MotoGP News
After all three practice sessions were finished for Round 1 of the 2011 MotoGP Championship at Losail International Circuit, Qatar, one rider simply dominated: Casey Stoner.
The Australian Repsol Honda RC212V rider took the top times in Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, and then set the fastest time of the Qatar MotoGP week ahead of qualifying with a 1:55.035 at Free Practice 3.
Just as in FP1 and FP2, his teammate Dani Pedrosa was right behind, trailing by 0.158 of a second. In third was the final Repsol Honda rider, Andrea Dovizioso, who was 0.705 of a second behind.
The fourth and fifth positions went to the Yamaha Factory Racing teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, respectively. The reigning MotoGP Champion Lorenzo was only 0.074 of a second behind Dovizioso.
The 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Spies was the last one within a second of Stoner, 0.968 behind.
As in FP1, Hector Barbera was the highest placed Ducati, this time taking sixth fastest aboard the Mapfre Aspar Ducati GP11. Barbera posted a 1:56.266, just edging out Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards by 0.36 of a second.
Rounding out the top 10 was a trio of Ducati riders: Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi, and then the Pramac Racing Ducati riders, Randy de Puniet and Loris Capirossi, respectively.
There was a huge Turn-15, single-rider crash during FP3. The sole Suzuki rider, Alvaro Bautista, went down, breaking his left femur. The broken leg needs surgery, and pins will be installed, Rizla Suzuki reported.
Bautista will not compete in this weekend’s opening round of the 2011 MotoGP Championship, and there is no reports of when he’ll return.
2011 Qatar MotoGP Free Practice 3 Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 321.1 | 1’55.035 | Â |
| 2. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 322.8 | 1’55.193 | 0.158 / 0.158 |
| 3. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 322.7 | 1’55.740 | 0.705 / 0.547 |
| 4. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 317.6 | 1’55.814 | 0.779 / 0.074 |
| 5. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 317.4 | 1’56.003 | 0.968 / 0.189 |
| 6. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 327.5 | 1’56.266 | 1.231 / 0.263 |
| 7. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 319.6 | 1’56.302 | 1.267 / 0.036 |
| 8. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 317.9 | 1’56.306 | 1.271 / 0.004 |
| 9. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 319.2 | 1’56.362 | 1.327 / 0.056 |
| 10. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 318.2 | 1’56.434 | 1.399 / 0.072 |
| 11. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 319.3 | 1’56.437 | 1.402 / 0.003 |
| 12. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 320.0 | 1’56.517 | 1.482 / 0.080 |
| 13. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 315.5 | 1’56.540 | 1.505 / 0.023 |
| 14. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 319.1 | 1’56.586 | 1.551 / 0.046 |
| 15. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 321.1 | 1’57.275 | 2.240 / 0.689 |
| 16. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 316.0 | 1’57.601 | 2.566 / 0.326 |
| 17. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 321.3 | 1’58.123 | 3.088 / 0.522 |
