Rossi tops the test times once again in Malaysia

Valentino Rossi continued from where he left off at the last test in Malaysia today, setting the fastest time once again on the first day of the second pre-season outing at Sepang. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is not in action at this test as he is currently recovering at home in Spain from a hand injury.

It was a dry day in Sepang with temperatures reaching 37 degrees and 31-year-old Rossi made the most of it, completing 47 laps. He and his crew continued to work on the development of the 2010 YZR-M1 prototype, checking different settings and trying some new electronic maps. The Italian's best time of the day was 2'01.068, just a fraction off his best time at the last test and 0.151 ahead of Casey Stoner in second place.

Valentino Rossi:

"We started well today and we're already very fast, so we're quite happy about this. We've confirmed that the work we did at the last test was good and it's clear we're in good shape at this track. We worked on two or three different settings and today we've more or less made a decision about the right way to go with balance, suspension etc so this is good progress. We also tried some new electronic maps, to try to improve acceleration, but we need to do more work on this again tomorrow. It's good to be fast at this stage and now we're really just waiting to go to another track, to see how this new M1 will perform there. Tomorrow we will do a long run, maybe not race distance but just quite a few laps together, which will be the final part of our work at this track."

Repsol Honda team resumes testing at Sepang

Twenty days after the previous MotoGP test at Sepang, the Repsol Honda Team picked up where it left off at the Malaysian circuit and continued its meticulous preparations for the upcoming season. Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa made the most of the hot, sunny weather at the 5.548km circuit to complete a full day’s development work with the new-for-2010 Honda RC212V on which they will mount their challenge for the MotoGP World Championship.

Dovizioso took full advantage of the good track conditions today to up his pace from the last test, setting the third fastest time today with a lap of 2m 01.631s. It was an improvement of more than 0.6s compared with his best from early February, and Dovizioso said he was pleased with the progress he and his team are making in the limited testing time available ahead of the first race of the season in April.

Pedrosa finished the day with a best lap time of 2m 02.036s which was good enough for seventh place with a gap of just under a second to today’s fastest time. The Spaniard was less satisfied than his team-mate with the results of the day as he struggled somewhat with the feeling from his machine. The 24-year-old was unhurt in a slow-speed fall as he braked late in to the tight left hand hairpin. With another day of testing here tomorrow, Pedrosa and his crew are confident that improvements to suspension and machine settings can see him close the gap to the front.

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – Best lap 2m 01.631s 52 laps

“I’m very happy about this first day of testing. We have the third fastest time but the most important thing is that we were able to consistently improve our pace. On every session out of the pits we were able to go quickly and this is encouraging. Of course there is still a lot of work to do as we have to reduce the gap from the first riders but I’m confident, and I’m very happy of the development work done by Honda. Today we changed my position on the bike with very positive results and we also tested some new electronic settings. Tomorrow we want to do more laps to confirm our race pace.

DANI PEDROSA – Best lap 2m 02.036s 47 laps

“We did a lot of work today and ran through quite a few machine adjustments but the bike was moving around quite a lot and we didn’t find the solution for that today. Tomorrow we will focus on increasing our speed in the corners and look to make a few improvements to the settings which should help us. I had a slow-speed crash in the hairpin because basically I braked too late but didn’t want to run off the track - and the front folded. Testing time is important for us because there’s not too much time left before the season starts, so we’ll be looking for a productive day tomorrow.”

Spies and Edwards storm top six in Sepang

Ben Spies and Colin Edwards continued their 2010 MotoGP preparations in impressive fashion in Malaysia today, the American duo both occupying a place in the top six on the timesheets.

In typically hot and humid conditions at the 5.548km Sepang circuit, Spies was one of the fastest and most consistent performers on track, the Texan clocking a best time of 2.01.843 to finish fifth overall. The ideal track conditions presented Spies with the perfect opportunity to continue learning more about his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine. The 25-year-old spent time working on revised geometry settings to improve rear grip and he managed to shave close to 0.4s off his best time when he made an impressive debut at the technical Sepang circuit just three weeks ago.

