Fiat Yamaha use Barcelona to prepare for post-Brno regulation

Valentino Rossi takes away 25 points, a psychological advantage and extreme tiredness from last Sunday’s race at Barcelona. He left the Monday test with vital information for further down the road in the 2009 season.

The 2008 MotoGP World Champion only put his leathers back on for the post-matutinal run that concluded the testing session, and used the time available to work on two new developments that may give him an advantage as the season reaches boiling point. A new long-life engine for his Yamaha M1 and a tyre construction designed by Bridgestone for the Australian round of the series were put through their paces by the Barcelona racewinner.

“We had a good feeling today, I put in some competitive times and tried a Bridgestone tyre for the last races of the year. Also we had a new engine for when the new rules come in after Brno,” said Rossi, referring to the engine limitation regulation that will be implemented from the Czech Republic race.

“It was hard to test after yesterday but it was a good day and we found out some important things. We worked on electronics to try to find a better power delivery. My neck was ok after fifty laps today, but I need my bed.”

Team Manager Davide Brivio is well aware of his Fiat Yamaha charge’s aversion to early mornings, but even he was glad of the Italian’s scheduled Monday lie-in after running through the full gamut of emotions just 24 hours earlier.

“We decided in the technical meeting to start at 2pm, because after such an exhausting race it was important that Valentino got some rest,” said Brivio. “It also meant that we could go into Barcelona and have a nice relaxing meal on Sunday evening.”