Stoner blitzes lap record

Australian Ducati rider Casey Stoner has fired a warning shot across the pit wall to his competitors, having last week broken the lap record during the final day of pre-season MotoGP testing at Phillip Island.

He trimmed a full second off the best time achieved by his nearest challenger, Nicky Hayden on a Honda.

From Ducati: Casey Stoner lapped faster than any other rider in history at Phillip Island today, his stunning lap of 1'28.777 coming on the last of three days of tests at his home circuit. The reigning World Champion used a qualifying tyre on his 25th of 51 laps, although his pace during a race simulation was equally impressive. Only his flying lap registered outside the 1'30 mark as Stoner racked up 23 consecutive fast laps with relentless precision. Only the heat of the track in the scorching afternoon sun interrupted the local hero's progress, three laps short of the intended total, but his satisfaction was still complete.

Casey Stoner:"We did the race simulation with one of Bridgestone's new tyres and it went really well, even though we had to come in three laps early. The track temperature today was actually higher than it was for the race here and you could tell. Even so we managed to lap consistently in low 1.30 and that shows how well they're working in Japan. I'm also really happy with the qualifying tyre, which is the same as last year. It is a good thing that bike is not completely different to 2007 because it has allowed is to find an excellent base to start the season from already. The new version of the engine has a better delivery, especially at the bottom end, and that has allowed me to set fast times more consistently, as well as increasing tyre life. It has been a good test session but now I'm happy to have a couple of weeks to rest and train in the gym. The shoulder feels okay, it is just a little bit weak and sore because I haven't been able to work on it as much as I would have wanted but now we can do that."

Ducati's testing resumes in Europe on 16-18 February, while some of the other teams (including Honda and Yamaha) will be testing at Sepang this week.)

Phillip Island info
Circuit Record: Marco Melandri (Honda - 2005) 1'30.332
Best pole: Nicky Hayden (Honda - 2006) 1'29.020
Fastest lap GP 2007: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1'30.801
Pole 2007: Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'29.201

Unofficial lap times:
1. Casey STONER (Ducati) 1:28.777 (51 giri)
2. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1:29.734 (102)
3. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 1:29.754 (89)
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 1:29.780 (90)
5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 1:29.795 (56)
6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 1:30.216 (73)
7. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 1:30.438 (91)
8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 1:30.728 (89)
9. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 1:30.966 (97)
10. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 1:30.978 (115)
11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 1:30.983 (58)
12. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 1:31.377 (108)
13. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 1:31.508 (75)
14. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 1:31.957 (90