Even if track and weather conditions were far from perfect on the final night of testing at the Losail circuit in Qatar, it was again Ducati rider Casey Stoner who topped the charts with a stunning 1′55.
744 lap and ended the test 0.
989s clear of Jorge Lorenzo and 1.
228s faster than rival Valentino Rossi.
Rider Quotes:Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) Position: 1st 1’55.
744 Laps: 31“I’m obviously very happy with the lap time and the rhythm we put together today although I would have liked to have been able to get a few more laps in and test some more stuff.
We knew the track conditions would get worse at around ten o’clock and that proved to be the case.
The crash was on the way into turn 2 and it was very similar to the one here last year – practically from an upright position.
I got straight back on the other bike but with such an unpredictable track we decided to finish an hour early because the conditions were only getting worse.
We still managed to try a few things with the electronics – some of them good and some not so good and we confirmed the good feeling I had yesterday with the new swingarm, although we still need more time to work on it and that’s what we’ll be doing at Jerez.
The wrist has responded quite well – it’s not as painful as it was at Sepang even though the mobility still hasn’t improved much.
We’ll have to see how at feels at circuits with harder braking and more left-hand corners, which is where I struggle the most.
”Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) Position: 5th 1’57.
225 Laps: 53 “That was definitely a good day and we’ve made plenty of progress so I’m really pleased.
I was thinking this morning that this would be the right time to take a step forward because we’ve only got two more days of testing before the season started so it’s obviously very satisfying to have done that.
There is still plenty to do but my team has worked well and now we have a lot of information to work on.
I got a good feel for the new swingarm straight away but we still have work to do and we need to make more comparisons with the previous version before drawing definite conclusions.
I would have liked to have done more laps but after ten o’clock the conditions were on the limit, to the point that there were a few guys crashing and running straight, so we decided not to take any risks.
I also did a practice start today and a test at switching bikes quickly in case of a race interrupted by rain.
”Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) Position: 4th 1’57.
224 Laps: 70“It has been quite a tough test with the difficult conditions we have encountered.
We’ve had rain, wind and even a sandstorm.
Day two started off well, but I lost a bit of track time when I slipped off.
Today was the first time that we were able to do a long run and we found some issues that we were able to change so that was good.
I’m quite happy with the test and the progress we have made so far this year; I am now looking forward to going to Jerez for the last test and then getting back here to start racing next month.
” Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) Position: 6th 1’57.
253 Laps: 42“I am quite happy with the test because the bike is much better than last year and we are a lot more competitive.
We still have a couple of days more to test and I am sure that by the time we get back here to Qatar we will be right on the pace.
I had a couple of crashes today, but I am ok and still very strong.
I think things are looking good at the moment and I am really pleased with the first two tests of 2009 and the improvement of the GSV-R by the factory.
”Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing Rider) Position: 12th 1’57.
938 Laps: 54“Today it went a bit better compared to yesterday even if the feeling with the front part of the bike wasn’t the best.
I couldn’t find the right confidence to push even more.
I am convinced that when we will come back here for the first race of the season we will do much better.
The track conditions should be much warmer and this should facilitate our work.
” Niccolò Canepa (Pramac Racing) Position: 13th 1’57.
946 Laps: 50“Like yesterday we have chosen to don’t step on the track in the last couple of hours because it was getting too cold.
Some of the riders made it to improve their best lap times in the latest minutes overtaking us in the classification.
But this doesn’t matter today.
I am satisfied by the work done even if today I made a small mistake and I slipped.
Luckily nothing serious happened.
We will now go back home trustful and with high morale, surely much happier than at the end of the Sepang Test.
”Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) Position: 3rd 1′56.
972 Laps: 75 “In the early part of the evening we were fast enough but later on, when it became much colder and the grip went down, we suffered quite a bit.
I started a long run but in fact I was getting slower and slower, so we didn’t finish and concentrated on trying some different things with the setting instead.
Our position is not so bad; we’re third, close to Lorenzo.
Stoner is very fast but I am not too worried because we have a good idea about our path for the race and I think that in one month, when it is hopefully a few degrees warmer, we will be okay.
This is not a great track for me or for the bike and the target for the race will be to be to be better than last year! Next we go to Jerez for the final test and I am expecting to be strong there.
” Jorge Lorenzo (Fiati Yamaha) Position: 2nd 1′56.
733 Laps: 82 “I am so happy tonight because this session has been much, much better for us.
The long run was especially good but in fact the whole evening has been an improvement, so I am very pleased about the job we have done.
We’ve tried some different settings, which have helped, but mainly I have adapted and found a way to be comfortable, which means I can ride faster.
I have a much better feeling with the Bridgestone tyres and I was able to be very consistent throughout the long run and keep a good rhythm.
Everyone has worked really hard to make this step and I am happy to finish this test on a good note.
Now I am looking forward to the race!”Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda MotoGP) Position : 7th 1’57.
401 Laps: 77“All in all I’m satisfied of these 3 days of testing.
We made an important step forward compared to Sepang.
This evening I had a better feeling on the bike, my riding style adapted more to the machine and I understood how to use the Bridgestone front tyre at its best, especially entering the turns.
Stoner is incredible fast so we need to work hard.
” Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) Position: 8th 1’ 57.
449s Laps: 74“All in all I’m quite satisfied with these three days of testing because we have learned a lot.
Today’s session didn’t go exactly according to plan because after an hour we started to get some chatter, which complicated the session and meant we had to adapt our plan for the day.
I was able to do a longer run of 15 laps which showed that we still need to make some machine adjustments to suit the Bridgestone tyres.
For this circuit specifically we need to improve the grip entering the turns, and in general find a smoother power delivery.
There is still quite a lot of work to do, but I’m still pleased because we learned a lot about the bike at this test.
” Alex De Angelis ( San Carlo Honda Gresini) Position: 10th 1’ 57.
591 Laps: 61“Today the track conditions were better but we couldn’t improve as we expected.
We suffered from rear chattering so we worked on adapting the machine to Bridgestone tyres.
At the end we improved a bit.
All in all I’m quite happy with this test session, the bike is fast but we need to work to improve the traction in order to use all the potential of the bike.
” Toni Elias ( San Carlo Honda Gresini) Position : 11th 1’57.
804 Laps: 66“We continued working on the geometry of the bike and suspension trying to improve my feeling with the rear.
We tested some radical solutions but we didn’t get the results we expected.
My feeling is that we need more traction and also with more rear tyre contact on the asphalt.
” Yuki Takahashi ( Scot Racing Team) Position: 14th 1’58.
412 Laps: 61“I’m still studying the bike set up but lap by lap my feeling is improving and we make a progress.
Today I started to push a little bit and had a small crash but I continued on my second bike.
I’m still learning but I’m confident and really looking forward to testing at Jerez.
” Dani Pedrosa did not test due to wrist and knee injuries sustained in a crash at turn 10 during testing yesterday.
Final Day Test Times:1.
Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’55.
7442.
Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’56.
7333.
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’56.
9724.
Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1’57.
2245.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1’57.
2256.
Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 1’57.
2537.
Randy De Puniet (Honda) 1’57.
401 77 laps8 Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1’57.
449 74 laps9.
Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’57.
51510.
Alex De Angelis (Honda) 1’57.
591 61 laps11.
Toni Elias (Honda) 1’57.
804 66 laps12.
Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1’57.
93813.
Niccolò Canepa (Ducati) 1’57.
94614.
Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 1’58.
412 6115.
James Toseland (Yamaha) 1’58.
78616.
Marco Melandri (Hayate) 1’58.
851