2011 MotoGP
At the previous two MotoGP rounds and Misano and Indy, Dani Pedrosa finished on the podium, the Spaniard placing his RC212V second both times.
Searching for a third win in the 2011 MotoGP Championship, Pedrosa began his home race at Aragon Motorland in top form, taking the quickest time in the first free practice session Friday.
The Spaniard posted a best lap of 1:50.281, which became the new fastest lap at the 3.155-mile circuit; Pedrosa also holds the circuit lap record, a 1:49.521 that he posted last season during the debut year of the track.
Just under a half-second behind was Pedrosa’s fellow countryman Jorge Lorenzo; the Yamaha Factory Racing rider piloted his M1 to a 1:50.730 within the final laps of the 45-minute of the first free practice session.
Taking the third quickest time was last year’s Aragon winner and the current MotoGP points leader, Pedrosa’s teammate Casey Stoner. The Australian was 0.525 behind Pedrosa.
Taking the fourth and fifth FP1 MotoGP times at Aragon were San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli followed by his rival, the third Respol Honda man Andrea Dovizioso.
As for Valentino Rossi, the Italian used a new aluminum chassis, which replaces the current carbon-fiber chassis on his Ducati GP11.1. Rossi ran off the Aragon MotoGP circuit twice, but ended FP1 in eighth place.
The 17-rider MotoGP grid will be back on Aragon later for the second and final-Friday session.
2011 Aragon MotoGP: Free Practice 1 Results
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 322.3 | 1’50.281 | |
| 2. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 317.8 | 1’50.730 | 0.449 / 0.449 |
| 3. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 319.6 | 1’50.806 | 0.525 / 0.076 |
| 4. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 314.4 | 1’50.893 | 0.612 / 0.087 |
| 5. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 318.4 | 1’51.091 | 0.810 / 0.198 |
| 6. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 315.6 | 1’51.376 | 1.095 / 0.285 |
| 7. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 318.1 | 1’51.418 | 1.137 / 0.042 |
| 8. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 319.0 | 1’51.676 | 1.395 / 0.258 |
| 9. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 313.5 | 1’51.826 | 1.545 / 0.150 |
| 10. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 314.4 | 1’51.859 | 1.578 / 0.033 |
| 11. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 313.6 | 1’51.911 | 1.630 / 0.052 |
| 12. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 321.0 | 1’52.016 | 1.735 / 0.105 |
| 13. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 317.4 | 1’52.224 | 1.943 / 0.208 |
| 14. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 312.9 | 1’52.580 | 2.299 / 0.356 |
| 15. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 312.3 | 1’53.158 | 2.877 / 0.578 |
| 16. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 316.8 | 1’53.440 | 3.159 / 0.282 |
| 17. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 316.6 | 1’53.842 | 3.561 / 0.402 |
