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.
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 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.
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