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Number of posts : 3271
Registration date : 2007-02-03
 |  Subject: Gresini one-two at Jerez test.  Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:28 pm | |
| - Quote :
- Tuesday's second day of testing at Jerez, venue for last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, ended with Gresini Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias at the top of the timesheets - with the aid of qualifying tyres.
Monday's opening day of testing had been attended by almost the entire MotoGP field, but persistent rain limited the amount of progress possible. Eleven riders, including race winner Valentino Rossi, then returned on Tuesday and, once the track had dried, were able to enjoy a full afternoon of track time in preparation for round three of the 2007 world championship, the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul, on April 22.
Melandri, a disappointing eighth in the grand prix, set the pace with a best lap of 1min 39.484secs lap on qualifying tyres - making the Italian just a fraction slower than Dani Pedrosa's pole position time and nearly 0.3secs inside his own ninth fastest grid position.
"I'm happy because today we made a step forward with the setting of the bike," claimed Marco. "We tested some different solutions to improve the feeling with the front and changed the weight balance. We found some interesting solutions and I look confident to the next GP. We also did some tyre testing and in the end we tested two qualifying [tyres] because I need to improve in this area. I look forward to Istanbul with optimism."
Team-mate Elias, a fighting fourth in the race after qualifying eighth on the grid, lapped 0.191secs slower than his team-mate with the super-soft Bridgestone rubber to claim second position.
"I leave Jerez after two positive days of testing, when we improved in both wet and dry conditions," declared the Spaniard. "Today we worked on the set up of the bike with a new tyre that Bridgestone brought us and that worked very well. We also tested two qualifying tyres. I'm confident for the Turkish GP, a track that I like a lot." Crash | |
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