MotoGP in sunny Jerez for final preseason test

Today saw the premier class of MotoGP gathering in Jerez for the first of three
testing sessions, which will serve as the final chance to fine-tune their 990cc
four-stroke motorcycles ahead of the 2006 season. Bright sunshine ruled
throughout the day, and a light breeze helped to keep temperatures around a
comfortable 20 degrees.

The factory Ducati team dominated proceedings on today’s first session, with
Loris Capirossi clocking the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1’40.910,
close to that which earned Valentino Rossi pole position in last season’s Grand
Prix at the same location. With teammate Sete Gibernau second on the leaderboard
and just over a quarter of a second behind, Ducati were the first of a series of
teams to post strong times on Bridgestone-shod bikes, demonstrating the tyre’s
suitability for the Jerez track.

"It's been a positive day. We finally had good weather conditions and were able
to work calmly all day. From the minute I went out I felt at ease on the GP6 and
we were able to improve throughout the day, making only minor modifications to
the set-up. The bike has improved a great deal and the tyres are very good.
Tomorrow we hope the weather will allow us to do a race distance test," said
Capirossi following the day’s testing.

Following on from a great showing at the MotoGP Official Test in Catalunya last
week, Shinya Nakano gave his Kawasaki team another welcome boost in third, after
the news that one of their trucks had been involved in an accident on the way to
the circuit.

It was also a much better day for Honda, who had been unable to break into the
top seven last week. The Spanish duo of factory rider Dani Pedrosa and the
Gresini team’s Toni Elias gave much encouragement to the Japanese constructor by
ending up fourth and fifth today, although they will evidently be looking to see
the RC211V taking victories in the coming season and reclaiming the MotoGP crown
which has gone to Yamaha for the last two seasons.

In turn, Yamaha factory riders Colin Edwards and world champion Valentino Rossi
both continued to show the M1’s excellent form, which helped the former win a
new BMW and the latter the fastest times of the first Official Test last week.
Rossi was the last to take to the track, as has become customary during
preseason and ended up ninth, behind Edwards’ sixth place.

Two of last week’s surprise packages, Carlos Checa and John Hopkins were again
amongst the top riders. Checa taking seventh spot and Hopkins continuing to put
in fast laps on the Suzuki GSV-R just eight thousandths adrift of him. Rounding
off the top ten after Rossi was Kawasaki’s French rookie Randy de Puniet, who
ran off the track three times and crashed twice in his quest to get his new
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR around the track in the fastest time possible.

MotoGP testing will continue throughout the weekend in Jerez, where all three
grand prix categories have taken to the track this week. Monday and Tuesday’s
125cc sessions saw Mattia Pasini as the standout rider, with the Master MVA
Aspar man clocking a best time a tenth quicker than last year’s pole and
breaking Dani Pedrosa’s 2003 record for a 125cc bike at the circuit.

The 250cc sessions were then dominated by Aprilia’s Jorge Lorenzo. The Mallorcan
confirmed his status as one of the title favourites by topping the timesheets on
both Wednesday and Thursday, amidst a commanding performance by all Aprilia
representatives.

Official results for this week's tests can be found at www.motogp.com

INFO 2006/14.  10-3-2006
DORNA COMMUNICATIONS
www.motogp.com