Tamada tops Sepang test

Makoto Tamada became the only rider to record a lap time under two minutes and one second on the final day of MotoGP testing at Sepang in Malaysia.

Tamada, who has switched from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres, took his 2005 Honda RC211V to a best lap of 2:00.955, in addition to simulating a race distance. Second fastest was Max Biaggi with 2:01.015 on the Repsol Honda with the Camel Honda of Alex Barros third. Valentino Rossi was the fastest non-Honda, with the fourth quickest time, having missed the second day of testing due to illness.

Sete Gibernau focussed on race settings, but put in the fifth fastest lap during an eight-lap sprint at the end of the session, while Loris Capirossi managed 42 laps in the morning before ending his testing early due to illness.

Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss were still adjusting to new machinery, with Bayliss the slowest rider on track, but both faired better than Ruben Xaus. The Spaniard missed the last two days of testing due to severe blistering on his backside caused by rubbing from the seat of the Yamaha YZR-M1.

Kawasaki confirmed the new specification Ninja ZX-RR debuted at Sepang is a ‘big bang’ version of their inline four cylinder, while the Suzuki team of Kenny Roberts Jnr and John Hopkins are positive, with times of 2:02.07 and 2:02.19 respectively.

Kawasaki will continue development in japan, while most of the MotoGP teams will head to Phillip Island in Australia for tests on February 17,18 and 19.

Unoffical lap times:

Makoto Tamada 2:00.955

Max Biaggi 2:01.15

Alex Barros 2:01.159

Valentino Rossi 2:01.275

Sete Gibernau 2:01.373.

Nicky Hayden 2:01.385

Loris Capirossi 2:01.452

Marco Melandri 2:01.506

Colin Edwards 2:01.641

Carlos Checa 2:01.844

Kenny Roberts Jnr 2:02.07

John Hopkins 2:02.19

Shinichi Itoh 2:02.907

Shinya Nakano 2:03.571

Toni Elias 2:03.600

Troy Baylis 2:03.729