Ilmor struggle in Sepang

Andrew Pitt finished the Sepang test a massive 5.4s off the pace as it became apparent that the new Ilmor 800cc machine faces a massive task to be competitive for the start of the new MotoGP season in four weeks.

Pitt managed to knocked 0.6s off his best lap today to end the Malaysia session with a best time of 2.07.37. But that was a long way off the leading pace set by Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi – in fact he was over 7s off the very best pace, with Edwards using a qualifier, which Ilmor did not.

In its first big test of 2007, the V4 machine struggled for horsepower and acceleration as engineers tried to smooth out an aggressive power delivery that has dogged the project since Garry McCoy raced the bike as a wildcard in Estoril and Valencia last season.

Pitt said: “It is pretty obvious we have got a lot of work to do. We made some improvements today but we are still a mile off where we need to be.

“I know some new things are coming for the next test that should be better. Looking at the times it doesn’t look good, but we are learning and its going to take time.”