Ahead of winter testing ban

_{source: moto.racing-live.com}

Three days of tests for a host of MotoGP World Championship teams concluded on opposite sides of the globe this week, bringing to an end all track action for 2005 ahead of the traditional winter testing ban, which runs from December 1st to January 20th 2006 inclusive.

Representatives from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki were at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia whilst back in Europe the factory Ducati outfit were put through their paces at the Jerez circuit in Spain.

MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was the fastest rider over the three days at Sepang as Yamaha rolled out their 2006 version YZR-M1 machine for the first time. The Italian clocked an unofficial best time of 2'02.61 on the second day of the test, some three tenths of a second inside the current official lap record of 2'02.993 held by Nicky Hayden, before a spell of morning rain prevented any hope of improvements on the final day.

"The test was not so bad, especially yesterday we did a good job", commented Rossi. "We worked a lot on the new M1 and the first impression is not bad. The bike is already fast, I was able to do some good lap times but it is the first prototype so we need to work to improve it. Already it is a little more powerful, a little more stable and we hope it will be more easy to set up."

A handful of new challengers to Rossi's MotoGP dominance got their first true taste of life alongside the Italian in Malaysia, with 250cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa and his former quarter-litre rival Casey Stoner racking up the laps aboard Honda RC211V machines and ex- World Superbike star Chris Vermeulen getting to grips with his new Suzuki GSV-R.