MotoGP: Pedrosa in Top Form at Brno FP2
2011 MotoGP
Just as he did in the opening practice session (FP1) at Brno, Round 11 of the 2011 MotoGP Championship, Dani Pedrosa continued to set the pace in Free Practice 2.
Although he didn’t match his blistering lap time in FP1 (1:56.328), the Spaniard Pedrosa was in top form in FP2, lapping Brno at 1:56.454.
As Pedrosa stayed on top, one of the riders who made the most improvements from FP1 to FP2 was the current points leader, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner. The Australian bettered his Brno-FP1 time by almost a half of second in FP2, posting a 1:56.831.
With his time, which was 0.377 of a second slower than Pedrosa, Stoner became the only other rider to break the 1:57 mark.
Only two other riders were able to post within a second of Pedrosa – San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli (1:57.136) and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo (1:57.174).
Fifth and sixth fastest were Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso and the American Ben Spies aboard the other factory Yamaha YZR-M1.
The seventh fastest rider that improved upon his FP1 performance by over a second was Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi; the Italian posted a 1:57.745, bringing him 1.291 of a second behind Pedrosa.
Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista was eighth fastest, followed by Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow and Wildcard entry John Hopkins, the American on the other Suzuki GSVR for Brno MotoGP.
The Czech Grand Prix action continues Saturday with the third and final free-practice session ahead of qualifying for Round 11 of 18 in the 2011 MotoGP Championship.
2011 Brno MotoGP: Free Practice 2 Results
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 301.0 | 1’56.454 | |
| 2. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 299.3 | 1’56.831 | 0.377 / 0.377 |
| 3. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 295.6 | 1’57.136 | 0.682 / 0.305 |
| 4. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 296.3 | 1’57.174 | 0.720 / 0.038 |
| 5. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 297.5 | 1’57.535 | 1.081 / 0.361 |
| 6. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 290.6 | 1’57.631 | 1.177 / 0.096 |
| 7. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 296.0 | 1’57.745 | 1.291 / 0.114 |
| 8. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 295.6 | 1’57.857 | 1.403 / 0.112 |
| 9. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 293.2 | 1’57.859 | 1.405 / 0.002 |
| 10. | 21 | John HOPKINS | USA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 294.5 | 1’57.880 | 1.426 / 0.021 |
| 11. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 297.9 | 1’58.120 | 1.666 / 0.240 |
| 12. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 294.0 | 1’58.313 | 1.859 / 0.193 |
| 13. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 292.9 | 1’58.454 | 2.000 / 0.141 |
| 14. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 292.3 | 1’58.568 | 2.114 / 0.114 |
| 15. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 294.8 | 1’58.573 | 2.119 / 0.005 |
| 16. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 300.4 | 1’58.607 | 2.153 / 0.034 |
| 17. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 293.4 | 1’58.999 | 2.545 / 0.392 |
| 18. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 296.8 | 1’59.157 | 2.703 / 0.158 |
