Submitted by David Emmett on
Jorge Lorenzo has started the Catalunya Grand Prix in inimitable and indomitable style, setting the fastest lap of the first session of free practice for the MotoGP class in a long string of punishingly fast laps. Marlboro Ducati's Casey Stoner is not far off the Fiat Yamaha man's pace, while Dani Pedrosa leads Repsol Honda teammate Andrea Dovizioso in 3rd and 4th, and nothing to choose between them.
Behind the usual suspects in the top 4, Ben Spies really picked up the pace in the final minutes of the session, dropping his lap time by over 1.3 seconds to end the day in 5th, and just under six tenths off the pace of Lorenzo, an impressive feat at a track he is visiting for the first time. Spies finished ahead of Pramac Ducati's Aleix Espargaro.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Diff Previous |
| 1 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | YAMAHA | 1'43.259 | ||
| 2 | 27 | Casey STONER | DUCATI | 1'43.412 | 0.153 | 0.153 |
| 3 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 1'43.631 | 0.372 | 0.219 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | HONDA | 1'43.725 | 0.466 | 0.094 |
| 5 | 11 | Ben SPIES | YAMAHA | 1'43.854 | 0.595 | 0.129 |
| 6 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | DUCATI | 1'44.136 | 0.877 | 0.282 |
| 7 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | HONDA | 1'44.196 | 0.937 | 0.060 |
| 8 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | DUCATI | 1'44.440 | 1.181 | 0.244 |
| 9 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | YAMAHA | 1'44.551 | 1.292 | 0.111 |
| 10 | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | HONDA | 1'44.634 | 1.375 | 0.083 |
| 11 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | SUZUKI | 1'44.641 | 1.382 | 0.007 |
| 12 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SUZUKI | 1'44.692 | 1.433 | 0.051 |
| 13 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | DUCATI | 1'44.745 | 1.486 | 0.053 |
| 14 | 33 | Marco MELANDRI | HONDA | 1'44.806 | 1.547 | 0.061 |
| 15 | 40 | Hector BARBERA | DUCATI | 1'45.004 | 1.745 | 0.198 |
| 16 | 64 | Kousuke AKIYOSHI | HONDA | 1'47.757 | 4.498 | 2.753 |
| 17 | 8 | Wataru YOSHIKAWA | YAMAHA | 1'48.015 | 4.756 | 0.258 |
Comments
C'mon Casey
I think as long as Pedrosa doesn't hold him up in th beginning maybe he could ACTUALLY challenge Lorenzo for the win. But Pedrosa will get his good start as always. It would be nice to see a race where 1st place isn't guaranteed after the first few laps...