Submitted by David Emmett on
Casey Stoner is the fastest so far at the Catalunya MotoGP test, getting close to the race lap record pace on just his second lap. Stoner leads his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa by two tenths, while Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Andrea Doviziosi is a tenth of a second slower than Pedrosa. Jorge Lorenzo holds the 4th fastest time so far, ahead of Nicky Hayden on the Ducati in 5th. Cal Crutchlow had a big crash early on during practice, when there were still damp patches out on the track after overnight rain, and has not bee back out since. Crutchlow is said to be OK, but his bike was completely totaled.
Each factory has its own objective for this test. The Honda riders are interested in fixing just one issue: the chatter that has plagued the bike since the 1000cc RC213V made its debut at Brno. Yamaha has a completely new bike to test, though the modifications are small, with a new swingarm, new frame and new engine to try out. Ducati, meanwhile, are using this test as a continuation of the test held 10 days ago at Mugello, working on the new aluminium swingarm and new electronics package which they also used during the race at Barcelona. The slightly modified engine test at Mugello has now been dropped altogether.
Results at 2pm:
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev. |
| 1 | Casey Stoner | Honda | 1:42.458 | ||
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1:42.675 | 0.217 | 0.217 |
| 3 | Andrea Dovizioso | Yamaha | 1:42.787 | 0.329 | 0.112 |
| 4 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 1:42.904 | 0.446 | 0.117 |
| 5 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | 1:43.215 | 0.757 | 0.311 |
| 6 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | 1:43.338 | 0.880 | 0.123 |
| 7 | Alvaro Bautista | Honda | 1:43.382 | 0.924 | 0.044 |
| 8 | Stefan Bradl | Honda | 1:43.673 | 1.215 | 0.291 |
| 9 | Valentino Rossi | Ducati | 1:43.813 | 1.355 | 0.140 |
| 10 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | 1:43.906 | 1.448 | 0.093 |
| 11 | Cal Crutchlow | Yamaha | 1:44.287 | 1.829 | 0.381 |
| 12 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia ART | 1:44.727 | 2.269 | 0.440 |
| 13 | Randy de Puniet | Aprilia ART | 1:45.456 | 2.998 | 0.729 |
| 14 | Yonny Hernandez | FTR Kawasaki | 1:45.719 | 3.261 | 0.263 |
| 15 | Colin Edwards | Suter BMW | 1:45.802 | 3.344 | 0.083 |
| 16 | Mattia Pasini | Aprilia ART | 1:46.036 | 3.578 | 0.234 |
| 17 | Michele Pirro | FTR Honda | 1:46.170 | 3.712 | 0.134 |
| 18 | Ivan Silva | FTR Kawasaki | 1:47.026 | 4.568 | 0.856 |
| 19 | James Ellison | Aprilia ART | 1:48.817 | 6.359 | 1.791 |
| 20 | Karel Abraham | Ducati | --- | --- | --- |
Comments
Duke engine
Given that the new engine had more low end power and less up top, as requested by Rossi and Hayden, odd that neither liked it.
different is not better
I don't believe they were testing the engine at this test, but just because Ducati changed the engine, doesn't mean they've fixed it. I think if both riders agree the engine isn't right, then Ducati still have work to do.