MotoGP 2008

[JoaoM]

Edwards had been second fastest to Stoner on race tyres less than a week ago at Sepang, but hit the top on the opening day 'down under' after a best time of 1min 29.5secs with the aid of super-soft specification Michelins. The Texan had been left frustrated after failing to find any additional speed on qualifying tyres at Sepang, but had claimed he knew how to solve the problem - and will surely have been pleased to lap just 0.3secs behind Dani Pedrosa's pole position time at last October's grand prix.

"It was a good day,2 declared Edwards. "I started with the same setting I finished in Malaysia and played around with that for the day. The bike feels good at this track compared to what I raced with a few months ago. Yamaha has been working hard and the new parts are definitely a step in the right direction, particularly with the electronics, which has helped on corner entry and exit.

"With a qualifying tyre in Malaysia my time didn't get any better. I had a couple of handling issues with the qualifier in Sepang so once I got a good pace going I chucked a couple of qualifiers in. It is the first day but you never know what the weather is going to do down here, and it could be raining tomorrow. We wanted to make sure with the adjustments we were going to make for the qualifier that it was the right way.

"In Sepang I had too much weight on the rear. The rear was taking over and running me wide and we made a change to get more weight on the front and get it to turn a bit better. It seemed fine and I'm happy with the lap time," added Edwards, whose best race lap was a 1min 30.832secs.

Pedrosa isn't present at Phillip Island due to his fractured hand, while the factory Fiat Yamaha Team is also absent. Nevertheless, Valentino Rossi- and particularly fellow Michelin rider Jorge Lorenzo - will have been buoyed by Edwards' pace and also encouraged to see the American's rookie team-mate James Toseland(a WSBK race winner at Phillip Island) in the top five (+0.65secs Stoner).

But Stoner's 1min 30.178secs on race tyres is already 0.7secs faster than he'd recorded en route to victory in the 2007 Australian Grand Prixand the #1 will surely take some catching over the next two days. "Everything went really well today, the feeling with the bike was perfect almost straight away," said Casey. "The new Bridgestones, which had already given us positive feedback at Sepang, also worked perfectly here at Phillip Island - one of them in particular improves the bike a lot in the exit of the corners, especially in the final section of the track.

"We've also taken a step forward with some small changes to the front, which have made the bike more stable and improved grip to the point where my best time came without pushing, on a tyre that already had 17 laps on it. I'm also really happy with the latest specs of the engine and the way it is responding under acceleration coming out of the corners.

"The weather was basically perfect all day apart from when the wind picked up a little in the afternoon but the smaller fairing, which we used for the race here in October, meant that it wasn't a problem. Towards the end of the day my shoulder was a little sore because this is such a physical track, with a lot of fast corners, but it is still better than it was in Malaysia," he added.

New DucatiMarlboro team-mate Marco Melandri, who has had difficultly adjusting to the character of the Desmosedici, sealed a confidence boosting sixth (+0.7secs to Stoner) on the second factory GP8. An impressive day for the rookies was highlighted by satellite-Honda-mounted 250GP graduates Alex de Angelis (Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Team), who fired themselves towards the sharp end of the field with the third and fourth fastest lap times despite - like Toseland - having no previous 'Island MotoGPexperience.

Further back, lone factory Hondarider Nicky Haydenfinished the day in eighth position - and just over one-second from Stoner - after a huge 107 laps, while Rizla Suzuki riders Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen were once again evenly matched in ninth and tenth positions at a track where the GSV-R struggled last season. Former Suzuki rider John Hopkins edged out Kawasaki team-mate Anthony West at the #13's local track, but neither will be pleased with twelfth and 13th positions - some 1.5secs from Stoner.

Alice Team riders Sylvain Guintoli and Toni Elias rounded out the 15 rider field on their satellite Ducatis, three-seconds behind Edwards. The three-day test is being attended by the majority of teams and riders - with the notable exceptions of Fiat Yamaha and Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa (injured). Yamaha Tech 3's Colin Edwards set the day one pace with a qualifying tyre lap, while Ducati's world champion Casey Stoner was fastest on race tyres at his home circuit...


1. Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 29.566 secs
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 30.178 secs
3. Alex de Angelis RSM Honda Gresini (B) 1min 30.688 secs
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot (M) 1min 30.701 secs
5. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 30.864 secs
6. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 30.869 secs
7. Shinya Nakano JPN Honda Gresini (B) 1min 31.111 secs
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 31.226 secs
9. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 31.274 secs
10. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 31.317 secs
11. Randy de Puniet FRA Honda LCR (M) 1min 31.436 secs
12. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 31.623 secs
13. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 31.786 secs
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 32.484 secs
15. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 32.573 secs

[J.Oliveira]

Fiquei surpreso... o colin em 1º e o De Angelis em 3º? e o Toseland em 5º, as Tech 3 sem os Dunlop parece que vão-se mostrar mais:rolleyes:

[JoaoM]

Stoner show continues at Phillip Island

Casey Stoner's total race-tyre domination of his home Phillip Island test continued on Thursday, when the reigning MotoGP world champion chopped a further 0.24secs from his best lap time - despite heavy morning rain.

That improvement put the young Ducati Marlboro star almost a full second inside Valentino Rossi's fastest race lap from last October's Australian Grand Prix- which Stoner won - and kept him comfortably clear of the competition.

And that competition was led by MotoGP rookie Alex de Angelis. The San Marinese had been an impressive third fastest on day one, behind Stoner and Colin Edwards (qualifying tyre), and the Honda Gresini rider matched Stoner's rate of progress to remain half-a-second behind the #1 after day two.

A further 0.6secs back was another former 250GP star riding a satellite Honda, in the form of Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot). Due to the rain, Dovizioso - like almost all the riders behind him - lapped slower on Thursday than on day one, making the achievements of the top two even more impressive.

de Angelis' veteran team-mate Shinya Nakano took fourth position on the second Bridgestone-shod RC212V while Nicky Hayden, the only factory Honda rider present following Dani Pedrosa's Sepang injury, moved from eighth to fifth after almost exactly matching his day one pace.

The third MotoGP rookie present, Yamaha Tech 3's James Toseland, slipped from fifth to sixth on day two - 1.5secs from Stoner - but outpaced team-mate Edwards by 0.1secs and four positions.

Sandwiched between the two Yamaha YZR-M1s were Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR). Melandri had also been a whisker slower than Toseland on day one, while Capirossi improved by two places as he and team-mate Chris Vermeulen (11th fastest) continued to try and crack one of Suzuki's worst tracks.

Anthony West was the top Kawasaki in twelfth place but team-mate John Hopkins was left at the tail of the timesheets after falling - and injuring his groin - while riding in the wet. Hopkins went to hospital to get the injury checked and it remains to be seen if the Anglo-American can return for Friday's third and final day of testing.

Between the two ZX-RRs were Alice Team riders Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli, who may have been left over two-seconds from Stoner - but at least joined the Australian in improving on their day one best.

Dia 2
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 29.938 secs
2. Alex de Angelis RSM Honda Gresini (B) 1min 30.449 secs
3. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot (M) 1min 31.074 secs
4. Shinya Nakano JPN Honda Gresini (B) 1min 31.316 secs
5. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 31.373 secs
6. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 31.451 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 31.478 secs
8. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 31.545 secs
9. Randy de Puniet FRA Honda LCR (M) 1min 31.575 secs
10. Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 31.593 secs
11. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 31.774 secs
12. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 32.242 secs
13. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 32.246 secs
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 32.431 secs
15. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 42.130 secs


Melhores tempos dia 1
Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 29.566secs (Qualifying tyres)
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 30.178secs (Race tyres)

[J.Oliveira]

Sabia que o De Angelis andava bem.... mas á frente do Dovi e do Lorenzo com uma mota satélite é que me deixa de boca aberta. O stoner continua com o piloto automatico:confused:

[JoaoM]

Stoner disappears on final day

Casey Stoner continues relentless form as home Phillip Island test concludes. MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner lapped faster than any other rider in history at Phillip Island on Friday, when the Ducati Marlboro star headlined a flawless three-day test at his home circuit with a stunning qualifying-tyre time of 1min 28.777secs - almost one-second better than his nearest rival.

Although Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa weren't present, they would have been hard pressed to challenge the Australian who - having been fastest on race tyres during the first two days - also delivered a series of low 1min 30secs race-tyre laps on day three.

