Yamaha Tech 3 Satisfied with Progress After Wet and Windy Jerez

Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland were satisfied with progress on a rain-hit second day of MotoGP testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain today. Although a top ten finish narrowly eluded both in this afternoon’s 40-minute televised qualifying shootout for a BMW car, Edwards and Toseland made valuable progress in full wet conditions this morning.

British rider Toseland clocked the 12th fastest time in the official timed practice, with Edwards just two further places adrift in 14th in a session held on a rapidly drying track following heavy rain earlier in the day. Toseland and Edwards impressed this morning in full wet conditions, with both praising the confidence inspiring improvements made by Yamaha’s 2008 electronics package in the rain. Toseland was fifth fastest this morning, finishing just over one second adrift of reigning world champion Casey Stoner’s pace. And Edwards was eighth, although both found it difficult to significantly improve their times on a drying surface in the official timed session.

James Toseland - Position: 12th Time: 1.52.755 Laps: 13
“I have never known a drying track get slower and that’s where I went wrong. I thought I’d sit it out the first ten minutes and wait for it to dry and get a bit more grip. But the longer it went on the less grip there was and that was a big lesson learned for me. Everybody went straight out and put their fast time in and it completely caught me out really. It’s amazing really as the track was drying out that I couldn’t drop my lap times. It’s a shame because yesterday in the dry I was good and this morning in the full wet I was good too. I was looking to put on a good show for the team but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I just couldn’t get the grip I needed on the drying track. I was pushing but this morning in the full wet I did a 52.9, but this afternoon I could only do 52.7 on a drying track, so that shows the problem. But I still learned something, which is the important thing and we will be better prepared the next time we encounter those conditions.”

Colin Edwards - Position: 14th Time: 1.52.826 Laps: 11
“I went out this morning in the full wet and within five laps I was sitting in the top five and feeling good. The new bike in the rain is incredible. I have absolutely no problems and this bike in the rain with the new electronics and new engine is fantastic. There is not one bad thing I can say about it and I can’t sit down with my team and say ‘guys, we need to fix this.’ All I need is a little bit of extra grip. We have got a good front tyre but like everybody else we just need a bit more grip from the rear. This afternoon was a little bit strange and this sounds silly, but when the track started to dry up it got slicker. I’d have preferred if it had been throwing it down with rain. It was just so slick at the very end I tried to go out with a slick with five minutes to go but I never got a good feeling. We have learned a lot again and I’m still happy because of the performance of the bike.”

Test Results
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'49.263
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'50.580
3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'50.785
4. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'50.799
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'51.312
6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'51.594
7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'51.894
8. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'51.979
9. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'52.058
10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'52.238
11. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'52.463
12. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'52.755
13. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'52.779
14. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'52.826
15. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1'53.283
16. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'53.292
17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'54.694
18. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'57.453
19. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'57.698