Just one place and 0.054s further back was Edwards, who clocked a best time of 2.01.897 despite a minor technical issue this morning costing him precious track time.

Edwards still had a positive day, making big strides with a new YZR-M1 swingarm while also evaluating new electronics as Yamaha works tirelessly to ensure it remains the dominant brand in MotoGP this season.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team has one more day of testing tomorrow in Sepang before the reduced pre-season schedule concludes in Qatar next month.

Ben Spies - Position: 5th Time: 2'01.843 Laps: 42

“It was hot out there today but I'm happy with how I performed and I feel I've accomplished a fair bit. I automatically picked up where I left off here because my fourth lap today was only three-tenths slower than my best time at the first test. I'm close to half-a-second faster than the last test and I'm more consistent. My fastest laps were all on tyres that had done race distance and that makes me happier than anything else. It's not so much that I got under the 2.02 barrier but I did it on worn tyres and I think that will be one of my big strong points this season. I feel like I'm getting closer to finding the limit of the Bridgestone tyres and I'm getting more comfortable on them, but we still need to do more work. Today we played around with the bike a bit more than previously just to understand a few things but it was nothing major. Some changes were good and some were bad and I feel we made some important progress and I definitely had more grip. Everyday I'm trying to learn something and go a little bit quicker and that's what I achieved.”

Colin Edwards - Position: 6th Time: 2'01.897 Laps: 35

“After the small problem I had this morning I had to play catch up pretty quick to the rest of the guys but I managed to do some good laps and I'm happy with my pace. It was a productive day and I feel like we've learned a few things. Everybody is testing electronics and Yamaha have done another good job because what I tried definitely has some good points and they are moving in the right direction. Yamaha might have dominated last year but they definitely haven't just taken the easy option and sat back. They've worked really hard on improving what was already a great bike, and some of the improvements have really helped me. I did more work on the new swingarm and I like it. It seems to help the front and the rear of the bike and it gives me a lot more confidence

KALLIO EIGHT IN SEPANG TEST. ESPARGARO' THIRTEENTH WITH SOME PHYSICAL PROBLEM

Good start in the second winter test of the year for the PRAMAC Racing Team at Sepang, Malaysia. Mika Kallio finished in eighth place after a long day of work and development on his Ducati Desmosedici Sat. The Finnish rider lowered by a second the best time recorded approximately twenty days ago on the same track. His teammate, Aleix Espargarò, wasn't in the best physical condition due to problems with the heat and jet lag. Tomorrow the Catalan rider will be able to try to improve in the second and final day of testing.

Mika Kallio - Pramac Racing rider - 8th best lap time in 2'02.038

"I am really satisfied of the work done today: we have concentrated to analyze every single change made on the bike to understand its benefits and disadvantage. Thanks to this methodical work we were able to improve continuously during the day. This is for us an important sign because the last test didn't finish very well. In the last attempt on the track we have grouped all the positive technical solutions found today and also thanks to new tyres we are now very close to fastest riders."

Aleix Espargarò - Pramac Racing rider - 13th best lap time in 2'02.447

"During the morning I wasn't feeling very well: last night I didn't sleep so well and I had a bit of headache. I think is due to the jet lag and the heat we found here. After lunch I felt a little better and lap times started to lower as well. A pity that when I was feeling at the best I slipped with my bike. When I stepped back on track I had to take some time to get back the confidence with my bike and I couldn't improve my lap times as much as I would have wanted to. I hope I will be able to have a good night of sleep so that I can be at the best tomorrow."

We were eager to know what the Rizla boys thought, especially since Bautista is the 2nd highest placed rookie. But for now, manage with their tour of the Suzuki factory! Anyways, here are a couple of shots of the boys from today.

How was the day?

Event: Sepang Test Two, Day One
Date: 25th February 2010
Ambient temperature: 37 degrees
Track temperature: 47 degrees
Humidity: 60%

Overall timings