Stoner ends Losail visit ahead of competitors again

Stoner ends Losail visit ahead of competitors again



Tuesday, 03 March 2009
As the MotoGP Official Night Test came to a conclusion at midnight in Qatar on Tuesday it was Casey Stoner who sat proudly at the head of the timesheet.


Winner of the last two MotoGP races at the Losail International Circuit, including last year’s historical first ever floodlit Grand Prix, Casey Stoner showed his strength around the 5.38km desert track again on Tuesday night.
The night time practice visit to Qatar, the second preseason test for the 2009 MotoGP field, ended with Stoner setting the pace just as he did in the opening test of the year in Malaysia in February.
Stoner’s best effort of 1’55.744 was recorded shortly after 9pm on the 22nd of his 31 turns under the floodlights, the Australian completing far fewer laps than any of his rivals. The test saw him successfully debut a new carbon fibre swingarm on the Desmosedici GP9, though he was unable to undertake a race simulation and kept to short bursts on track as he rebuilds the strength in his left wrist, which was operated on over the winter.
Stoner crashed without consequence on turn two around ten minutes after setting his best time, but was back out on track within an hour.
Last year’s Qatar poleman Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) got closest to Stoner on the timesheet, though he was nearly a full second (0.989s) behind the Ducati rider, with his best time registered late in the evening. Lorenzo’s colleague Valentino Rossi completed the top three with a 1’56.972 effort as the only other rider to go round under the 1’57 mark, the Italian satisfied with a new electronics system on the Yamaha M1.
The top five was rounded off by Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen, his best time arriving on the last of his 70 laps, and Stoner’s new team-mate for 2009 Nicky Hayden.
Also featuring in the top ten were Vermeulen’s Suzuki colleague Loris Capirossi, fastest Honda representative Randy de Puniet, factory Honda newcomer Andrea Dovizioso, the experienced Colin Edwards and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis.
There were also crashes for Capirossi on turn six, Niccolo Canepa at turn 13 and Yuki Takahasi at turn three, but all three riders were reportedly unhurt.
The next outing for the MotoGP riders is the Official MotoGP Test at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain which takes place on 28th & 29th March. They will then return to Qatar for the first Grand Prix of the year on 10th-12th April.
Qatar Night Test, Day 3
1. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1'55.744 (31)
2. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1'56.733 (82)
3. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1'56.972 (75)
4. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP - 1'57.224 (70)
5. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1'57.225 (53)
6. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP - 1'57.253 (42)
7. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 1'57.401 (77)
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 1'57.449 (74)
9. Colin Edwards, Monster Yamaha Tech3 - 1'57.515 (46)
10. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'57.591 (61)
11. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'57.804 (66)
12. Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing - 1'57.938 (54)
13. Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing - 1'57.946 (50)
14. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team - 1'58.412 (61)
15. James Toseland, Monster Yamaha Tech3 - 1'58.786 (51)
16. Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team - 1'58.851 (73)
Highlights from the third day of testing at Qatar will be available from 07.30 AM CET on 04/03

Last evening at Qatar sees Stoner set the pace in early running



Tuesday, 03 March 2009
As the last night of testing at the Losail International Circuit got underway on Tuesday it was Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner leading the way on the timesheets.


At the midway point of Tuesday night’s concluding test session in Qatar the 2007 World Champion and winner of the last two MotoGP races at the Losail track, Casey Stoner, was again way out in front of his rivals on the timesheet.
A dry, calm day preceded the MotoGP workout at the desert circuit in contrast to the rain on Sunday and wind on Monday. The first rider out on track at 6.05pm local time was Hayate Racing Team’s Marco Melandri, shortly followed by Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards and Pramac Racing’s Niccolo Canepa, the proceedings commencing with an ambient temperature of approximately 20°C.
Just four laps into his evening’s work the 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner set down a 1’56.301 marker, shortly before 7pm, a hot lap which had not been bettered as of the midway point in the session at 9pm. Having completed less laps than any other rider Stoner is running quickly, but still in short bursts as he attempts to rebuild his stamina following winter surgery on his left wrist.
Below Stoner on the timesheet in second place was his successor as World Champion Valentino Rossi, though the Italian trailed the Australian by a considerable 0.671s margin as the only other rider to have lapped under the 1’57 mark.
The early evening top five was completed by an improved Nicky Hayden, the new Ducati rider going more than a second faster than his Monday best already, followed by Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha).
The only incident of note was when Canepa suffered a crash on turn 13 but the MotoGP rookie has not been injured. Several riders are expected to undertake race simulations before the test concludes at midnight local time (10pm CET).
Qatar Night Test, day three – best times as of 9pm local time
1. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1'56.301 (20)
2. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1'56.972 (36)
3. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1'57.225 (36)
4. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP - 1'57.253 (26)
5. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1'57.414 (41)
6. Colin Edwards, Monster Yamaha Tech3 - 1'57.515 (46)
7. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP - 1'57.741 (39)
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 1'57.816 (32)
9. Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing - 1'57.938 (36)
10. Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing - 1'57.946 (32)
11. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 1'58.243 (32)
12. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'58.302 (34)
13. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team - 1'58.455 (34)
14. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'58.565 (32)
15. James Toseland, Monster Yamaha Tech3 - 1'59.177 (30)
16. Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team - 1'59.575 (34)