At the desert circuit of Losail in Qatar the first evening practice of the MotoGP night test that was interrupted by a rare rainstorm and red flagged.
The heavy rain drove the riders off track and back into the shelter of their garages.
Almost half the MotoGP field had not left their garages before the rain arrived, with Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, Loris Capirossi not featuring in the early running.
A group of rider representatives, including Stoner and Rossi, convened with the circuit officials to discuss the state of the track not only because of the rain but also because of the sand that had blown onto the surface beforehand.
Marco Melandri was the first out of his pit-box, notching up eight early laps on his Hayate/Kawasaki ZX-RR before the rainstorm and then went on to complete 35 laps, more than any other rider.
Rider Quotes:James Toseland, Tech3 Yamaha: 9th – 2′03.
417 Laps: 6 “The track is quite dirty but it is the sand on the track from the wind that is causing a problem for the tyres.
The rain doesn’t help either because it is just brings more dirt with it as it falls.
” Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha :14th – 12′31.
872 Laps: 1 “Five minutes of rain really gave us a lot of problems today.
First we waited and then finally we decided to abandon it.
I hope tomorrow it’s back to normal because this was our worst race last year and we need the time to see where we are and continue to improve with our new package.
” Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha: 13th – 2′24.
832 Laps: 1 “I went out and on the third lap it started to rain – I couldn’t believe it! It seems strange to have rain in the desert and it’s been a nightmare for the team because we have lost a whole day.
I hope it’s better tomorrow because I really want to try the new electronic system and also I need to keep working to improve with the Bridgestone tyres.
”Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team: 1st – 2′00.
717 Laps: 29“I haven’t seen rain in Qatar in all my life and I never thought I would! But today we’d barely got the bike on track and it started to come down.
We had to spend a long time in the garage because even though a part of the track had dried out there was a section that stayed damp for a while.
The track conditions were tricky and there wasn’t much feedback, which meant we couldn’t do the work we had planned.
We’ve got a few different things to try so hopefully the weather is better tomorrow so we can get some work done.
”Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing 3rd – 2′01.
020 – Laps :27“I don’t want to be too enthusiastic about this third best lap time, but I can consider myself pretty satisfied for the work done today, I hope to find the track completely clean tomorrow to understand our true potential.
I had really good sensation with the bike.
The objective for the next two days it will be to try to remain in the top part of the classification.
”Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing: 5th – 2′01.
328 – Laps: 26“This was the first time for me on this track under this impressive floodlights system.
It was beautiful, a pity that the rain has limited our work,” said Canepa.
“I am anyway satisfied thanks to the good lap time registered.
I need to ride for as many laps as possible and I hope that in the next two days we will find optimal weather condition.
It has been a good start for me, surely better compared to the last test in Malaysia.
”Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 10th.
2′03.
580s – Laps: 14 “I can go to sleep with a good feeling.
In fact I was not happy when I left Sepang because I hadn’t found the right position on the bike.
This evening we only did 18 laps because of the rain, but they were enough for finding a good position on the bike, so I’m confident for tomorrow.
” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 4th.
2′ 01.
074s – Laps: 15“I only did 2 exits this evening but the track conditions were not good and the tyres were spoiled after five laps.
Anyway, it was important to get the feeling again and be ready for tomorrow.
” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team Honda: 7th.
2′ 03.
221s – Laps:18 “We started with the same setting we had in Malaysia to check the feeling and see the differences but unfortunately the track conditions were not good.
The track had no grip and I didn’t want to push too much, it was better not to risk for the first day with these conditions.
” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 8th.
2′ 03.
233s – Laps: 15 “It was a strange day: finding rain conditions in the desert is very unusual.
It was a pity.
We only did a few laps even if the track conditions were not good, but I wanted to gather some data and be ready for tomorrow.
This is a demanding track, with long turns and it is important to test here, especially in preparation of the championship and the first race.
” Toni Elias, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th.
2′08.
637s – Laps: 3 “We decided not to test because the track was dirty, so we decided to spare the tyres for tomorrow.
We hope tomorrow it will be fine and we can use the whole session at its best.
” Sete Gibernau (Guinea Ecuatorial Team) is absent due to a shoulder injury.
MotoGP Official Night Test at Qatar – Day One1.
Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team – 2′00.
717 (29 laps)2.
Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team – 2′00.
867 (31)3.
Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing – 2′01.
020 (27)4.
Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini – 2′01.
074 (15)5.
Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing – 2′01.
328 (21)6.
Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP – 2′01.
843 (5)7.
Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team – 2′03.
221 (18 )8.
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda – 2′03.
233 (15)9.
James Toseland, Tech3 Yamaha – 2′03.
417 (6)10.
Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP – 2′03.
580 (14)11.
Colin Edwards, Tech3 Yamaha – 2′03.
652 (5)12.
Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini – 2′08.
637 (3)13.
Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team – 2′24.
832 (1)14.
Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team N/A (0)15.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda N/A (0)16.
Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team N/A (0)17.
Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP N/A (0)