MotoGP Set-up Report - Jerez, Spain

Jerez, Spain
4/4/2005

Round 1: Jerez, Spain
Track length: 4423 m
Opened: 1985
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'39.983 (Nicky Hayden, 2005 IRTA test)
MotoGP lap record: 1' 42.788 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
Last year MotoGP winner: Sete Gibernau
Circuit web site: http://www.circuitodejerez.com

Yamaha returns to the Jerez circuit in Spain this week to begin its defense of
the MotoGP World Championship title after an intense winter of testing, which
concluded at the Spanish circuit just eight days ago. In the year of Yamaha's
50th anniversary, current World Champion Valentino Rossi and his new Gauloises
Yamaha Team-mate Colin Edwards will be challenging for victory on the new,
improved version of the impressive YZR-M1 machine that swept to the title in
Rossi's prodigious hands in 2004.

It's been a busy winter for the Italian, which began with an historic journey to
Yamaha's head office in Iwata, Japan, to receive the certificate of ownership
for his title-winning YZR-M1. The bike was given to Rossi as a personal 'thank
you' from the company's president, Mr Toru Hasegawa, last November. Since then
Yamaha's engineers and Rossi have worked extensively on the 2005 version of the
machine at in-depth test sessions in Malaysia, Australia and Spain, where he has
been joined by his new Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Edwards.

For the Fortuna Yamaha Team, who has shadowed the Yamaha factory outfit at every
test, this pre-season program has been just as intense. But with two new names
behind the 'bars of the factory supported YZR-M1 - Ruben Xaus and Toni Elias -
it has been an extremely valuable experience for the Spanish pair.

2004 MotoGP Race Summary

Persistently wet conditions at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez last year upset
the pre-race qualifying predictions and delivered a fourth and sixth place
finish respectively for the Yamaha pairing of Valentino Rossi and Carlos Checa.
The 27-lap race was held in full-wet conditions throughout making most riders
opt for medium compound wet tyres front and rear. The race was something of a
battle against the elements for all riders, with only 15 of the 23 classified as
finishers. Up until the closing stages Yamaha rider Marco Melandri showed some
of his former brilliance by featuring in the top three before being claimed as
one of the eight no-finishers.

Rossi and Checa, both starting from the front row, filed into the first turn
behind early leader and eventual race winner Sete Gibernau (Honda).Coming under
pressure from the riders behind, Rossi chose discretion at the start, as first
Checa and then second place finisher Max Biaggi (Honda) passed him. A fight for
second place saw the position swapped between Checa and Biaggi twice, but
ultimately Biaggi made a small break, finding himself behind leader Gibernau,
whilst Melandri powered through to take third place on lap four. Checa and Rossi
held fourth and fifth positions respectively until Rossi mounted a successful
attack on lap nine. Alex Barros (Honda) passed Checa soon after.

Rossi survived a huge near-high-side at the exit of the first hairpin on lap 12
and Barros took the opportunity to glide past on the sodden track surface. With
Melandri out on lap 19, after falling on the slippy track, Barros was promoted
to third, Rossi fourth. After experiencing traction and vision concerns, Checa
made a late attack on Colin Edwards (Honda) and duly passed him to finish in
sixth place.

2005 YZR-M1 Set-up Report

For some time Jerez, Spain has signified the beginning of the European leg of
the MotoGP World Championship, but for 2005 it is the first leg of the 17 round
season. It's fitting then that Jerez is the circuit which traditionally pulls in
the largest crowd, well over 200,000 last year during the three day event. It's
due to the Spanish passion for motorcycle racing, but also the circuit's
reputation for providing hard and close racing.

The closeness of the racing can be attributed to the undulating 4423m layout,
numerous hard braking areas and countless camber changes; making a predictable
chassis balance the primary concern - especially during heavy braking. For this
reason it's necessary to maintain stability over the countless bumps that infest
the entry into almost every turn, while also providing front-end feel which will
inspire confidence.

The front forks will need to deal with the high braking loads yet they must also
offer enough movement while almost fully compressed to ensure that it is the
suspension absorbs these bumps rather than the front tyre. Increasing the spring
rate will prevent the front of the motorcycle from diving too quickly under
heavy deceleration - a result of the weight transferring forward - while the
fork compression damping will be set to allow enough high-speed movement to deal
with the repetitive bumps.

Fork rebound on the other hand is dialed in to slow the return of the forks to
their full length. This will prevent under-steer as the rider makes the
transition from brakes to throttle and the weight transfers to the rear of the
motorcycle. These steps, along with reducing the rear ride-height, will ensure
the back wheel stays planted on the tarmac, in turn improving braking stability.

The virtually all-new 2005 YZR-M1 has experienced a few teething problems
throughout the winter test schedule, but nothing that Yamaha feels will
seriously hinder its chances at fighting for a victory at the first race of the
year. The most visually obvious of these is with the main chassis - the upper
engine mounts have been revised, as have the twin main spars. These changes have
been made in an effort to retain the same vertical and twist rigidity as in 2004
while reducing the lateral rigidity - effectively increasing front-end feel at
high lean angles, when the effects of suspension travel is reduced. A crucial
benefit on the bumpy high-speed turns featured at Jerez.

The overall dimensions of the YZR-M1 have also seen it stand slightly taller to
help get the weight over the front of the bike during heavy braking. This
effectively pushes the weight of the bike directly down the fork legs, pressing
the front tyre harder into the track and increasing traction as a result. Again
this is a significant advantage at such a hard braking circuit like Jerez.

The rear spring rate will be set slightly firmer to prevent the bike squatting
under power through the long, sweeping, high-speed corners and the resulting
cornering forces, while overall feel will be ensured with less compression
damping - aimed at helping riders gain the best drive off the positive cambered
turns. The M1's 2005 in-line four-cylinder engine will also help this cause
thanks to the further evolution of its 2004 revised firing order design.

The revised firing interval of 2004 ensured the M1 retained the advantages of
its compact in-line four-cylinder design with the added bonus of a power
delivery resembling that of a V engine layout. You only needed to hear the M1 to
know there was something very different about the 2004 machine. So much so that
many media nicknamed this latest incarnation as the 'big bang' M1. For 2005
Yamaha's engineers have delved further into identifying the ideal firing cycle
in an effort to increase the peak power without sacrificing the 'sweetness' of
the delivery.