Submitted by David Emmett on
Dani Pedrosa led the third session of free practice at Jerez for the MotoGP class, the Repsol Honda rider showing promise at a track he has been so strong at throughout his career. Pedrosa took top slot towards the end of the session, deposing Jorge Lorenzo and pushing the Movistar Yamaha rider down into 2nd. Marc Marquez follows in third, while Valentino Rossi is fourth, though less than a third of a second separates Pedrosa from Rossi.
The name in 5th is a surprise. The reports that Edwards' team boss Giovanni Cuzari was to talk to Edwards about early retirement have fired the Texan up, Edwards posting several fast laps to end the session in 5th, first Open bike, and ahead of his teammate Aleix Espargaro. Stefan Bradl sits between the two Forward Yamahas, while Andrea Dovizioso is in 8th on the factory Ducati, ahead of the Tech 3 Yamahas of Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith.
Results:
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'38.769 | ||
| 2 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | 1'38.918 | 0.149 | 0.149 |
| 3 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1'39.007 | 0.238 | 0.089 |
| 4 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'39.094 | 0.325 | 0.087 |
| 5 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | Forward Yamaha | 1'39.200 | 0.431 | 0.106 |
| 6 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 1'39.238 | 0.469 | 0.038 |
| 7 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Forward Yamaha | 1'39.267 | 0.498 | 0.029 |
| 8 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1'39.439 | 0.670 | 0.172 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | 1'39.530 | 0.761 | 0.091 |
| 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | 1'39.561 | 0.792 | 0.031 |
| To Q1 | ||||||
| 11 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | 1'39.597 | 0.828 | 0.036 |
| 12 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati | 1'39.694 | 0.925 | 0.097 |
| 13 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 1'39.765 | 0.996 | 0.071 |
| 14 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Honda | 1'39.823 | 1.054 | 0.058 |
| 15 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | 1'39.859 | 1.090 | 0.036 |
| 16 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Ducati | 1'39.960 | 1.191 | 0.101 |
| 17 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | Honda | 1'40.048 | 1.279 | 0.088 |
| 18 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Avintia | 1'40.239 | 1.470 | 0.191 |
| 19 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Honda | 1'40.535 | 1.766 | 0.296 |
| 20 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Honda | 1'40.634 | 1.865 | 0.099 |
| 21 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | Avintia | 1'41.581 | 2.812 | 0.947 |
| 22 | 23 | Broc PARKES | PBM | 1'41.942 | 3.173 | 0.361 |
| 23 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ART | 1'41.971 | 3.202 | 0.029 |
| 24 | 70 | Michael LAVERTY | PBM | 1'42.776 | 4.007 | 0.805 |
Comments
Big Salute to Colin Edwards!
Big Salute to Colin Edwards! (Y) at his current situation (you know what), how he managed to get the speed??? I like AE too but this is just as Awesome, hope he continue to do so, Go Colin!!
Texans
Well if that wasn't the biggest middle finger I've ever seen......:)
Edwards to Cuzari... "Kiss my @1:39.2$$"
LOL, it would appear that Colin is fired up right proper! And I'll bet that Giovanni Cuzari is grinning too, now that his rider is fully motivated.
Watching FP3 at Jerez brought to mind the saying "flying jets in a gymnasium" compared to the open, flowing track in Argentina. Very intense, very physical, not a moment to rest. This track must be tough on Crutchlow's sore right hand.
Cuzari must be gutted. He's
Cuzari must be gutted. He's had to 'allegedly' threaten to sack Edwards to get him to put some effort in...piss poor Of course it sheds new light on Espagaro's performances as well. Yesterday coming out of the final corner behind Dani the Forward lost zero ground into the first corner. It's a very good motorcycle..
At the same time, P5 sorta
At the same time, P5 sorta proves Cuzari's point - that CE3 has not been riding at the level he's capable of. Colin's been slacking, and - I hate to say it - deserves to be called out.
Hopefully, CE's newfound motivation and confidence will persist!
I don't think that Colin's been slacking at all...
Edwards has merely been waiting for a bike that he feels comfortable on. I'm sure the recent coverage in the press about being asked to step down has simply pissed him off and he went out and rode in anger to show that he can still get around the track with the best of them. Does that mean Colin should ride that way all the time? Not in my opinion, especially as he himself has announced his retirement at the end of the year. That said, I'm glad that Edwards went out and showed what he's still capable of, even if even that isn't enough to silence his nay-sayers, who will complain no matter what he does on the bike. I never doubted Colin's ability, it's just been a matter of making him comfortable on the bike, or, in this case, pissed off!