2011 MotoGP
Just like the Silverstone MotoGP race, the grid experienced a soaked track for the first free practice session at TT Assen Thursday.
And in the wet, nobody could catch San Carlo Gresini Honda’s Marco Simoncelli and Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi.
The Italians Simoncelli and Rossi swapped the lead time throughout FP1, but it was Simoncelli who took the top time. He would lap the Dutch circutit 0.360 of a second ahead or Valentino Rossi, who is competing on the Ducati Team GP11.1, an updated version of his prototype.
Taking the third quickest time at FP1 in Assen was the series leader, Respol Honda’s Casey Stoner. Stoner, who will be chasing his fifth win of the 2011 MotoGP Championship this Saturday, was 0.131 of a second behind Valentino Rossi.
Rounding out the top five fastest times were Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso and the reigning MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo on the Yamaha Factory Racing M1. Cal Cructhlow, who broke his collarbone two weeks ago at the wet Silverstone race, only competed 13 laps, but was sixth fastest.
The other big news for Assen MotoGP was Hiroshi Aoyama substituting for the recovering Dani Pedrosa, who broke his shoulder in Le Mans; Aoyama was 12th fastest on the Repsol Honda Rc212V.
Riders will be back on the Assen TT circuit this afternoon for FP2, and FP3 and qualifying on Friday. Untypical of normal MotoGP, the race will occur this Saturday instead of Sunday.
2011 Assen MotoGP: Free Practice 1 Results
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 259.9 | 1’49.036 | |
| 2. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 262.0 | 1’49.396 | 0.360 / 0.360 |
| 3. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 279.3 | 1’49.527 | 0.491 / 0.131 |
| 4. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 264.3 | 1’49.640 | 0.604 / 0.113 |
| 5. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 252.4 | 1’49.995 | 0.959 / 0.355 |
| 6. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 277.6 | 1’50.386 | 1.350 / 0.391 |
| 7. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 269.1 | 1’50.413 | 1.377 / 0.027 |
| 8. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 245.7 | 1’50.968 | 1.932 / 0.555 |
| 9. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 258.4 | 1’51.277 | 2.241 / 0.309 |
| 10. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 260.4 | 1’51.590 | 2.554 / 0.313 |
| 11. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 244.5 | 1’52.646 | 3.610 / 1.056 |
| 12. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 249.3 | 1’53.132 | 4.096 / 0.486 |
| 13. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 249.6 | 1’53.164 | 4.128 / 0.032 |
| 14. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 253.5 | 1’53.323 | 4.287 / 0.159 |
| 15. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 247.1 | 1’53.348 | 4.312 / 0.025 |
| 16. | 64 | Kousuke AKIYOSHI | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 243.1 | 1’53.353 | 4.317 / 0.005 |
| 17. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 250.1 | 1’53.562 | 4.526 / 0.209 |
