Pedrosa Quickest In MotoGP Practice
Dani Pedrosa on top early in Jerez with less than ideal conditions. (Photo: MotoGP)
JEREZ, Spain — Ducati Team´s Valentino Rossi was the surprise early pace setter in the wet, yet Pedrosa soon went fastest with a 1.50´780. Rossi had predicted that the wet conditions may suit him and his Ducati, and he didn´t disappoint at the track where he has won a total of eight times, yet was still almost seven tenths down on the Spaniard.
Yamaha Factory Racing´s Jorge Lorenzo, who won last year´s race in the wet, did a limited number of laps, yet put his bike in third place overall. He was followed by Pedrosa´s team mate and World Champion Casey Stoner, who had a somewhat subdued session for his standards.
Taking confidence from Rossi´s performance, the Italian´s team mate Nicky Hayden lapped sixth fasted on the Andalucian circuit, with Monster Yamaha Tech3´s Andrea Dovizioso in tow.
San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Alvaro Bautista placed his satellite Honda in seventh in front of his home crowd, while Tech3´s Cal Crutchlow, who had impressed in Qatar, was in eighth. Crutchlow was once again faster than factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who could only manage ninth.
Rounding out the top ten was German rookie Stefan Bradl with his LCR Honda MotoGP machine, who dared a late run on slick tyres as the track dried out towards the end. He could not however improve on his earlier time.
An early casualty of the wet conditions was Speed Master CRT entry Mattia Pasini, who crashed going into turn 13. He escaped unscathed and ended up posting a very credible 12th fastest time. Yet top CRT spot for the afternoon session went to Power Electronics Aspar´s Randy de Puniet in 11th.
On a day where both MotoGP practice sessions had fluctuating wet and drying conditions, it was tough to gauge any real form from riders, as many will have been saving their wet tyre allocation for QP tomorrow. Yet Avinitia Blusens rider Iván Silva will no doubt enjoy seeing his name top of the combined timesheets with a time he set early in the morning session.
Pos. Rider Team Bike Time
1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda RC213V 01:50.8
2 Valentino Rossi Marlboro Ducati Team Ducati GP12 01:51.4
3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 01:51.9
4 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team Honda RC213V 01:52.1
5 Nicky Hayden Marlboro Ducati Team Ducati GP12 01:52.3
6 Andrea Dovizioso Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 01:53.1
7 Alvaro Bautista Honda Gresini Honda RC213V 01:53.2
8 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 01:53.4
9 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 01:53.4
10 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC213V 01:53.4
11 Randy De Puniet Aspar Team MotoGP ART 01:54.2
12 Roger Lee Pasini Speedmaster ART 01:54.4
13 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati GP12 01:54.4
14 Hector Barbera Pramac Racing Team Ducati GP12 01:54.6
15 Colin Edwards Forward Racing Suter 01:54.7
16 Ivan Silva BQR BQR-FTR 01:54.7
17 Yonny Hernandez BQR BQR-FTR 01:54.9
18 Danilo Petrucci Ioda Racing Project Ioda 01:55.8
19 Michele Pirro Honda Gresini FTR 01:56.1
20 James Ellison Paul Bird Racing ART 01:57.5
Posted by dbriney
on Apr 27 2012 Filed under Latest Headlines, MotoGP, Motorcycles, Top Stories.
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