The official (and final) MotoGp test took place Monday and Tuesday, at night, under lights, at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Monday night’s testing was accompanied by high temperature and humidity whereas last night’s test was cooler and with some cross-winds.
Tuesday times:
1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team 1m 55.681s (46)
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 55.745s (39)
3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 56.294s (45)
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 56.433s (70)
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 56.439s (58)
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team 1m 56.445s (67)
7. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 56.707s (48)
8. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 56.716s (57)
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 56.726s (68)
10. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 56.740s (73)
11. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar Team 1m 56.798s (62)
12. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 56.931s (63)
13. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 56.988s (50)
14. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team 1m 57.345s (62)
15. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 57.730s (28)
16. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 57.846s (49)
17. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 58.536s (57)
Fastest Sunday lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 56.271s
2010 Qatar Grand Prix (11th April):
Pole position:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro 1m 55.007s
Fastest race lap by manufacturer:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati 1m 55.537s
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha 1m 56.042s
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Honda 1m 56.157s
Loris Capirossi ITA Suzuki 1m 56.794s
Both Ducatis crashed during the test and Rossi finds himself languishing in 13th place at the end of the test 1.37 seconds slower than Stoner, very worrying. Yamaha man, Cal Crutchlow also crashed and has had to have an operation to remove the tip of a finger, badly crushed in the accident.
More worrying for Stoner’s opposition is the breakdown of sub-1 min 57 sec laps. Looking at the number of sub-1min 57sec laps, Stoner recorded 23 (out of 46), compared with 12 (out of 39) for Pedrosa, nine (out of 70) for Simoncelli, eight (out of 45) for Spies, just five (out of 58) for Dovizioso and (out of 48) for Lorenzo, then 3 (out of 67) for de Puniet.
It could be, as I said, that Stoner has made the move of his career.
Riders now have Tuesday off before tackling the circuit in earnest tomorrow ahead of the opening of the season on the weekend.