Rossi Continues Form as Storm Disrupts First Day of Second Sepang Test

2015-02-23 13:10
After two weeks of analyzing data, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo have returned to the Sepang International Circuit for the start of the second official three-day pre-season test. Despite the difficult track and weather conditions the teammates were able to finish today’s session in first and fifth respectively.

Rossi was up for the challenge of repeating his strong ride of two weeks ago. He needed little time to get back into the swing of things and was quick to take over the top spot from his teammate at the start of the eight-hour long session. As the temperature started rising the pace of the field picked up, but the Doctor was quick to respond and cruised back to the top the leader board with an impressive 2’00.414s lap, which kept him sitting on top for the rest of the session.

Teammate Lorenzo had a more challenging start to the second Sepang test. Though he briefly topped the leaderboard with a 2’02.099s lap, he struggled to find the good setup for the slippery asphalt. The Spaniard was pleased with his YZR-M1’s gearbox update and made the most of the available testing time by putting in a total of 51 laps. During his multiple stints he worked on improving the setting and set a best time of 2’01.162s, putting him in fifth place just +0.748s behind Rossi.

Both riders took a break in the afternoon until the worst of the heat passed before returning to the track, but the dry track conditions weren’t to last. Rain flags signaling an approaching thunderstorm were raised and soon the fickle Malaysian weather struck the Sepang circuit.

Not wanting to let the last precious hour of testing time go to waste, Rossi and Lorenzo decided to brave the pouring rain to test their wet setup until, with 30 minutes remaining, the red lights came on, ending the session.

The change in weather meant Rossi and Lorenzo were unable to improve their times and they finished in first and fifth place respectively.






46 Valentino Rossi
1st / 2'00.414 / 54 laps


“Everybody in our team was curious about the updated gearbox and the first impression is quite positive, so I’m happy. It doesn’t make a huge difference, but it’s a small help in a difficult point where we need to improve. The bike is a bit better in braking and corner entry and I think we need to work to understand the maximal potential, but the first test was good. I am happy to finish in the first position because I was in P1 from this morning, so it’s a good first day. It’s important for us to make some kilometers on the wet. I don’t really like the feeling with the bike on the wet and last year I struggled a bit. We already improved a bit today, but we need to do some more testing and make some more kilometers.”



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Valentino Rossi



Jorge Lorenzo

99 Jorge Lorenzo
5th / 2'01.162 / 51 laps


“Today was a pretty tough day for me. I feel the jet lag and last night I was only able to sleep for just four hours. At the beginning of the session we tried the set-up we used at the first Sepang test but nothing worked. We changed so many things on the bike but the result was the same. I'm a bit disappointed because of the results today but at least the new gearbox works well. We need to adjust it a bit but overall it is quite good, especially on braking where we can get more stability. The track conditions were pretty bad compared to the first test. The asphalt had less grip so we struggled a lot with the conditions. Hopefully we can improve our pace tomorrow and check the new things we need to test again before going to Qatar.”


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Massimo Meregalli
Team Director


“For me it has been a positive first day. As with the first Sepang test we don’t have a lot of material, but it is really important that we continue to work to find the right direction. The updated transmission gave both Jorge and Vale a good feeling, and it will continue to develop further. Today’s rain allowed us to obtain a full set of wet data to go with our dry findings so it has had its use. We made the decision to stop early after the rain, and will continue tomorrow.”


Massimo Meregalli



NOTES


The extended imagery from today's official MotoGP test session at the Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) is available on www.yamahamotogp.com.



TEST RESULT (DAY 1) Results




1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 2'00.414
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2'00.543
3. Pol Espargarò (SPA) Monster Yamaha Tech3 2'00.876
4. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Team Suzuki MotoGP 2'01.055
5. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 2'01.162
6. Marc Marquez (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2'01.190
7. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) CWM LCR Honda 2'01.222
8. Bradley Smith (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech3 2'01.241
9. Maverick Viñales (SPA) Team Suzuki MotoGP 2'01.317
10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Ducati Team 2'01.355
11. Scott Redding (GBR) Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 2'01.592
12. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2'01.740
13. Hector Barbera (SPA) Avintia Racing 2'01.926
14. Nicky Hayden (USA) Drive M7 Aspar 2'02.062
15. Andrea Iannone (ITA) Ducati Team 2'02.142
16. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Pramac Racing 2'02.225
17. Karel Abraham (CZE) AB Motoracing 2'02.394
18. Stefan Bradl (GER) Forward Racing 2'02.410
19. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Pramac Racing 2'02.606
20. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Drive M7 Aspar 2'02.730
21. Mike Di Meglio (FRA) Avintia Racing 2'02.941
22. Jack Miller (AUS) CWM LCR Honda 2'03.006
23. Michele Pirro (ITA) Pramac Racing 2'03.105
24. Loris Baz (FRA) Forward Racing 2'03.316
25. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (JPN) Yamaha Factory Test Team 2'03.337
26. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Octo IodaRacing Team 2'03.966
27. Marco Melandri (ITA) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2'04.000


Full standings Results


CIRCUIT INFORMATION




Technical Informations
Circuit Sepang
Location Sepang, Malaysia
Length (m) 5548
Width (m) 25
Turns 15
Turns righ 10
Turns left 5
Pole position left

Source: Yamaha MotoGP

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