2011 MotoGP
After posting the second fastest time on Friday, Casey Stoner returned to his usual top spot Saturday, topping the time sheets in the third and final free practice at Brno for the Czech Republic GP, Round 11 of the 2011 MotoGP Championship.
Rain plagued most of the session, and during the wet period Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was in the lead. But when the sun came out during the final five minutes of FP3, Stoner posted a 2:07.321, edging out Lorenzo for the top time by a mere 0.005 of a second. These times were obviously much slower than Friday’s practice times, when Dani Pedrosa dominated, posting the quickest of a 1:56.328.
As he usually does in the wet, Valentino Rossi found a proper setup aboard the Ducati GP11.1, taking the third FP3 fastest time on Saturday. Rossi’s fastest time on Friday was seventh, as he continued to struggle getting traction on the Ducati.
Pedrosa followed Rossi in fourth, with Nicky Hayden fifth fastest. This was a vast improvement for the American MotoGP pilot, who struggled with rear grip on the GP11 in Friday sessions, only able to post a 14th fastest time.
As for crashes, Stoner had one in the beginning of the wet session, but walked away unharmed.
The America Wildcard Rizla Suzuki rider, John Hopkins, also had a crash, but didn’t walk away unharmed. Hopkins wercked in turn 3 just 15 minutes into the FP3 session. He was transfered to the Clinica Mobile and diagnosed with a fractured finger. He will not be participating in the Brno MotoGP, making for a usual 17-rider field.
2011 Brno 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 | 289.9 | 2’07.321 | |
2. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 287.8 | 2’07.326 | 0.005 / 0.005 |
3. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 284.4 | 2’07.443 | 0.122 / 0.117 |
4. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 286.9 | 2’07.652 | 0.331 / 0.209 |
5. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 283.6 | 2’07.695 | 0.374 / 0.043 |
6. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 289.3 | 2’07.743 | 0.422 / 0.048 |
7. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 286.5 | 2’07.806 | 0.485 / 0.063 |
8. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 288.1 | 2’07.877 | 0.556 / 0.071 |
9. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 284.9 | 2’07.944 | 0.623 / 0.067 |
10. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 283.7 | 2’08.089 | 0.768 / 0.145 |
11. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 283.5 | 2’08.460 | 1.139 / 0.371 |
12. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 282.1 | 2’08.516 | 1.195 / 0.056 |
13. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 284.0 | 2’08.644 | 1.323 / 0.128 |
14. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 280.2 | 2’08.881 | 1.560 / 0.237 |
15. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 284.6 | 2’08.936 | 1.615 / 0.055 |
16. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 281.7 | 2’08.985 | 1.664 / 0.049 |
17. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 285.4 | 2’10.046 | 2.725 / 1.061 |
18. | 21 | John HOPKINS | USA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 280.5 | 2’13.479 | 6.158 / 3.433 |