2011 France GP
The Honda RC212V continued its domination during the third and final free practice session for the 2011 Le Mans MotoGP race this weekend.
And leading the pack once again was the Australian Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda, although his Saturday morning FP3 time slowed a tenth of a second from Friday to 1:33.815. Through all three Free Practice sessions, Stoner continually broke the 2008 circuit record set by Valentino Rossi in 2008.
Second was San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli, who stalked Stoner 0.260 of a second behind. Taking the third and fourth quickest times were Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, respectively.
Honda MotoGP machines have been fast at Le Mans since the start of the 800cc era, taking podium positions every year since 2007: former MotoGP rider Marco Melandri took second in 2007, Pedrosa third in 2009, and Dovizioso third in 2010.
Taking the fifth fastest time was the American Nicky Hayden on the Ducati Team MotoGP machine, followed by the reigning MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo. The Yamaha Facotry Racing rider Lorenzo has won at Le Mans for the past two seasons.
Valentino Rossi bettered his ninth-fastest overall time on Friday to sixth fastest; the Ducati Team rider Rossi has been on the podium seven times at Le Mans, including three wins.
Next up is qualifying for France MotoGP.
2011 Le Mans 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 | 287.8 | 1’33.815 | |
| 2. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 277.3 | 1’34.075 | 0.260 / 0.260 |
| 3. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 285.6 | 1’34.244 | 0.429 / 0.169 |
| 4. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 273.8 | 1’34.545 | 0.730 / 0.301 |
| 5. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 277.8 | 1’34.954 | 1.139 / 0.409 |
| 6. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 279.3 | 1’35.051 | 1.236 / 0.097 |
| 7. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 286.1 | 1’35.280 | 1.465 / 0.229 |
| 8. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 274.5 | 1’35.281 | 1.466 / 0.001 |
| 9. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 284.0 | 1’35.302 | 1.487 / 0.021 |
| 10. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 288.8 | 1’35.442 | 1.627 / 0.140 |
| 11. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 286.9 | 1’35.645 | 1.830 / 0.203 |
| 12. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 285.0 | 1’35.799 | 1.984 / 0.154 |
| 13. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 276.1 | 1’35.979 | 2.164 / 0.180 |
| 14. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 278.3 | 1’36.091 | 2.276 / 0.112 |
| 15. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 275.8 | 1’36.268 | 2.453 / 0.177 |
| 16. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 273.1 | 1’36.370 | 2.555 / 0.102 |
| 17. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 277.7 | 1’36.467 | 2.652 / 0.097 |
