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2008-01-22 Edwards joins Yamaha crashing club, Toseland improves
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 The Yamaha Tech 3 MotoGP team began their 2008 campaign under hot Malaysian sun at the Sepang circuit today for the first of three days of testing. New riders James Toseland, the 2007 World Superbike champion, and Colin Edwards, a former two-time Superbike number one, completed 74 laps between them and posted best lap-times to rest 13th and 7th respectively from a full complement of MotoGP teams and riders.
The first shakedown test of the year saw the Briton and American getting re-accustomed to their machinery after two sessions towards the end of 2007 and before the forced winter break. The pair worked on the data accumulated last time at Sepang and Jerez in Spain to begin building the competitive basis of their M1 motorcycle for this season.
Edwards was third quickest early on but relentless sunshine baked the asphalt in the afternoon and caused some problems, even prompting a slow-speed spill for the Texan.
Colin Edwards - Position: 7th Time: 2:02.549 Laps: 29
We are not quite on the new stuff yet but we are slowly morphing into the next version; we will have a new chassis for tomorrow. We started out getting the setting right and backing up what we found out from the last November test. Everything went well in the morning. We did not test anything special from Michelin but more the good tyres we had selected from the last outing.
After lunch the temperature on the ground went up to sixty degrees or something crazy like that and then things became difficult. It was hard to stop the bike and I had perhaps the most stupid crash I’ve ever done. I was braking for the hair-pin and the bike stepped sideways. I tried to manage it straight, but it flicked back again and high-sided me in a straight-line. I was fine and the bike was the one we were going to change the chassis on anyway. We still have some work ahead.
Toseland –a MotoGP debutant and the only British rider in the premier class of the world championship – understandably circulated the breezy but sizzling Sepang circuit for as much track mileage as possible. He lapped 45 times in what was his third outing on the Yamaha M1.
James Toseland - Position: 13th Time: 2:03.264 Laps: 45
Today was pretty good even if it did take me a bit of time to get back into things after the break. My quickest time here in November was 2:03.5 and then I was mostly in the 04s and 05s. On my last run today, when the track was at its hottest, I was constantly in the low 03s, so we have made progress and I am pretty pleased with that. We have got some new forks which are quite stable under braking. Along with an increase in engine performance this is the main thing that I noticed compared to the old bike. The new rear swinging arm was working well and I did not feel as much chatter around this track as I did before. The bike is not hugely different so far but the subtle changes are a step in the right direction.
With all the manufacturers on the 2008 MotoGP grid represented at Sepang, the test gave the team a decent chance to set their benchmarks against the opposition they will battle through the eighteen round calendar that begins on March 9th in Qatar. The French crew will continue work on Wednesday and Thursday before shipping out to Phillip Island in Australia for further development next week.
Test times - Sepang - day 1
1. Randy De Puniet - Honda Lcr 2:01.377
2. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Hrc 2:01.864
3. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2:02.074
4. Loris Capirossi - Rizla Suzuki 2:02.416
5. Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro 2:02.457
6. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.490
7. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Tech3 2:02.549
8. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Hrc 2:02.558
9. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.563
10. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini 2:02.622
11. John Hopkins - Kawasaki Racing 2:02.628
12. Andrea Dovizioso - Jir Team Scot 2:02.783
13. James Toseland - Yamaha Tech3 2:03.264
14. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:03.301
15. Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.387
16. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.863
17. Toni Elias - Alice Team 2:03.954
18. Marco Melandri - Ducati Marlboro 2:04.414
19. Niccolò Canepa - Ducati Test 2:05.580
20. Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Team 2:06.000
21. Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing 2:23.590
Sepang Lap Record
Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007 - 2:02.108
Sepang Best Lap
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2:00.605
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