06.02.2008 @ 00:42:39

After impressive times in Sepang
The second Fiat Yamaha Team test of 2008 began in Sepang, Malaysia today, with Valentino Rossi picking up just where he left off at the same track 12 days ago.

After several teams opted to test at Phillip Island last week, it was a somewhat depleted MotoGP field on track today and Rossi and new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo shared the track with just seven other riders.

Rossi topped the time sheets today with a blistering best lap of 2'00.300, over 0.3 seconds faster than the existing best lap of Sepang, which the Italian set himself back in 2006. Rossi set today's time on a Bridgestone qualifying tyre on his 62nd of 64 laps, but he also recorded improvements in his times with race tyres as he continues development with his new tyre manufacturer.

“Today was a positive day for us and I really enjoyed myself. We started to work more on the bike and to adjust the suspension and balance to suit our tyres. I have a very good feeling and the lap times have improved compared to last time, both with race tyres and with the qualifying tyre”, commented the Italian. “It's a big deal changing tyres – not as big as changing bikes but all the same I have needed time to understand how to ride the bike differently and now I'm learning more and more how to get the best from the Bridgestones. My fitness has also improved compared to last time and this is also helping me to ride better, so I think that we're in good shape at the moment.
”

Team-mate Lorenzo chose to stick to race tyres today and posted the fourth fastest time with a lap of 2'02.654.

Sepang test – Day One – Unofficial lap times

1. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) – 2'00''300
2. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) – 2'01''949
3. Shinya Nakano (Gresini Honda) – 2'02''317
4. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) – 2'02''654
5. Alex de Angelis ( Gresini Honda) – 2'03''331
6. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki Racing) – 2'03''655
7. Yamaha test rider ( Yamaha test team) – 2'06''356
8. Tamaki Serizawa ( Kawasaki Racing) – 2'06''874
9. Yamaha test rider (Yamaha test team) – 2'07''319
Fiat Yamaha