MotoGP: 2010 Sepang Test 1 - Day One

The Fiat Yamaha rider had the fastest lap time at 2:01.411, nearly half a second faster than Ducati Marlboros Casey Stoner on the first day of the two-day test Feb. 4-5.

Today was very important because this year we have just six days of testing in which to set the bike, so we cannot waste any time, says Rossi. This first day was very positive, we tried the new bike for 2010, with a different chassis and a new engine, which can do more kilometers, and it is quite fast. Yamaha has worked very well over the winter. Now we need to spend time on setting some electronics and other things. This is only the start but it seems were already in good shape.

Stoner says his Ducati Desmosedici suffered from a bit of chatter, but the high temperatures and a light rain shower late in the session made it difficult to make adjustments.

This first day was a bit difficult to understand: we started off with a setting that was quite good and that allowed us to make reasonably good lap times, says Stoner. We thought we would improve as the day went on but we had a few problems with chatter. We tried a lot of different combinations trying to make the bike feel a little bit better but we couldnt really get an improvement. To be honest it was difficult to work out why because the track conditions were particularly difficult it was so hot that it was actually hard to understand if you were make an improvement on the bike or not.

Stoners teammate, Nicky Hayden had similar problems with front end chatter but still posted the seventh fastest time.

We made a couple of little tweaks that helped us but we struggle a lot for edge chatter, says Hayden. Theres not much testing before the start of the season so weve got to move fast: day one is in the bag, we have established a good starting point and we go from here"

Monster Yamaha Tech3s Colin Edwards had the third fastest time, just squeezing under the 2:02 mark.

Edwards new teammate Ben Spies had the 12th fastest time at 2:03.142. Afterwards, Spies said he was suffering from a bit of jet lag.

I tried as hard as I could for the first day but Ive got a little bit of jetlag and I wasnt at 100 per cent, says Spies. Despite that though, the new bike is really good. I got behind a couple of people and the engine performance was really good and that is a real positive. Im still working on my mid-corner speed and trusting the Bridgestone tires and today was still a good day even if Id like to have been a bit further up the timesheets. My times arent far off on a track that these guys know like the back of their hand, so I know there is plenty more to come from me.

Rizla Suzuki s Loris Capirossi was the first rider on the track and set the fourth fastest time. Capirossi and teammate Alvaro Bautista rode on blacked-out Suzuki GSV-R machines as they await new livery by Troy Lee Designs. Capirossi is testing three chassis setups during the two days of testing, but the new engine wont be available until later this month.

Honda riders appeared to struggle during the test. Repsol Honda factory rider Andrea Dovizioso had the sixth fastest time with teammate Dani Pedrosa eighth, but satellite Honda riders placed in four of the bottom five positions.

We have a lot of work to do before were ready and many things that need to be tested, so todays lap times are not indicative of our potential, says Dovizioso. The work that Honda has done on the electronics has made a big improvement, and also the feeling from the chassis is better. Were concentrating on improving a pace that we can maintain throughout the race, and thats what well continue with tomorrow.

Testing continues Feb. 5 with another session of test days scheduled for Sepang Feb. 24-26.