The Yamaha duo of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies have had a strong finish to the first test in Sepang, finishing 3rd and 5th on the timesheet and collecting much valuable data for the development of the 2011 M1. For Lorenzo, the day was filled with mainly short runs as he continued to test new parts and setups, whereas for Spies the day was another step in the right direction as he continues to learn his way around the factory setup. Today was also the first full day that the Texan had to work with his complete crew.
“For the second and third day we did very consistent times so I’m very happy with it, it shows the consistency of the bike. There are some things we still need to work on.” said Spies “We tested two configurations of engine and we know which direction we want to go in now which is great.”
He continued “We also worked on some electronics for fuel consumption without compromising lap times and we found a good solution for that as well. We’ll come back with some different goals in two weeks to look at being a bit faster and also test some different tyres. We’ve definitely done what we needed to do here. It’s been good riding alongside Jorge, we’ve both worked hard to deliver important information which the team can now take away and work with.”
Lorenzo was complementary of his new team-mate. “Ben is doing a very good job, I spoke with him yesterday and we discussed many things about the bike, he’s a good team mate.”
Regarding the test, he continued. “I’m very happy after the three days, it has been one of the best winter tests, normally we have more issues to feel good. The bike feels better but we still need to improve some points. I think the next test will see us take the next step. This afternoon when it was really hot on the track I still managed to put in a few fast laps which has given me the confidence that we are heading in a good direction.”