"We did the race simulation with one of Bridgestone's new tyres and it went really well, even though we had to come in three laps early. The track temperature today was actually higher than it was for the race here and you could tell. Even so we managed to lap consistently in low 1min 30secs and that shows how well they're working in Japan," confirmed Casey.

"I'm also really happy with the qualifying tyre, which is the same as last year," revealed Stoner, whose best lap was 0.424secs under Pedrosa's pole time at last October grand prix. "It is a good thing that bike is not completely different to 2007 because it has allowed is to find an excellent base to start the season from already.

"The new version of the engine has a better delivery, especially at the bottom end, and that has allowed me to set fast times more consistently, as well as increasing tyre life. It has been a good test session but now I'm happy to have a couple of weeks to rest and train in the gym. The shoulder feels okay, it is just a little bit weak and sore because I haven't been able to work on it as much as I would have wanted but now we can do that," he concluded.

Holding a distant runner-up position to Stoner was 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden, who finished the test much higher than he'd been on the first two days. However, Nicky has frequently proven that he and the RCV are a force to be reckoned with on Michelin qualifying tyres; it is race pace and engine performance that is the main concern.

Turning heads just 0.020secs behind Hayden was MotoGProokie James Toseland, who - riding at a track he knows well for the first time since stepping onto an M1 last November - crowned three very encouraging days with an impressive qualifying-tyre time good enough for third on the grid at the 2007 race weekend.

It was an exciting test for all the three rookies present (Jorge Lorenzo didn't attend) and JiR Scot Team's former 250cc ace Andrea Dovizioso was a mere 0.026secs slower than the double World Superbike champion - after his own MotoGP debut at the undulating seaside circuit - while Toseland's experienced team-mate Colin Edwards completed an amazingly close second-to-fifth covered by just 0.061secs.

A four-tenth gap then separated Edwards from the top Rizla Suzuki of Chris Vermeulen, the Australian finishing what was always going to be a challenging test for the GSV-R by lapping 1.4secs from Stoner. Team-mate Loris Capirossi was only 13th fastest out of the 14 riders, following John Hopkins' Thursday injury, but the Italian seemed to stick to race tyres.

Alex de Angelis couldn't continue his top-three ranking from the first two days - the San Marinese rookie being relegated to seventh after only slightly bettering his day two best - but it was nonetheless a promising performance and he still finished one place and 0.29secs ahead of Gresini Hondateam-mate Shinya Nakano.

Alice Team's Toni Elias nudged up to ninth on the final day, just ahead of HondaLCR's Randy de Puniet. The Frenchman had a 'quiet' test by his Sepang standards, but notched up more Friday laps than anyone else, totalling 115 circulations! Countryman Sylvain Guintoli was just 0.005secs behind Randy on the second satellite-spec Desmosedici GP8.

Stoner's new team-mate Marco Melandri had made a 'great start' to the test with sixth on Wednesday, but finished the test twelfth fastest on Friday and once again stuck to race tyres. Melandri competed 108 Friday laps.

Capirossi was 0.13secs behind his 2008 replacement, while the lone Kawasaki of Anthony West completed the field.

Many of the teams present at Phillip Island will not join the Fiat Yamaha Team in action next time out at Sepang from February 5-7, but instead be back on track at the following Jerez IRTA test, which takes place from February 16-18.

Hopkins and Pedrosa both hope to be fit enough to return to action at that test.

Fastest day three times:
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 28.777 secs
2. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 29.734 secs
3. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 29.754 secs
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot (M) 1min 29.780 secs
5. Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 29.795 secs
6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 30.216 secs
7. Alex de Angelis RSM Honda Gresini (B) 1min 30.438 secs
8. Shinya Nakano JPN Honda Gresini (B) 1min 30.728 secs
9. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 30.966 secs
10. Randy de Puniet FRA Honda LCR (M) 1min 30.978 secs
11. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 30.983 secs
12. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 31.377 secs
13. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 31.508 secs
14. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 31.957 secs

Fastest day two time:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 29.938secs (Race tyres)

Fastest day one times:
Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 1min 29.566secs (Qualifying tyres)
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 30.178secs (Race tyres)