Rossi looks to dial in his M1 during preseason testing at Sepang.
As he has done in all the tests thus far in 2010, The Doctor once again led the way with over three-tenths in hand. Any thoughts of retirement from the Italian have been squashed by his performances this pre-season.
The MotoGP boys hit the sands of the Middle East for what will be their final pre-season test before the official 2010 season gets underway April 11. The two-day affair started with the man who’s been on top in the previous two tests, Valentino Rossi, topping the timesheets once again, showing that the 31-year-old has no plans of slowing down. His best time of 1:55.402 put the Fiat Yamaha rider just over three-tenths ahead of Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner at 1:55.717.
“I am so happy today because this isn't one of our best tracks and to come here and be fastest shows what a great job Yamaha has done with this new M1," said Rossi in a team press release. "To start with the track was quite slippery but anyway we were still fast, and as the track started to improve I felt better and better. We are quite competitive and this gives me a good feeling and I was happy to make this quick lap right at the end."
But the big news of Day 1 may have been third-place rider Ben Spies. Despite a small crash, the rookie American clocked a blistering 1:55.954 on his satellite Tech 3 Yamaha, the final rider to get in the 1:55s, nipping at the heels of two of MotoGP’s top veterans. The Texan was able to break into the once believed to be untouchable “four aliens” group in what was his first ride at the Qatari circuit on a MotoGP bike. He raced at Losail last year for the first time on a Yamaha World Superbike, picking up both race wins. Based on pre-season testing so far, that group of "four aliens” could quickly become “five aliens” if he can translate his testing speed into race-pace. Amazing stuff from the Grand Prix newbie.
“I know this track from last year but riding under the floodlights is definitely a bit different and nothing I've experienced before," Spies said. "The perception of speed is much faster with it being at night but I'm having a lot of fun. It's really well lit up but there are a couple of darker spots on the track that you have to get used to, but I've not done too bad in adjusting to the lights."
Spies was followed by fellow Texan and Tech 3 Yamaha teammate Colin Edwards in fourth. But the American finished the day over a second back of Rossi with a best lap of 1:56.540, which was also half-a-second off Spies' time. Closely behind Edwards was LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet. His best lap of 1:56.588 put the Frenchman in the top-five for the first time in '10 pre-season testing and is by far the best performance from the satellite Honda rider in quite some time.
Ducati Marlboros Casey Stoner was .395 of a second shy of Rossis Day 2 chart topping time.
Stoner continued his fine off-season form, ending Day 1 second-quickest overall.
Andrea Dovizioso was the first of the factory Repsol Honda riders in sixth at 1:56.811. Dovizioso is fresh off a nasty illness, which caused him to miss the team’s official press launch this week in Spain and is no doubt still feeling the effects.
Speaking of overcoming setbacks, seventh-quickest was Jorge Lorenzo. The Spanish star is riding with a still-healing broken right hand, requiring a special carbon fiber brace and one-off custom gloves. Lorenzo stated in a pre-test release that he would merely “try to ride.” But he did much more than that, posting a respectable 1:56.838.
The final American, Nicky Hayden, was eighth on his factory Ducati, clicking off a 1:56.855. Pramac Racing Ducati’s Mika Kallio showed some speed to post the ninth-best time of the day at 1:56.923; the last rider under the 1:56 mark.
LCR Hondas Randy DePuniet was 13th fastest on Day 2.
Frenchman Randy de Puniet started the test off strong as the quickest Honda in fifth spot.
Rounding out the top-10 was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, in a less-than-impressive performance from one of the so-called "aliens." Honda is expecting a championship out of the diminutive Spaniard this year and it looks as if he may have quite the hill to climb. Tomorrow is Day 2 and should reveal even more as it's the final time riders will see the track before the first race. Stay tuned…
P.S. Be sure to sign up for MotoUSA's Fantasy Racing now as the season starts soon!