Marco Melandri’s new R1 racebike first test of 2011 next year

Following his one day test in Valencia last month this was Marco Melandri’s first proper opportunity to work through some set up developments on his new R1 racebike. The Italian rider improved steadily over the test days, making steps each day as the team continued to modify the physical set up of the bike to suit him. Day three saw him record a 1’32.4 lap on race tyres. Melandri also took the opportunity in the rain to experience his bike on Pirelli wet tyres. The team now have valuable data to take away to work over the winter to make further changes to suit the new riders in advance of the first test of 2011 next year.
Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team
232 laps, Best Lap 1’31.5
“I’m pretty pleased with the test, it’s a nice way to go into the winter break. In the three days we got a lot of laps done, the second day especially was big breakthrough. So far we’ve had two one day tests so the second day here was where we really made the bike mine. The race times on the 2011 machine weren’t so far away from 2010 bike so we’re developing in the right direction. The new Ohlins front fork is definitely an improvement. I’m still learning this bike so we are fine tuning it as we go.”
 


Marco Melandri, Yamaha World Superbike Team
216 laps, Best Lap 1’32.4
“It was a good test in the end, the three days were very intensive. It was quite challenging at first working on the 2011 machine but during the second day we started to find a way and then third day we found a big improvement and found a good pace for the race. The rain meant we couldn’t find a good lap time with a soft tyre but for me that wasn’t what was important here. The difference between a MotoGP bike and a superbike on this track are huge, the bike moves a lot more so the faster corners are very different but step by step it’s getting better and better. The feeling is very good, I’m very happy. The track is a difficult track so we have done well and I think we can be very strong for the first race here next year.”
Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“These were three very important days for us, after the shakedown of the new bike in Valencia here we had the chance to work on it in more detail. We have confirmed that the new bike is pretty good with high potential. We are pleased that it can keep consistent lap times during race simulation. For this we are quite happy as on this track in the past we have struggled. Eugene was very fast from the beginning in all three days and had a good feeling working on both bikes. Marco has been working hard, mainly on the 2011 bike. He has been working on rider position; there are still some areas we have to improve for him to be more comfortable on the bike. He was very consistent with race pace although he didn’t have time to try a flying lap. After the first two days he struggled a bit with setup then today he found a good one that worked for him and was comfortable so the lap times improved. Overall the test was very positive and we are confident we have a good base for the Philip Island race.”
FINAL TEST TIMES
Eugene Laverty 01’31.5
Max Biaggi 01’32.1
Leon Camier 01’32.4
Marco Melandri 01’32.4