Sete Gibernau came out stronger than ever from the first official MotoGP Test of the preseason, which ended with the third and final day at the Circuit de Catalunya today. The MoviStar Honda rider spent the morning concentrating on a race simulation, which confirmed his high expectations, and was the fastest rider in an official times session in the afternoon.

 

Gibernau also took victory in the BMW Award, which presented the winner with a BMW Series 1 car, but insisted that the prize was simply a reflection of the good job done by the whole team with the Honda RC211V. Marco Melandri was equally pleased with his performance and is now looking forward to arriving at the first Grand Prix of the season with the best possible set-up. The Italian would have enjoyed nothing better than to challenge his team-mate for the fastest time in the session but in the end he was more than happy with fourth place.

 

The MoviStar Honda team concentrated solely on endurance tests during the morning, with Sete clocking an excellent time of 1'42"999 on used tyres after ten laps. Improving the bike's corner entry once the tyres have begun to slide is now one of the team's main focuses ahead of the first Grand Prix. Sete ran up fourteen consecutive laps before the timed session and was confident about his rhythm. He then set an incredible time of 1'41"851, the fastest ever lap by a motorcycle at the Circuit de Catalunya, to take 'pole'. The Spaniard's day ended with a further five laps late in the afternoon. Marco Melandri's best lap was 1'42"797, less than a second off the pace of his more experienced team-mate, a time which confirms his swift progress on a bike he is still getting to know.

 

All the riders will be back on track together next week at the Jerez circuit for the second MotoGP Test, which is potentially even more interesting with the first Grand Prix of the 2005 season taking place there just two weeks later on the 10th April.

 

SETE GIBERNAU (1'41"851, 38 laps): "I'm really satisfied with the results of this test. We've completed all the work we had planned for here and the result is very good. Last night I got together with the team to prepare the endurance; I think that to plan for the fastest lap would have been a mistake. Setting the fastest time was simply the fruit of all the hard work we had done previously. We are still having a few problems on corner entry when the tyres have gone off so that's why I did a race simulation with used tyres. That's the area I'm most interested in working on so that we can get to Jerez with the best possible motorcycle. I'm happy to have taken the pole, especially for all the people here who have given me such superb backing. I hope they enjoyed themselves."

 

MARCO MELANDRI (1'42"797, 51 laps): "We're leaving another circuit in positive mood because we've continued to work in a very focused way over these three days. I like the bike a lot, it's very different to the Yamaha and it allows me to ride with more confidence. We did an endurance race as planned and in the official session in the afternoon I gave everything I had to set the fastest lap. I'm a bit disappointed not to have fought for 'pole' because I'd promised to give the car to my mechanics but fourth place isn't bad at all. We'll keep working in Jerez."

 

LAP TIMES

1. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) 1'41"851

2. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1'42"270

3. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) 1'42"507

4. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1'42"797