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2007-11-29 Lorenzo goes beyound expectations in final day of Jerez test
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 2008 Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo signed off for 2007 in impressive style in Jerez today, finishing third overall and recording a best time of 1’39.464 on qualifying tyres, just 0.062 seconds off the 2007 race pole position.
Lorenzo completed 90 laps on the final day of testing in Spain, including a long run in which the MotoGP rookie recorded more impressive times. After eight days of testing since the end of the season, Lorenzo is looking increasingly comfortable on his new bike and he was also able to complete some tyre testing today with Michelin, finding some good rear-tyre rubber. Lorenzo’s 2008 team-mate Valentino Rossi was 11th today after stopping early due to some pain in his recovering hand, the Italian recording a best time of 1’41.538, whilst Dani Pedrosa was fastest with a lap of 1’38.562.
The Fiat Yamaha Team will now enjoy a month-long winter break, before getting back to work at Sepang in Malaysia on 22nd, 23rd and 24th January 2007.
Jorge Lorenzo (3rd, 1’39.464, 90 laps)
Today I felt even better than yesterday and I did a very good test session. Yesterday I had some pain because of the number of laps I had done the day before, but today I was fully recovered and everything went well. I felt very comfortable with the M1 and during the race simulation I had very positive impressions. The lap times are becoming faster and faster, and this means that we are working in the right direction. The traction on the rear is improving, thanks also to the new material from Michelin, so I am satisfied. Actually I didn’t expect to be so fast in the race simulation; I went beyond my expectations. At the end of the third day we can say that this has been a very good test session and my overall feeling is, of course, better than after the Sepang test. We still have a lot of work to do, but the atmosphere inside the garage is concentrated, relaxed and very professional, so I am sure we will achieve our goals before the season starts. I am looking forward to being in Sepang, in January, to test new engine specifications and to try to be even faster.
Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
Today was a positive day. We continued to improve the set-up of Jorge’s bike and we found a good basis to work from. We also tested new tyres from Michelin and we found some good material, above all for the rear, that accepted the torque of the engine well and had good grip. Jorge keeps on improving his feeling with the bike and now we can say that he finally feels comfortable with it. Today we completed a long run that was definitely positive, especially since it’s the first one for Jorge riding the M1. He was very fast, even faster than the 2007 race pace. Finally he tested two qualifying tyres that enabled him to lower his best time by one second, and we consider this to be a very good result. I would like to thank the rider, who rode a huge amount of laps, and the team, who performed a great job throughout the entire test session. Now let’s take some well-deserved rest and then we will meet again in Sepang in January, to start the new challenge.
Masahiko Nakajima – Fiat Yamaha Team Director
Today Jorge rode 90 laps, so first of all I would like to say that the amount of laps he did in three days has been very impressive, with an average of about 80 laps per day! There’s no need to say that we are very happy with his attitude in all the tests held so far. At the end of this test session, Jorge is third overall and this is quite impressive for us. It means we are on the way to achieving the final goal, which is to adapt the bike to his riding style. Jorge showed us his talent and potential, and demonstrated that he has the ability to give us very good data and information to help in the work for next season. We are still on the way to defining the base set-up of his bike, but it is quite evident that his riding is becoming closer to that of the other MotoGP top riders. He is braking better and has better and better corner speed, and we have not found the final set-up yet! Now we know how to improve his bike further; we know the right direction and now we need to analyze the data we collected here in Jerez and then fix the final set-up at the next Sepang test in January.
Lap Times - Jerez test day 3
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’38.562
2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’38.848
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’39.464
4. Andrea Dovizio so (Honda) 1.39.747
5. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1’40.121
6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’40.184
7. Alex de Angelis (Honda) 1’40.185
8. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1’40.213
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 1’40.398
10. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 1’40.984
11. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’41.538
12. Marco Melandri (Ducati) 1’41.619
13. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1’41.715
14. Nicolo Canepa (Ducati) 1’41.793
15. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 1’42.343
16. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 1.42.850
17. Shinichi Ito (Bridgestone) 1’43.001
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