MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Saturday.

Haha, that's right Morgue. Guess I was so disenchanted by that stage of the season I'd forgotten the series standings.

Yeah I know, but that's Edwards, he always says things like that
It's a typical outburst of euphoria, he has to sallow it later.
Bby the way, Rossi lost that 2nd place in the last race of the season

As much as I like having something GP-related to read about this time of year, looking at the times of these tests means little to nothing from an outsider's (all of us) perspective. 07' preseason being a perfect example, Rossi and Edwards looked incredibly potent with Edwards even calling out a homerun before the first race. And what happens? The M1 turns out to be the least-effective factory bike on the grid. Yes, Rossi took 2nd in the final standings but that credit must go to he and his immediate team because yamaha japan and michelin sure didn't bring a hell of alot to the table.

Tech 3 will have factory 2008 Yamaha's next year and I am in no doubt that Tech 3 will get factory support through the year. If they don't then they would go backwards down the grid and I cannot see how that would benefit Yamahas profile.

Turning to Toseland and his performance at the test - he has done fine as far as I am concerned. He has got faster each day & he said himself, this test was simply a "dry run" - getting used to the tyres, carbon brakes, new bike etc. He hasn't been that far behind Lorenzo, who I am using as a benchmark for Toseland during the tests - even though Lorenzo knows all the tracks that they will test on. Lorenzo used a qualifying tyre today, hence his time

I think Yamaha will broaden their support to Tech 3, they have to as it can also help then in
finding setup solutions for Lorenzo, who is on the same tyres. The bike James ran was Tamada's, you can see that the fairing is of the 'old' type, narrow at the top. The fact that Edwards rode his own Fiat bike
gives me the hope that they will turn out four factory bikeas and up their support to Tech 3 trough the season. If they want to attack Ducati they need to get more bikes up to par.
James is a clever man, he is not overdoing it just to please the press at his first outing. There were a lot of crashes and de Puniet and West may need medical treatment. This is not a good moment to be injured...

even tho edwards had a bad season, his performances only went off the boil when yamaha realised they needed to concentrate on rossi to improve, as at the start of the season i remember edwards getting a pole(or 2?).

yamaha isnt the bad bike that people make it out to be, that is usually said if they are defending or slagging down a rider to try and back up their opinion.

JT with time is more than capable for this level, lets not forget Moto GP kept hiring Mcwilliams when clearly wasnt even in the top 10 of british riders. GP is who u know rather than what u knows at times, esp for english riders who get largely ignored cos of sponsorship(lack of)

JN
Showing Edwards round shouldn't be too difficilt if this season's results are anything to go by. If he doesn't beat Edwards he wants sacking!

JN,

I'm not using this to slag JT off. It's all about opinions. I do not doubt for one minute that JT is professional and will probably work harder than anyone else in
trying to reach his goal. But dedication does not awlays give you your just rewards. All I am saying is that in my opinion he is not good enough to win at this level, especially on what is probsbly the worst bike on the grid. You also have to bare in mind that there is no one decent on Yamah's to help develop the bike (only Rossi, but if he is on Bridgestones there will not be any direct comparison) and the tyres and because of this he will struggle!

I hope Toseland gets a fair crack at this, I remember Ellison stuck on a Yam (that at the start of the season had cronic problems Rossi could't ride round) that recieved no development aid from the factory.

Anyone have an opinion on how his performance compares with when Chaz D had to just jump on a bike and ride it a few months ago?

MCN has a good interview with Toseland. His times are very good when you think about his experience compared to the others at the test.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/mcn/2007/november/nov12-18/nov1707motogpsepangtestjamestoselandbuoyedbyimpressivemotogpdebut--/

'yamapimp', well done you've just joined a(long)list of ignorant idiots who use this forum just to slag of riders who they do not know and have never met, just because they think it makes them look clever when infact havnt enough intellect to say anything constructive!

Rant over....