With just thirty days to the start of the grand prix season,
MotoGP World Champion
Nicky Hayden and former five times World Champion
Valentino Rossi have been limbering up in the sunshine for their eagerly anticipated 18-race battle that lies ahead.
Hayden headed the timesheets on the Repsol Honda after the three-day test at Phillip Island in Australia last week, while Rossi led the way during day two of testing at Sepang in Malaysia. The pair will go head to head at the MotoGP tests at Qatar next week and also at the official MotoGP test at
Jerez in Spain a week later.
Both riders are adapting to their new 800cc machines which have replaced the 990cc capacity bikes which filled the MotoGP grids for the last five years. Hayden was thrilled with his three days in Australia as the first defence of that hard earned title looms.
“The last day in Australia was the most positive test of the year so far. We found some new settings on the bike that I liked and made some good progress. I also did a longer run and the times were pretty consistent on race tyre which was also very positive,” explained Hayden, “It's not like we can call the dogs off yet because we still have a lot of work to do. The next two tests will tell us a lot about where we stand.”
Rossi showed his determination to regain his title this year by signing a new two-year deal with Yamaha last week which will keep ‘the doctor' in MotoGP until the end of the 2008 season at least. He celebrated by leading the way after two days of testing in Sepang.
“I'm gaining more understanding of this new bike every day and I have a really good feeling with it,” commented The Doctor, “I'm very happy because I think we are moving in the right direction and it will be interesting to see how all the improvements we've made this week make a difference to the bike after a race distance.”
