Rossi 2nd in Sepang

With Honda and Ducati skipping this week’s Malaysia test, it was no surprise to see former world champion Valentino Rossi close to the top of the timesheets on the opening day in Sepang today.

Fastest for the majority of the opening day, the Italian was just beaten to the fastest time by team-mate Colin Edwards, who posted the best time of 2.02.17 on his last lap. 

Rossi was just 0.046s adrift with a best of 2.02.22. That was 0.4s faster than the seven-time world champion clocked on his 2007 debut in Sepang late last month as he spent the day testing Ohlins front fork and rear shock suspension settings.

The factory Yamaha rider was happy that a new rear shock saw him make a big breakthrough with front-end stability under hard braking and he said: “We worked a lot on the front and rear suspension to try to understand a better set-up for the 800.
Braking stability is crucial on the 800 with faster corner entry speeds and I’m very happy. It’s just the first day but I am already faster than in the last test.”

On his first track appearance since the shock announcement that he had agreed to extend his current Yamaha contract to the end of the 2008 MotoGP world championship, Rossi set his best time on lap 24 of a 40-lap stint and he added: “I am better at this test than the last one. I have been working a lot in the gym and feel stronger.”