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The final MotoGP tests of 2008 took place at the end of last week with eight teams enjoying a two-day test at Circuito de Jerez in Southern Spain and two teams testing at Australia's Philip Island Circuit over three days.

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi ended the Jerez test as the fastest rider, setting a time of 1' 39.429s on the second day, edging out the Dani Pedrosa's first day fastest time of 1' 39.525s.

The test took place over 26-27 November and fourteen riders took to the track over the course of the two days. On the final day, Pedrosa was second fastest to Rossi, whilst the third to sixth fastest riders, Jorge Lorenzo, Toni Elias, Alex De Angelis and Nicky Hayden, were separated by just 0.06s, illustrating the very close level of competition, even for those riders who have changed teams from the 2008 season.

Bridgestone brought the softest compounds proposed for the 2009 season, with two compounds available for each rider. It was the second opportunity for riders to evaluate the 2009 specification tyres, following the post race test in Valencia at the end of October. In particular, Bridgestone was assessing the tyre working range, with Spain providing weather at the cooler end of the spectrum and Australia conditions at the hotter end. Overnight rain meant that no running took place in Jerez on Thursday morning, although significant amounts of running took place during the rest of the test.

At Philip Island, the Suzuki and Kawasaki teams tested, with harder tyres than those used in Jerez. Rain was also experienced here, limiting running, but it was far warmer than in Jerez.

Tohru Ubukata, Bridgestone Motorsport Motorcycle race tyre development manager assesses those tests…

What was Bridgestone's objective from these two tests?
“From our perspective we wanted to assess the suitability of these tyres for next year's races and in particular evaluate the tyre working range. For this we tested in the relatively cool conditions of Jerez, where the ambient temperature was around 12°C and the track temperature around 18°C. In the cold, the main consideration is grip levels and warm-up time. Philip Island allowed us to look at the higher range of temperatures, as the ambient temperature was around 25°C and the track temperature about 40°C. Here the main consideration is heat durability. In both locations the tyres worked well, so we are confident when we look ahead to 2009.”