SEPANG, Malaysia, 27 January 2004 — After three days of successful test rides on his new Yamaha YZR-M1, Valentino Rossi yesterday is looking ahead to the 2004 MotoGP championship with optimism.
Rossi rode an inspired 59 laps around the tough 5.5-kilometer (3.4-mile) Sepang circuit in punishing heat in a time faster then he clocked on Saturday and Sunday.
Yamaha officials said the charismatic Italian’s best lap time was 2mins 2.75sec. But Rossis arch rival, countryman Max Biaggi of Honda, set a better time of 2mins 02.69sec last week at Sepang circuit.
The Italian said he had hoped to achieve a time of 2min 03 seconds during the three days of test rides. “But I did better. I am happy,” he said. Rossi, who will celebrate his 25th birthday next month, had lots of praise for the Yamaha M1 machine, but pointed out that Honda still had a better bike with more horsepower.
“I feel very, very happy. I had expected more problems with this bike,” he said.
Rossi said that in November former world champion Randy Marmola told him after testing the M1: “The bike is completely a disaster.”
“Maybe he tested another bike,” Rossi said. “I am impressed with the M1.”
But Rossi stressed that the crew could not afford to be complacent, saying Yamaha had to work harder because it was still behind Honda. He added though that in terms of maneuverability, the M1 was better than Honda. “This point is important for the championship,” he said.
The first round of the Grand Prix opens in South Africa on April 18.
Riders from Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki tested their machines last week at the Sepang circuit and they will all return in the second week of February for three days to further fine-tune their machines.
