2003 Preseason. Ricardo Tormo circuit

Fonsi Nieto and Toni Elías confront cautiously their first training of the year
Both riders continue the work of completion of the motorcycle with which they will dispute the 2003 Championship
Today, Repsol riders Toni Elias and Fonsi Nieto have been through the first of the two days that their team has planned for trainings in the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. With an ambient temperature close to 14º C and around 24º C in the track, both Elias and Fonsi have dedicated the day to recover the pace after their last trainings, that took place in December. The two pupils of Jorge Martinez Aspar have shared track with Manuel Poggiali, Randy De Puniet, Joan Olivé and Héctor Faubel. The beginning of the training has been delayed until one in the afternoon due to the bad conditions of the track. After the recent training of Formula 1 teams, tarmac was dirty and excessively sliding, and this has required from the services of the Valencian circuit an intense morning cleaning, after the complaints of the pilots. Once the problem has been resolved, the riders present there have rolled until six in the afternoon. Timing today has not been very significant as this was a first contact. Fonsi Nieto: We have taken it easy, is necessary to recover the pace and right now we are a little rusty. We have begun to work with the new chassis and the first contact of the day has been good, but there is still a lot to do. Now I want to put everything in its place in this bike and compare it with the motorcycle that has the chassis of last year, to see which of both chassis I select. Well, at the moment everything goes very slowly;  we must also test tyres and suspensions, and it all requires time. Today I have decided to take things easy because its been a while since I last rode my bike and I dont want to risk the work of all the team because of a fall. The track is very dirty and that also has made me take this training with much serenity Toni Elias: Today there has been a first contact and thats how I have planned the day. We have begun to work with the two bikes that we will use this 2003 season, with the new chassis and the new components. We just started and theres still a lot to do, but well, right now we have time. Today the track slid much, but tomorrow we hope that the grip will be better so we can focus on preparing the bikes. Obviously, one can see that we havent rode the motorbike in a month and a half, but tomorrow I believe that I will feel far better. Today I have worried neither about times nor about fast returns. When everything will be in place in the bike and I feel comfortable, then we will see how it goes ClassificationsRandy De Puniet, 137.7 sec.Manuel Poggiali, 138.4 sec.Joan Olivé, 138.8 sec.Fonsi Nieto, 138.9 sec.Héctor Faubel, 138.9 sec.Toni Elias, 139.0 sec.