The riders were unable to complete their planned long-runs but Rossi, who turned 27 today, made the most of the inactivity and celebrated with a large birthday cake in the team garage. Despite the rain the riders declared the test valuable and now head back to Europe looking forward to the final stages of preparation, before the first race in Jerez on 26th March.

With track conditions patchy throughout the day, times were slightly slower across the board than yesterday. Rossi and Edwards only completed 34 and 28 laps respectively, Rossi setting the second fastest time of 2’02.06 and Edwards the fourth fastest with a lap of 2’02.33. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was quickest in a time of 2’01.92.

The Camel Yamaha Team now return home for a short holiday before they reconvene at the Montmelo circuit, outside Barcelona, for the Official MotoGP Tests on 3rd, 4th and 5th March.

VALENTINO ROSSI (2’02.06, 34 Laps)

“27 years is quite a lot and I am definitely getting old, although most of the time I still feel like I am only 16! Today we couldn’t do much because of the weather but overall it’s been a very interesting test. I am especially happy because we have made some good progress to solve the problem with the vibration. We have some new data now and we understand better why it’s happening, and how to finally fix it. We’re not yet at 100% and I think we can go faster, but I am feeling confident. Before the Jerez GP we might receive a small improvement for the engine, and hopefully we will have a bit more power. The test in Barcelona isn’t so important for us but the final one in Jerez is very useful, as it’s just a week before the first race and the conditions will be similar. Now we’re close to the start of the season and it’s already becoming clear who the main challengers will be; Melandri and Pedrosa especially are looking very fast and it also seems like Ducati are strong. I think it’s going to be a very exciting year with some wonderful races!”


COLIN EDWARDS (2’02.33, 28 Laps)

“Today was a bit of a wash-out for me! This morning we only tested a couple of tyres and then it looked like it might rain, so we decided to get started on our long run. Unfortunately I only had time for my warm-up and half a lap before it rained, so that was kind of it for the day! Anyway it’s been a good test, we’ve learned a lot more about the bike and we’ve been able to try quite a lot of new things which seem to make sense. We’re definitely not chasing our tails anymore and the bike is better than it was on Tuesday when we started; that’s the most important thing. In general the new bike is great, pretty much everything is better than last year and now I am just counting down the days to the start of the season.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR

“We have concluded our overseas testing sessions and now we’re going back to Europe for the final two tests. The conditions in Barcelona won’t help us so much with the bike development but anyway we will try to make the most of it. The important test will be Jerez, which will be the final opportunity for some key preparation before the first race. At the moment we still have a small problem to solve with vibration but apart from that everything is going well. Now we have to work in cooperation with Michelin to find the best combination between the new bike and the new tyres, because both have great potential.”

Unofficial Lap Times:

Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 2’01.92
VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 2’02.06
Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 2’02.20
COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, 2’02.33
John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2’02.34
Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki, 2’02.47
Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 2’02.65
Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 2’02.66
Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 2’02.70
Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2’02.86
Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 2’02.87
Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 2’03.00
Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2’03.64
Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati, 2’04.18
Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda, 2’04.30
Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati, 2’04.82
James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 2’05.70

Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 – 2’02.993
Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 – 2’01.731