Rossi still on top at Sepang

Rossi still on top at Sepang

By Jonathan Noble


Valentino Rossi continued to make the most of Bridgestone qualifying rubber to set the fastest time on the second day of testing at Sepang in Malaysia on Wednesday.

Having been quickest overall on Tuesday, the Italian followed that performance up with a lap of 2:00.472 late on in the day.

It was enough to put the Fiat Yamaha rider four tenths of a second clear of Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden.

Showing no side affects from his late crash on Tuesday, Hayden spent the day experimenting with the conventional valve engine and conducted his qualifying runs in the early afternoon.

Gresini Honda rider Shinya Nakano was third fastest, ahead of Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo. Fifth fastest Alex de Angelis had a better day of testing than Tuesday, when he crashed twice, to get through his planned work.

Today's times:

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Rossi Fiat Yamaha 2:00.472 70
2. Hayden Repsol Honda 2:00.900 90
3. Nakano Honda Gresini 2:02.049 59
4. Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha 2:02.396 55
5. De Angelis Honda Gresini 2:02.646 57

Rossi getting to grips with new tyres

Rossi getting to grips with new tyres

By Steven English Tuesday


Valentino Rossi believes he is starting to get to grips with the new Bridgestone tyres after topping the timesheets in testing at Sepang today.

The seven-time world champion did the quickest ever MotoGP lap of the Malaysian circuit on qualifiers at the end of the session, but was also encouraged by his pace on race tyres during the day.

The Italian said: "It's a big deal changing tyres. Not as big as changing bikes, but big all the same.

"I've needed time to understand how to ride the bike differently, and now I'm learning more and more how to get the best from the Bridgestones.

"Today was positive. We started to work more on the bike and adjust the suspension and balance to suit the tyres, and we've made big improvements on both race and qualifying tyres.

"My fitness has also improved and this is helping me to ride better. I think we're in good shape at the moment and I have a very good feeling about things."

Rossi leads the way in Sepang test

Rossi leads the way in Sepang test

By Jonathan Noble


Valentino Rossi returned to testing action at Sepang in Malaysia with the quickest time on Tuesday, as he ended the day with a flurry of quick laps on qualifying rubber.

The Italian's Fiat Yamaha team had chosen to skip last week's test at Phillip Island, but made sure to get as much running as possible today as they continued preparations for 2008.

Rossi's fastest lap of 2:0.300 was more than one second under his previous best at Sepang, and crucially just a few hundredths of a second up on Nicky Hayden's fastest lap from testing there last month.

Hayden was second fastest today, enjoying a return to form after mixed fortunes in last week's running at Phillip Island. And having to take on the majority of Repsol Honda's work, due to the continued absence of Dani Pedrosa, Hayden seemed happier with progress - despite a late session fall.

Shinya Nakano was a promising third fastest, ahead of Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, who had been quickest in the morning.

The only other regular rider present was Gresini Honda's Alex de Angelis, who had been one of the first men out on the track when it was damp in the morning. His decision did not pay off, however, as he crashed on his 10th lap, and was only able to make it back out again at 3.30pm.

The MotoGP regulars were joined by a host of test drivers, with Olivier Jacque and Tamaki Serizawa continuing work for Kawasaki, and Wataru Yoshikawa and Yoshihiko Fujiwara present for Yamaha.

Today's top times:

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Rossi Fiat Yamaha 2:00.300 64
2. Hayden Repsol Honda 2:01.949 80
3. Nakano Honda Gresini 2:02.317 55
4. Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha 2:02.654 57
5. De Angelis Honda Gresini 2:03.231 41