Rain hinders MotoGP test

Day two of the official MotoGP test at Jerez has been badly affected by rain. Most riders risked the circuit, but no-one was able to improve their times, leaving Alex Barros as the fastest rider so far.

It was Shinya Nakano who recorded the fastest time of the day, on the Yamaha M1. He clocked a time of 1:45.214, around one and a half seconds slower than his best on the first day.

Troy Bayliss was second quickest, with Ducati team-mate Loris Caiprossi fourth. Both the factory Ducati riders chose to concentrate on fine tuning chassis settings, rather than aiming for quick times in the tough conditions. Bayliss will still be pleased to be two seconds quicker than Colin Edwards, the current World Superbike champion.

Fifth was Gary McCoy, who used the weather to his advantage to test wet and intermediate tyres and settings, along with team-mates Andrew Pitt and Alex Hoffmann.

Aprilia rider Noriyuki Haga was sixth quickest, followed by the Suzuki team of Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins. The Kawasakis of Alex Hoffmann and Andrew Pitt were ninth and tenth.

Rain also proved a problem for the 250cc class, with Manuel Poggiali and Katja Poensgen both visiting the medical centre. The fastest 250cc bike was Anthony West’s Aprilia, with a 1:47.935. He led Toni Elias, Sebastien Porto, Roberto Rolfo and Poggiali.

Are you confident about your fantasy road race team now that testing has begun? You can find the full list of riders in this week’s Motor Cycle News, and to register your team, go to www.mcnfrr.com. Comment on this story on the MotoGP discussion board by following the link on the right.