273
 4. Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda)      1'41.397
 5. Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda)     1'41.626
 6. Alex Barros (Camel Honda)                1'41.637
 7. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda)     1'41.668
 8. Alex Hofmann (Kawasaki Racing Team)      1'41.702
 9. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki Racing Team)     1'41.775
10. COLIN EDWARDS (GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM)    1'42.018
13. TONI ELIAS (FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM)         1'42.270
16. RUBEN XAUS (FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM)         1'43.467