Lorenzo and Spies with good feelings at Sepang

The 2012 MotoGP World Championship has officially kicked off with this first day of official testing at the Sepang circuit. With these sessions, we already have our sights set on the start of the calendar, although there are still a few weeks of testing, preparation and work ahead for riders, teams and manufacturers.

Those most eager for the return of MotoGP can now enjoy their riders on track, as they took to the Malaysian circuit today for the first time, a good day for Yamaha in general and especially for its factory riders, Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, since the Mallorcan was the fastest and the American was fourth with their respective 1000cc M1s.

Lorenzo was the fastest throughout the entire session, on a day devoted to finding rhythm and regaining feeling after months on the sidelines, especially for the 99, who had spent a long time unable to ride a MotoGP bike since his injury in Australia. It was a day of laps dedicated to the work, which ended with his lap time as the best. Spies’s lap was not bad either, as he finished fourth behind Pedrosa and Crutchlow.

Statements from Jorge Lorenzo:

I am very happy with today’s session. For being the first time on track in a while, it has been very positive. Yamaha has worked very hard during the winter on this M1. I can see very easily where I need to adapt my riding style for this bike, and I see a lot of potential in it.

We have many areas where we can improve, so I am eager to start again tomorrow. I am also very happy that my finger is fine and that it does not affect my riding at all!

Statements from Ben Spies:

I am happy, it was a lot of fun to get back on the bike; I haven’t ridden any type of bike since Valencia. I didn’t need much time to shake off the rust.

We have tried some things in the setup, and each step has brought small improvements. We have a lot to do in the next two days and much more at the second test. It has been a confidence-inspiring start, Yamaha has made a great effort for this season, so we are going to work day by day to be even better.

Source | Yamaha Factory Racing