A new and stiffer chassis with additional weight on the front end of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR prototype boosted both confidence and lap times of all four Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team riders, who completed two days of private testing in Montmeló before the official IRTA test session. German test rider Alex Hofmann was also delighted with a new generation of Dunlop tires, and set the quickest time within the team so far. Former World Supersport champion Andrew Pitt and Japanese test rider Akira Yanagawa rode on the Catalunya circuit for their very first time, but also made quick and steady progress. Australian "King of Slide" Garry McCoy was slowed by a stiff neck and deteriorating weather conditions on the first day of the IRTA tests, and has his hopes set for a sunny Sunday.

Alex Hofmann: 15th position - 59 laps - best time 1:46.462
"We made quite a step forward with the bike. The balance feels much better, it’s now more stable when you hit the brakes, and the grip has improved under acceleration. There are a few new parts that helped, but the main improvement has come from changes on the set-up. More than that, there is good progress on the tyre side. I completed a race distance of 15 laps today on one set, and my lap times were consistently between 1.46,5 and 1.47,0. That makes me optimistic, because last year, I did a time of 1.47,0 with the 500 cc two-stroke on qualifiers. To be faster on race tyres now proves that Dunlop has found the right direction to go!"

Andrew Pitt: 16th position - 53 laps – best time 1:46.590
"When we came here on Wednesday for two days of private testing, my first goal was to learn another new track, and to make the bike work on it. But the biggest thing this time is that we made a step with a modified chassis. The geometry is slightly different, it’s got a bit more weight over the front, and this is probably the biggest improvement that we have so far. It allows me to open the throttle a lot sooner and a lot quicker. I feel quite comfortable on the bike now, and I like the circuit. I had a few runs with some of the other guys on Yamahas, and overall it feels as if we are a lot closer!"

Garry McCoy: 25th position - 32 laps – best time 1:47.009
"The bike is improving, slowly, but surely. We are still playing around with the chassis settings, and we seem to have found a pretty good basic set-up. The new chassis is a little bit stiffer which is a big plus on some sections of the track. As far as the tyres go, there is some progress also, even though I lost some track time today due to the weather and on Thursday due to a bike problem, and haven’t had a chance to test the latest generation yet. That’s why I hope for good weather on Sunday!"

Akira Yanagawa: 26th position - 40 laps – best time 1:47.444
"This track was new to me when we arrived for our tests this week, and I used the first day to study the track layout. On day two, we tried out new and stiffer chassis, and I noticed the difference immediately, under brakes as much as on the exit of the turns. The bike also feels more comfortable on bumps. The bike was always wobbling before, and this problem is gone. I was only a little bit disappointed today, because the good set-up that we found on Thursday didn’t work any more. So far, we couldn’t work out why. My mechanics confirmed that the settings were precisely the same!"

IRTA TEST DAY ONE - LAP TIMES

POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME

1. Alex Barros BRA Gauloises Yamaha 1:44.112

2. Loris Capiross iITA Ducati Marlboro 1:44.370

3. Sete Gibernau SPA Telefonica Movistar Honda 1:44.793

4. Valentino RossiI TA Repsol Honda 1:45.167

5. Shinya Nakano JPN Yamaha Team d'Antin 1:45.328

6. Daijiro Kato JPN Telefonica Movistar Honda 1:45.476

7. Tohru Ukawa JPN Camel Pramac Pons 1:45.581

8. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Yamaha 1:45.684

9. Carlos Checa SPA Fortuna Yamaha 1:45.733

10. John Hopkins USA Suzuki Grand Prix 1:45.826

15. Alex Hofmann GER Racing Team 1:46.462

16. Andrew Pitt AUS Kawasaki Racing Team 1:46.590

25. Garry McCoy AUS Kawasaki Racing Team 1:47.009

26. Akira Yanagawa JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1:47.444