2011 MotoGP
Casey Stoner kicked off the 2011 Red Bull USGP round in top form during Free Practice 1 Friday after piloting his Repsol Honda to a 1:22.300 around the shortest circuit on the MotoGP circuit, Laguna Seca.
Stoner’s time was a second slower than the Laguna Seca circuit record that the Australian set in the 2010 MotoGP Championship (1:21.376).
But a mere 0.102 of a second behind Stoner was his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, who arrives in Laguna after taking his second win of the MotoGP season in Germany last weekend (first win was Jerez).
And only 0.018 of a second behind Pedrosa was the reigning MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider was victorious last year at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
As these top three riders were in close proximity while they lapped the 2.241-mile circuit, Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies was 0.506 of a second behind Stoner. The hightest-placed American in FP1 was followed closely by Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, who was 0.611 of a second behind Stoner.
San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli was sixth fastest, followed by Ducati Team’s Niky Hayden, who was the last rider to post within a second of Stoner.
Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards was seventh fastest, followed by nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi aboard the Ducati Team GP11.1.
As for Wildcard rider Ben Bostrom, the LCR Honda rider was 18th fastest, 4.986 seconds behind Stoner.
The riders will be back on Laguna for the second and final free practice session of the day at 2:10 p.m. PDT.
2011 Laguna Seca MotoGP: Free Practice 1 Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 262.7 | 1’22.300 | |
| 2. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 260.3 | 1’22.402 | 0.102 / 0.102 |
| 3. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 261.2 | 1’22.420 | 0.120 / 0.018 |
| 4. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 259.8 | 1’22.806 | 0.506 / 0.386 |
| 5. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 260.6 | 1’22.911 | 0.611 / 0.105 |
| 6. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 256.0 | 1’23.210 | 0.910 / 0.299 |
| 7. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 260.7 | 1’23.297 | 0.997 / 0.087 |
| 8. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 259.0 | 1’23.459 | 1.159 / 0.162 |
| 9. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 259.7 | 1’23.467 | 1.167 / 0.008 |
| 10. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 257.9 | 1’23.529 | 1.229 / 0.062 |
| 11. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 257.6 | 1’23.596 | 1.296 / 0.067 |
| 12. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 247.2 | 1’23.807 | 1.507 / 0.211 |
| 13. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 252.3 | 1’24.018 | 1.718 / 0.211 |
| 14. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 257.8 | 1’24.324 | 2.024 / 0.306 |
| 15. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 255.3 | 1’24.566 | 2.266 / 0.242 |
| 16. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 248.3 | 1’24.682 | 2.382 / 0.116 |
| 17. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 237.2 | 1’25.325 | 3.025 / 0.643 |
| 18. | 23 | Ben BOSTROM | USA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 250.8 | 1’27.286 | 4.986 / 1.961 |
