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NEWS
Stoner tops MotoGP test
The reigning world champion was again top of the timesheets, closely followed by teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha's Andrea DoviziosoThe third and final day of the MotoGP test at the Sepang International Circuit concluded on March 1 with Australian Casey Stoner leading the times. The Repsol Honda registered a best time of 2mins00.473secs -- 0.8s seconds off his best effort from the first pre-season test at the same track.
Dani Pedrosa trailed his team-mate by 0.175 seconds as the Spanish rider focused his efforts on chassis modifications to improve stability under braking and reduce front end chatter. Andrea Dovizioso was 0.3 seconds from Stoner with a time of 2:00.802 as the Italian continues to make big strides on the Yamaha.
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was fourth quickest and ended his day with a race simulation that revealed the more powerful 1000cc bikes will require careful tyre management. The 2010 world champion reported that the new soft Bridgestones lost their grip early in the simulation making braking more difficult due to sliding. The Spaniard also reported that the electronics improvements made during this test made corner entry easier and smoothed out the YZR-M1 overall.
Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies ended his day early, completing 28 laps with a best time of 2:01.432 set before a crash in the morning. The American walked away from the fall unhurt though did not re-enter the track in the afternoon and his time from the morning placed him eighth in the line-up.
Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) climbed to fifth position by the end of the day with a best lap 2:00.986, half a second off the leading time of Stoner and 0.245 seconds ahead of the quickest Ducati in the field, the Pramac Racing GP12 of Héctor Barberá.
Alvaro Bautista (Honda) recovered from a crash in the morning to post a time of 2:01.275, over a second quicker than his time set on Tuesday, placing him seventh.
Newcomer Stefan Bradl finished the day in ninth and 1.019 of the top time set by Stoner, with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden following in 10th and 11th respectively.
TEST TIMES
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2:00.473
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2:00.648
3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2:00.802
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.877
5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2:00.986
6. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team
2:01.231 7. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2:01.275
8. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2:01.432
9. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2:01.492
10. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2:01.550
11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2:01.609
12. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2:03.490
13. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2:03.681
14. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 2:06.632
15. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2:06.785
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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