Portuguese Grand Prix
Estoril, Portugal
Friday 15th April, 2005

GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM MAKES STEADY START AT SLIPPERY ESTORIL

Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began adjusting
their YZR-M1 machines to the demands of the Estoril circuit in typically mixed
weather conditions on the windy west coast of Portugal today. Thick black rain
clouds blew intermittently across long stretches of blue skies and warm
sunshine, with occasional rain showers leaving the track surface slippery and
unpredictable.

Despite the changeable conditions, which are expected to continue for the rest
of the weekend, Colin Edwards was able to follow on from a positive day of tests
at Jerez earlier this week with another step forward in the set-up of his
YZR-M1. Edwards is using a shorter exhaust system to his Gauloises Yamaha
team-mate Valentino Rossi, as he has done ever since Yamaha's private pre-season
tests at Phillip Island last month, and the American was particularly impressed
with its performance at this tight and twisty circuit.

Whilst Edwards was fourth fastest over today's two free practice sessions,
neither of which contribute to the formation of the grid for Sunday's race,
Rossi lapped sixth fastest with a time still some way off the circuit lap record
of 1'38.423 which he set on the Yamaha YZR-M1 last season. Alex Barros (Honda)
was quickest in both sessions, clocking a best time of 1'38.516 in the
afternoon. The action will continue in Saturday's third free practice and
qualifying practice on Saturday.

COLIN EDWARDS, (1'39.144, 47 laps)

"This morning was a bit of a waste of a session because I had a slow puncture on
the front tyre. Despite that I went out this afternoon and it felt good straight
away - we definitely made an overall improvement to the bike at the Jerez test.
I find that the throttle connection to the engine is much better with the new
exhaust, which is an important aspect at this circuit. I've never ridden the
Yamaha here before but I had a feeling it would work well and in the twisty
sections it's awesome. MotoGP racing is never easy but if we can work on our
strong points and make those twisty sections even better then we have a good
chance."

VALENTINO ROSSI - (1'39.446, 37 laps)

"Friday isn't so important for the grid any more but it is important to use this
time constructively to work on the set-up. We are okay but we have some
difficulties, especially with the rear end, and there is not a lot of grip at
this circuit anyway. I was close to falling twice in that session. Some things
are not working perfectly and the conditions are making it very hard. It's
difficult to get the tyre to the right temperature, especially on the left side,
because the conditions are changing all the time. We are not at our maximum yet
but I hope the weather is better tomorrow so we can sort everything out. People
are talking about rain on Sunday but I'm not worried because we know our bike
works well in the wet."

DAVIDE BRIVIO - TEAM DIRECTOR

"It was quite cold today and there were strong winds, as well as light spells of
rain, which made it very difficult to get the tyres to perform to 100%. That is
not an ideal situation when you are trying to find an initial set-up for a
circuit but it is the same for everybody. Colin is going well and showing signs
of improvement from Jerez, whilst Valentino still has a few problems to fix.
With the new qualifying format we can dedicate the whole of Friday to collecting
information so now we can look ahead to using it to make improvements tomorrow.
Hopefully the weather is on our side!"

COMBINED FREE PRACTICE TIMES:

 1. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda                1'38.516
 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP    1'39.065
 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team         1'39.072
 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team    1'39.144
 5. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team      1'39.200
 6. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team  1'39.446
 7. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda Team           1'39.477
 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team     1'39.535
 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Yamaha Team         1'39.732
10. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP        1'39.769