Submitted by David Emmett on
The bikes are out on track at the final test of the year at Brno, and the first times are starting to appear. The field is still a little empty, as Valentino Rossi is yet to emerge from his motorhome, while the Tech 3 Yamahas of Colin Edwards and James Toseland have been crated up ready for their journey to the next Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Randy de Puniet is giving his fractured ankle a rest.
The Hondas are out testing Ohlins suspension, in a move which could mirror their switch in World Superbikes, where the factory-backed Ten Kate team has made a similar switch to Ohlins. Now that Yamaha has sold the Swedish suspension firm back to its founder, Honda feels comfortable testing the shocks as possible replacements for the Showa units which are produced by a Honda subsidiary.
As it's still early, the times are not much to write home about, though Dani Pedrosa has already dropped into the 1'56 bracket. What is interesting is that David de Gea is circulating on the Blusens Moto2 bike, putting in some important tire testing for Dunlop. At 11am, his times would have made him the 15th fastest rider during the 250 race.
More updates as the day goes on.
Times at 11am (courtesy of GPOne.com):
Pos. | Rider | Bike | Time | Best lap | Total laps |
1 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1'56.961 | 5 | 10 |
2 | Toni Elias | Honda | 1'58.218 | 5 | 5 |
3 | Chris Vermeulen | Suzuki | 1'58.305 | 1 | 19 |
4 | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | 1'58.311 | 8 | 9 |
5 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | 1'58.326 | 5 | 13 |
6 | Marco Melandri | Hayate | 1'58.491 | 4 | 12 |
7 | Mika Kallio | Ducati | 1'58.681 | 7 | 18 |
8 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | 1'58.764 | 6 | 15 |
9 | Niccolo Canepa | Ducati | 1'59.245 | 16 | 17 |
10 | Gabor Talmacsi | Honda | 2'00.078 | 6 | 7 |
11 | Mattia Pasini | Ducati | 2'02.028 | 14 | 15 |
12 | David De Gea | BluSens Moto2 | 2'05.982 | 8 | 9 |
13 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 2'06.773 | 2 | 2 |
Fastest lap during the race:
Pos. | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Time | Diff |
1 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | YAMAHA | 1'56.670 | |
2 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | YAMAHA | 1'56.694 | 0.024 |
3 | 3 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 1'57.228 | 0.558 |
4 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | HONDA | 1'57.949 | 1.279 |
5 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | SUZUKI | 1'57.964 | 1.294 |
6 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | HONDA | 1'57.994 | 1.324 |
7 | 15 | Alex DEANGELIS | HONDA | 1'58.056 | 1.386 |
8 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | DUCATI | 1'58.105 | 1.435 |
9 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | DUCATI | 1'58.110 | 1.440 |
10 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | YAMAHA | 1'58.140 | 1.470 |
11 | 33 | Marco MELANDRI | KAWASAKI | 1'58.153 | 1.483 |
12 | 14 | Randy DEPUNIET | HONDA | 1'58.471 | 1.801 |
13 | 52 | James TOSELAND | YAMAHA | 1'58.493 | 1.823 |
14 | 7 | Chris VERMEULEN | SUZUKI | 1'58.775 | 2.105 |
15 | 88 | Niccolo CANEPA | DUCATI | 1'58.835 | 2.165 |
16 | 41 | Gabor TALMACSI | HONDA | 1'59.020 | 2.350 |
17 | 84 | Michel FABRIZIO | DUCATI | 1'59.147 | 2.477 |
Fastest lap for the top fifteen 250cc riders, for comparison with the Moto2 bike:
Pos. | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Time | Diff |
1 | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | GILERA | 2'02.330 | |
2 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | APRILIA | 2'02.426 | 0.096 |
3 | 75 | Mattia PASINI | APRILIA | 2'02.485 | 0.155 |
4 | 4 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | HONDA | 2'02.686 | 0.356 |
5 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | APRILIA | 2'02.763 | 0.433 |
6 | 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA | HONDA | 2'02.862 | 0.532 |
7 | 15 | Roberto LOCATELLI | GILERA | 2'02.912 | 0.582 |
8 | 40 | Hector BARBERA | APRILIA | 2'02.919 | 0.589 |
9 | 16 | Jules CLUZEL | APRILIA | 2'03.436 | 1.106 |
10 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | HONDA | 2'03.481 | 1.151 |
11 | 6 | Alex DEBON | APRILIA | 2'03.511 | 1.181 |
12 | 55 | Hector FAUBEL | HONDA | 2'03.568 | 1.238 |
13 | 52 | Lukas PESEK | APRILIA | 2'03.990 | 1.660 |
14 | 48 | Shoya TOMIZAWA | HONDA | 2'04.320 | 1.990 |
15 | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | HONDA | 2'06.036 | 3.706 |
Comments
Vermeulen???
Vermeulen knocks almost half a second off his best race laptime?!?! What's he playing at.....
New parts
New parts. Apparently, Suzuki have BIG changes at Brno.