2011 MotoGP Qatar Test Results
By the midway point of the second session in Qatar Monday evening, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was the only MotoGP rider to post under the 1:56 mark.
But Pedrosa, who was fastest during the first night of MotoGP pre-season testing at Qatar, was soon surpassed by his teammate Casey Stoner.
After piloting his RC212V around Losail International Circuit for 46 laps, the Australian posted a 1:55.681, which was 0.064 of a second ahead of Pedrosa.
The Honda RC212V has now topped every pre-season test session of 2011 MotoGP (Overall quickest riders: Sepang 1 – Marco Simoncelli; Sepang 2 – Stoner; Qatar – Stoner).
Both Repsol Honda riders, who spent the remaining test session finalizing their RC212V MotoGP prototypes in preperation for this weekend’s season opener at Qatar, were followed by Yamaha Factory Racing Ben Spies.
The 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year was 0.549 of a second behind Pedrosa, and was the only Yamaha M1 in the top six; his teammate, MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo was seventh fastest.
Fourth and fifth fastest at Night 2 of MotoGP Qatar pre-season testing were two additional Honda riders: Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso.
Simoncelli had a late charge, finishing with a 1:56.433. Dovizioso, the third man on the Repsol Honda team, was six-thousandths behind Simoncelli.
The highest placed Ducati GP11 in the Qatar test session was Pramac Racing’s Loris Capirossi. He was the last rider to get within a second of Stoner’s time, posting a 1:56.445.
Following Capirossi were a pair of Yamaha M1s: Lorenzo and Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards. Rounding out the top 10 were Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Hiroshi Aoyama.
As for Valentino Rossi, he crashed at Turn 7, only able to get his Ducati Team GP11 into 13th place. Rossi had also crashed during Sunday’s first test session at Qatar, and had struggled with adapting to the Ducati during all three pre-season tests.
2011 MotoGP Pre-Season Qatar Tests, Night 2 Results:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap | Prev. Gap | Lead. Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Casey Stoner | Repsol Honda Team | 1:55.681 | – | – | 46 |
| 2. | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | 1:55.745 | +0.064 | +0.064 | 39 |
| 3. | Ben Spies | Yamaha Factory Racing | 1:56.294 | +0.549 | +0.613 | 45 |
| 4. | Marco Simoncelli | San Carlo Honda Gresini | 1:56.433 | +0.139 | +0.752 | 70 |
| 5. | Andrea Dovizioso | Repsol Honda Team | 1:56.439 | +0.006 | +0.758 | 58 |
| 6. | Randy De Puniet | Pramac Racing Team | 1:56.445 | +0.006 | +0.764 | 67 |
| 7. | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha Factory Racing | 1:56.707 | +0.262 | +1.026 | 48 |
| 8. | Colin Edwards | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:56.716 | +0.009 | +1.035 | 57 |
| 9. | Nicky Hayden | Ducati Marlboro Team | 1:56.726 | +0.010 | +1.045 | 68 |
| 10. | Hiroshi Aoyama | San Carlo Honda Gresini | 1:56.740 | +0.014 | +1.059 | 73 |
| 11. | Hector Barbera | Mapfre Aspar Team | 1:56.798 | +0.058 | +1.117 | 62 |
| 12. | Alvaro Bautista | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | 1:56.931 | +0.133 | +1.250 | 63 |
| 13. | Valentino Rossi | Ducati Marlboro Team | 1:56.988 | +0.057 | +1.307 | 50 |
| 14. | Loris Capirossi | Pramac Racing Team | 1:57.345 | +0.357 | +1.664 | 62 |
| 15. | Cal Crutchlow | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:57.730 | +0.385 | +2.049 | 28 |
| 16. | Karel Abraham | Cardion AB Motoracing | 1:57.846 | +0.116 | +2.165 | 49 |
| 17. | Toni Elias | LCR Honda MotoGP | 1:58.536 | +0.690 | +2.855 | 57 |
