Weather restricts Monza test

From Yamaha Racing

A two day test for the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team at its home circuit of Monza was expected to be an opportunity to run the latest Pirelli development tires in readiness for the Monza round on May 11.

With the high-speed 5.793km track drenched with rain on both days, however, the team had to adapt its plans. Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser went to these tests, held at a circuit only a short distance from their Gerno di Lesmo team headquarters, with the natural confidence that a race win (for Nori) and a podium finish (for Troy) at the most recent Valencia round gave them.

However, each was to leave disappointed with their complete lack of dry track time, albeit glad to not have fallen on such a treacherous surface.

Claudio Corti, a Yamaha Superstock 1000 FIM Cup regular and the team's new test rider, continued on track on day two, but neither Haga nor Corser added to their respective 25 and 29 first day lap totals, such was the ferocity of the rain and the amount of standing water on the Monza asphalt.

Next stop for the team is the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship, at Assen on April 27.

"The main reason to come here was to test some new tires, but it was just impossible," said team manager Massimo Meregalli. "So we worked on some electronics, but pretty much that was it. Day two was even worse than today and neither Troy nor Nori rode."