YAMAHA PUT DISAPPOINTMENT BEHIND THEM WITH POSITIVE LE MANS TEST
24 May 2006 - Yamaha Racing

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were back on board at Le Mans, with riders and team alike eager to forget the disappointment of Sunday''s race and start looking forward to the next challenge.

Rossi and Edwards were confined to the garage this morning by rain, but the afternoon brought better weather and they were able to start testing after lunch and carry on until six o’clock.

As well as testing new electrical mapping, trying some new Michelin tyres and generally refining set-up, Edwards had his first chance to try out the new chassis, which Rossi used throughout last weekend. Edwards completed 30 of his 38 laps using the new chassis and, like his team-mate, the Texan was impressed with the improvements it brings to the performance of his YZR-M1 and will now use it on one of his bikes in Mugello.

Edwards now heads to the Clermont-Ferrand track to take part in a day of dedicated tyre testing for Michelin tomorrow, whilst Rossi has flown to Spain to attend the Laureus World Sports Awards, where he is nominated for Sportsman of the Year.

DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR

“Unfortunately the weather was bad here this morning, so we couldn’t get started until the afternoon, but we’ve used the time well and managed to get a lot of important work done. We tested some new electronic mapping for both bikes and also some new tyres for Michelin. We’ve generally just worked on fine-tuning the set-up for both riders and we’ve made some good progress, with good lap times. Colin used the new chassis today for the first time and he really liked it and felt a great improvement, as Valentino did last week, so now in Mugello he will have one bike with the new chassis and one with the old chassis. Valentino of course continued to use both his bikes with the new chassis and today has helped us to confirm the impressions that we gained at the weekend; that this new chassis works very well and our bike is now ready to win races.

“With regards to the problem of yesterday, now our Japanese engineers are making all the necessary checks to find out what went wrong and understand the situation, and we hope that’s the end of our bad luck! It was good to have the chance to get back to work today after the disappointment of yesterday, it has been a positive day and it’s reminded us all that we’ve got a competitive package now for the next set of races.”

Camel Yamaha Team Times:

1. COLIN EDWARDS, 1’36.49 (38 Laps

2. VALENTINO ROSSI, 1’36.84 (26 Laps)

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