22 January 2008, BY Sepang International Circuit
Returning to action after a long lay-off, five-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi looked rusty in his first ride since November as he crashed on the first day in the first MotoGP pre-season testing of 2008, which opened at Sepang Circuit today.
Downed by a broken right wrist after crashing at the final leg of the 2007 season at the Valencia Grand Prix in November, the Doctor returned to action, mounting the new 2008 YR-M1 MotoGP machine and sporting a new crew cut look.
From the start of the session, Rossi was clearly not fully satisfied with the handling of the bike by the gesture of his explanation to his Fiat Yamaha Racing team crew as seen from outside the guarded pits.
Entering his 20th lap at noon, Rossi crashed at the entry of the sharp Turn 2 after his front wheel gave in and the Italian rider jumping off his bike to escape injury. He then walked back to the bike; picking up the machine.
As he rode slowly to the pits, Rossi, winner in Sepang in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006, was seen holding his left hand with the new machine badly dented on the right side.
New team-mate Jorge Lorenzo also had a crash during the morning session as the Fiat Yamaha concluded a disappointing morning session with Rossi clocking the eighth fastest time of 2 minutes 3.295 seconds. Lorenzo was fifth fastest with 2 minutes 2.871 seconds.
Twenty riders participated in the tests which saw Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda topping the morning charts, recording a time of 2 minutes 1.864 seconds. Despite the achievement of clocking the fastest time, Pedrosa also had mixed fortunes, crashing at Turn 1 at noon.
The Sepang tests, which would run for three days until Thursday, is the first test session for the riders and teams after a seven-week mandatory; effective on December 1, 2007.
After Sepang, the teams and riders would proceed to Phillip Island in Melbourne, Australia before returning to Sepang early month from February 4 to 6 for a second round of test around the 5.543-km Malaysian track to prepare for the 2008 season.
Sepang MotoGP Test – Day 1 – Morning Session
Top 10 riders
1.Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) – Honda – 2:01.864s
2.Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR) – Honda – 2:02.536s
3.Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3) – Yamaha – 2:02.549s
4.Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) – Suzuki – 2:02.689s
5.Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) – Yamaha – 2:02.871s
6.Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) – Suzuki – 2:02.905s
7.John Hopkins (Kawasaki Racing Team) – Kawasaki – 2:03.129s
8.Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) – Yamaha – 2:03.295s
9.Andrea Dovizioso (JIR Scot Team) – Honda – 2:03.313s
10.James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3) Yamaha – 2:03.344s
For details, contact SIC Press Officer Azhar Ghazali at 019-3837865.
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