After being roundly crushed by Valentino Rossi and the Gauloises Yamaha YZR-M1 in 2005, the rest of the MotoGP field had to have set some lofty goals for ’06 bike developement, hoping to produce a machine with superior characteristics to the Yamaha. Judging from the results of today’s testing in Sepang, Malaysia, they’re not there yet.
After setting the fastest time of the day (2’02.61) aboard a prototype 2006 machine, Rossi praised the bike in a team press release, saying that it is more stable on the brakes and has better, smoother power delivery.
Yamaha managed to build an extremely competitive bike for the 2005 season, mostly using developement input from Rossi and his crew chief Jeremy Burgess. Now they have the added advantage of having the input of Colin Edwards, long considered an excellent testing and developement rider. Edwards, still riding a 2005-spec machine, posted the fourth-quickest time of the day, just .33 seconds slower than Rossi.
Considering Rossi’s incredible talent, if Yamaha’s 2006 machine is equal to or better than those of the other top brands, the competition is likely to be a repeat of the 2006 season. With the long winter break beginning just after this three-day test, engineers at Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki are likely working hard to make sure that this doesn’t happen by improving their machines before the New Year.
