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Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi got his pre-season off to the best possible start today, finishing fastest on the first day of testing in Sepang. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate and last season’s runner-up Jorge Lorenzo also made a strong start, ending the day in fifth.
Both riders concentrated on completing as many laps as possible on the latest evolution of the 2010 YZR-M1 and, with the weather staying dry until just a few minutes before the end of the session, it was a productive day all round. Rossi led the way and was one of four riders to dip under the existing lap record. His time of 2’01.411, set this morning on his 15th of 54 laps, was half a second quicker than second-placed Casey Stoner.
Lorenzo found it a little harder to get back into the swing of things and took it gently this morning, but he felt much more comfortable on the new M1 this afternoon and gradually began to improve his time, setting his best time of 2’02.165 on the penultimate lap of the day, leaving him in fifth.
MOTOGP SEPANG TEST DAY 1 RIDERS FASTEST LAP TIMES
1. Rossi (Yamaha) 2:01.411 (54 laps)
2. Stoner (Ducati) 2:01.902 (42)
3. Edwards (Yamaha) 2:01.932 (48)
4. Capirossi (Suzuki) 2:02.102 (58)
5. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2:02.165 (57)
6. Dovizioso (Honda) 2:02.630 (51)
7. Hayden (Ducati) 2:02.792 (59)
8. Pedrosa (Honda) 2:02.866 (52)
9. Kallio (Pramac Racing – Ducati) 2:02.987 (70)
10. Barbera (Ducati) 2:03.030 (59)
11. Espargaro (Pramac Racing – Ducati) 2:03.133 (54)
12. Spies (Yamaha) 2:03.142 (55)
13. De Puniet (Honda) 2:03.456 (62)
14. Bautista (Suzuki) 2:03.558 (51)
15. Simoncelli (Honda) 2:03.563 (54)
16. Melandri (Honda) 2:03.609 (28)
17. Aoyama (Honda) 2:03.651 (66)
