The Kawasaki MotoGP bike is already struggling in 2005.
Biaggi gets ready to lap as Kanemoto covers his ears.
Rossi part-time'd it at Sepang. He also forgot to clean his room and left the lights on. Damn kids.
Dave Goldman shoots Rossi resting between talent shows.

On the final day of the Sepang MotoGP test Valentino Rossi looked relaxed and concerned.

Arriving some two-and-a-half hours after the track went green, Rossi ran a few warm-up laps, grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, rode a race simulation that ended with a practice victory wheelie, recorded a few video interviews, and left by 4pm.

If Rossi was concerned about the pace Ducati's Loris Capirossi found in the new GP5 and Bridgestone tire combination, he wasn't showing it.

Rossi's Texan teammate Colin Edwards was also happy with his new home and bike. The Yamaha was allowing Edwards to flow through corners faster and use a superbike riding style versus the ready-aim-fire, point-and-shoot approach required for the Honda RC211V.

All of the Yamahas at Sepang looked brand-new. It was a different look down at Honda, where the bikes were 2004 models with new carbon-fiber cowlings.

The chronic chattering problem from 2004 continues to mystify Honda, who asked for an extra hour of track time on the third day. A common sight during the test was for a Honda rider - factory or satellite team - to be circled by his team after returning to the pits, followed by the rider holding an imaginary handlebar and shaking it more and more has the handlebar is tilted from horizontal.

Honda teams tend to have a mix of nationalities and native languages. The result is high reliance on body language and facial expressions to communicate in the pits.

Fastest each day of the test, the Ducati MotoGP team has made a quantum leap forward from where they were in mid-season 2004. Lap times and race times are two different things so much remains to be seen on how well the Ducati will do on Bridgestones in a race. But there is existence proof that Bridgestones can win MotoGP races courtesy of Makoto Tamada's two victories in 2004.

Like the Yamaha factory team, Kawasaki started packing up hours before the track was officially closed for testing. Unlike Yamaha, the Kawasaki riders were always down near the bottom of the time sheets. They are a team in need of a better bike to test.