MotoGP News
The winds were brutal at Losail International Circuit in Qatar for Free Practice 2 (FP2) Friday afternoon, but they didn’t stop the Australian MotoGP star Casey Stoner.
The Repsol Honda rider continued to set the pace, posting an impressive 1:55.457, a full 1.3 seconds faster than best time in Thursday’s FP1.
And just like FP1, the man trailing Stoner was teammate Dani Pedrosa, who posted a lap time 0.397 of a second behind.
Last year’s MotoGP Rookie of the Year Ben Spies continues to show promise of being an "alien" someday, and bettered this Thursday time by three positions to third. The American was 0.659 of a second behind Stoner.
Taking the fourth fastest time was the third Repsol Honda RC212V driver, Andrea Dovizio. He was followed by a pair of Yamaha M1 prototypes: reigning MotoGP Champ Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing M1), and Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha M1).
The last rider to post within a second of Stoner was the Italian in seventh place, Marco Simoncelli. He was 0.921 of a second behind Stoner on the San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V.
Rounding out the top 10 were Edward’s teammate Cal Crutchlow, and the Ducati Team GP11 riders, Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden.
All together, only 1.169 seconds between first and 10th in FP2. The MotoGP grid will finish FP3 tonight at Qatar.
2011 Qatar Free Practice 2 Results:
Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 320.4 | 1’55.457 | Â |
2. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 321.8 | 1’55.854 | 0.397 / 0.397 |
3. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 316.3 | 1’56.116 | 0.659 / 0.262 |
4. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 323.3 | 1’56.172 | 0.715 / 0.056 |
5. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 317.8 | 1’56.220 | 0.763 / 0.048 |
6. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 316.4 | 1’56.259 | 0.802 / 0.039 |
7. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 318.7 | 1’56.378 | 0.921 / 0.119 |
8. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 319.2 | 1’56.518 | 1.061 / 0.140 |
9. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 320.1 | 1’56.532 | 1.075 / 0.014 |
10. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 320.0 | 1’56.626 | 1.169 / 0.094 |
11. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 316.3 | 1’56.668 | 1.211 / 0.042 |
12. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 327.7 | 1’56.735 | 1.278 / 0.067 |
13. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 319.7 | 1’56.790 | 1.333 / 0.055 |
14. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 316.3 | 1’56.833 | 1.376 / 0.043 |
15. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 317.6 | 1’57.304 | 1.847 / 0.471 |
16. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 322.5 | 1’57.683 | 2.226 / 0.379 |
17. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 316.5 | 1’58.801 | 3.344 / 1.118 |