Yamaha refines fuel injection at Jerez.
While the sun fell on Honda and Ducati in Sepang, it was shielded by heavy black clouds as it rose at Jerez, where Yamaha colleagues Carlos Checa, Marco Melandri, Alex Barros, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano tentatively took to the track to continue their pre-season testing.
Although the expected downpour held off, the session was disrupted by an otherwise inconsequential crash for Nakano in the morning and inconveniently strong winds in the afternoon so the times achieved were largely meaningless.
While the sun fell on Honda and Ducati in Sepang, it was shielded by heavy black clouds as it rose at Jerez, where Yamaha colleagues Carlos Checa, Marco Melandri, Alex Barros, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano tentatively took to the track to continue their pre-season testing.
Although the expected downpour held off, the session was disrupted by an otherwise inconsequential crash for Nakano in the morning and inconveniently strong winds in the afternoon so the times achieved were largely meaningless.
Barros once again set the pace with a 1min 42.9secs effort, almost a second from Melandri, and matching the fastest lap at last year's Spanish GP. Both he and Checa were both riding the fuel injected versions of the M1, as they look to make up for lost time spent at the same circuit a little over a month ago when track testing was restricted by heavy rain.
The Spaniard completed 55 laps and recorded a best time of 1min 44.3secs, which is over a second slower than his qualifying time at last year's Spanish Grand Prix.
Having worked on dialling-in the new fuel injection system and suspension settings on his YZR-M1 he was prevented from having his usual run of fast laps towards the end of the day by a problem with one bike.
New-boy Marco Melandri again made good progress as he familiarizes himself with the powerful Yamaha YZR-M1 four-stroke.
The 20-year-old Italian has joined the Fortuna Yamaha Team in the premier MotoGP class having become the youngest ever winner of the 250cc World Championship in 2002. He completed a total of 50 laps today with a best time of 1min 43.8secs.
Both Fortuna Yamaha riders were testing with black fairings and neutral leathers ahead of the 20th February launch of its new Fortuna Yamaha livery.
"Both riders needed today just to get back into riding after the long Christmas break. We were doing some work on the fuel injection with Carlos but Marco was just concentrating on riding and suspension settings," explained Team Director Davide Brivio. "The weather forecast is not great for our three days here but I hope the rain stays away."
The Yamaha entourage were following in the tyre marks left by Aprilia riders Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga at the Spanish circuit, which had barely cooled after a three day test which finished on Sunday.
The Italian factory continued development in the cycle part of the motor and also experimented with some new aerodynamic designs. The four-stroke RS Cube motorcycles shared the track with several smaller machines, including quarter-litre Aprilia debutante Manuel Poggiali and recent factory 125cc recruits Emilio Alzamora (Derbi) and Stefano Bianco (Gilera).
Yamaha Jerez test - day 1:
1.Alex Barros Gauloises Yamaha Team 1mins 42.9secs
2.Marco Melandri Fortuna Yamaha Team 1 mins 43.8secs
3.Carlos Checa Fortuna Yamaha Team 1 mins 44.3secs
4.Shinya Nakano D'Antin Yamaha 1 mins 45.2secs
5.Olivier Jacque Gauloises Yamaha Team 1 mins 47.8secs
Comparative lap times - 2002 Spanish Grand Prix:
Pole Position: Valentino Rossi Repsol Honds 1min 42.193secs
Fastest lap: Valentino Rossi Repsol Honds 1min 42.920secs
