Pedrosa fastest on first day at Losail

From motogp.com

The final preparations of the 2011 MotoGP pre-season commenced at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday, as the premier class completed the first of two days of night-time testing at the track that will host the opening round of the campaign next weekend.

Under the floodlights it was Dani Pedrosa who found the fastest pace with a best lap of 1:56.271, an effort which left him top of the day one timesheet by the close of play at 11pm local time. The Repsol Honda rider set out in search of his set-up for the Qatar GP, and also tested new suspension, a workload which appeared to go smoothly judging by his lap time.

“It was a positive first day of practice," Pedrosa said. "We didn't test anything in special, because our priority today was checking that the bike was also working well here in Qatar, a very different circuit than Sepang, where we did the main winter testing. We basically worked on the set-up of the bike, to adapt it for this layout and conditions, and tomorrow we will continue working on mappings and a front fork.

"It seems like the laptimes are closer here than in Sepang, and I'm sure that the times will improve for all because at this track the surface is quite dirty at the beginning, so we will see tomorrow and I hope to make another step forward and close the winter test in a good shape."

Just 0.143 secs. behind and in second place was the Spaniard's team-mate Casey Stoner, the man who had been fastest at the previous test at Sepang. Stoner, like his team-mate and the majority of the 17 MotoGP riders present, worked on his race set-up and also his riding position, and posted a best time of 1:56.414 by the end of the day.

“Everything has gone well with the bike and in general we don't have a whole lot to test here," Stoner began, "we're just trying to get more out of the balance of the bike - both bikes have the same chassis but we tried very different riding positions. It seems to be more difficult to get a decent lap time on the harder tires, having made my fastest time on an older soft tire, but our consistency seems to be very good also with the hardest compound. We've been trying to get a little bit more grip and turning out of the bike and work on set-up for this circuit, focusing on race set-up."

The team arrived at the Losail circuit on Friday, with Japanese members narrowly missing the devastating earthquake that struck Japan the same day. As a mark of respect, all three riders wore a black armband in mourning to show compassion for the terrible disaster that has affected so many people.

"I'd also like to say I'm very sorry about what happened in Japan," Pedrosa added. "My Japanese mechanics and engineers were explaining the situation there and it's very moving.”

Said Stoner, "I'm just pleased the team reached here safely and there were no casualties back in the HRC Headquarters in Saitama. My thoughts are with all the people in Japan.”

Completing an all-Honda top three was San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Hiroshi Aoyama. The Japanese spent the early part of the session assessing the track conditions, and found his rhythm soon enough with a best time of 1:56.444 on his 30th of 59 laps, just three-hundredths behind factory man Stoner.

At 0.292 secs. off Pedrosa's lead time, Factory Yamaha Racing rider Ben Spies (1:56.563) placed fourth with team-mate and World Champion Jorge Lorenzo fifth. The American focused his energies on chassis geometry and electronics, and will run a tire test on Monday. Lorenzo sought to improve the rear grip on his factory M1, and was 0.411 secs. down on rival Pedrosa by the end of the day.

Colin Edwards did a tire test to coincide with the race time later in the evening and the American was just under five-tenths off the top spot thanks to a 1:56.742.

The final rider under the 1:57 marker for the day was third Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso with a 1:56.780, working on electronic mapping and trying to overcome the mid-corner problem he had last time out at Sepang.

Valentino Rossi and his Ducati Team colleague Nicky Hayden both ran two bikes, each with a different setting, to decide by the end of the day which base setting to go with. Hayden closed out at 0.866 secs. off the top spot while Rossi survived a fall at Turn 9 after the opening hour to return to the track and register a 1:57.038 on his 57th and final turn, which left him 0.767 secs. off Pedrosa and in eighth spot. The Italian's team had already ruled out testing the flex chassis and 42mm Öhlins forks prior to the start, based on the feedback provided by Hayden's team.

Randy de Puniet had a positive end to a tough day on the Pramac Racing GP11 machine, after the Frenchman had crashed twice. He escaped uninjured and put in a 1:57.143 right at the end to complete the top 10.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was the last to get within a second of Pedrosa thanks to a 1:57.226. He was followed closely by Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki), who had planned to run a race simulation on both days, and Héctor Barbera (Mapfre Aspar Team).

Loris Capirossi's adaptation to the Pramac Racing Ducati continued as he rounded out day one in 14h spot, just ahead of rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), also on the GP11, who was bidding to find the right balance between the feeling with the front and rear of his machine. The Czech rider was just over two-tenths ahead of fellow rookie Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), whose aim was to learn the track under floodlights on his M1.

LCR Honda's Toni Elías completed the timesheet, with a best time of 1:58.250.

Day 1 Test Times
1. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 1:56.271
2. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) 1:56.414
3. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 1:56.444
4. Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) 1:56.563
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) 1:56.682
6. Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 1:56.742
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) 1:56.780
8. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1:57.038
9. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1:57.137
10. Randy De Puniet (Pramac Ducati) 1:57.143
11. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 1:57.226
12. Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) 1:57.302
13. Hector Barbera (Mapfre Aspar Ducati) 1:57.325
14. Loris Capirossi (Pramac Ducati) 1:57.437
15. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati) 1:57.499
16. Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 1:57.737
17. Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) 1:58.250