MotoGP Race And Practice Results

Before the Sinopec Great Wall Lubricants Grand Prix of China, most commentators, including this one, predicting total domination by Ducati. Fortunately, the racing gods decided that such hubris could not go unpunished, and decided to mix things up a bit. Although the Ducatis are clearly significantly faster down the back straight, the other manufacturers have all closed the gap, managing to stay in touch despite the top speed deficit, then following, and even leading, through the ridiculously slow sections of the track.

It soon became clear that it wasn't just the commentators who were concentrating on the Ducatis: the scene in the turns before the long back straight were more reminiscent of 125 qualifying than MotoGP, with groups of riders waiting around for a Ducati to pass, hoping to slipstream them. This proved to be a successful strategy. Where in Qatar, the Ducatis walked away from the other bikes, in Shanghai, the others could follow, losing ground only very slowly.

The day's practice sessions also showed that the two companies that have been suffering the most, Michelin at Istanbul and Honda just about everywhere, have found some answers. Michelin is no longer dominating like they have previously, but the top of the timesheet is a fair mix of Bridgestone and Michelin runners, unlike in Turkey. And Honda have found something for some of their riders, reigning world champion topping the timesheets for a brief period for the first time since last season, to finish a very respectable 4th.

Friday's big winner was John Hopkins. The Rizla Suzuki man was constantly near the top of the timesheets, taking the fastest lap time with several minutes to go. Behind Hopkins, Marco Melandri nicked 2nd, on his later laps, with the Repsol Honda pair of Dani Pedrosa and a very relieved Nicky Hayden in 3rd and 4th respectively. Loris Capirossi is the first of the Ducatis in 5th, ahead of the Fiat Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards, and Capirex' team mate Casey Stoner in 8th. The running order is almost arbitrary, however, with the first 8 covered by just a quarter of a second. Pramac d'Antin Ducati man Alex Hofmann is in 9th, while LCR Honda's Carlos Checa rounds out the top 10.

The times are incredibly close, with the top 15 covered by just over a second, and the first 8 within a quarter of that. Fortunately the session was dry, despite a thick haze of mist and pollution, allowing riders to find a tire and setup, but tomorrow's qualifying practice could be an entirely different affair, with rain forecast.

The qualifying session saw one casualty, Kawasaki's Olivier Jacque falling in the final turn, and opening a gash in his arm which severely damaged the muscles in his lower arm. The injury is likely to keep him out of racing for at least several weeks, continuing OJ's ill-fated 2007 season.

Best times of the day, all set during Free Practice Session 2.

If anyone was in any doubt that Casey Stoner means business in Istanbul, then he put them straight this morning. Stoner topped the timesheets again, taking over 1/10th of a second off his time from this afternoon. But what was far more impressive was the long run he put in the middle of the session, posting 10 fast laps, mostly in the mid 1'54s on his Marlboro Ducati. That looks like being Stoner's race pace, and it looks like being unbeatable.

That won't stop others from trying of course, and chief among the challengers will be Valentino Rossi, who took his Fiat Yamaha to 2nd spot this morning. But The Doctor cannot afford to be complacent, as he only dipped into the 1'54s on his final run of the session. That could mean that the Yamaha team have chosen a tire that works in the warmth of the afternoon sessions, rather than the cooler morning sessions, but they still have work to do.

Where the Hondas had a disastrous session yesterday, hope dawned with this morning's session. Both Hannspree Gresini man Toni Elias and Repsol rider Dani Pedrosa are in the top 4, with Pedrosa being a constant feature at the top of the timesheets. Pedrosa is said to be using last year's forks, as was Marco Melandri, and even Nicky Hayden, and they seem to have given some improvement, at least for the young Spaniard. What is remarkable is that the two smallest Honda men seem to be the only riders who can make the RC212V go.

Colin Edwards took 5th spot, and also managed a decent run of mid 1'54s on his Fiat Yamaha. Edwards was followed by the two Rizla Suzuki men, with Chris Vermeulen's 6th spot reflecting his more consistent times over John Hopkins, who's longer runs were a little slower.

Stoner's Marlboro Ducati team mate Loris Capirossi showed his inconsistency, finishing the session in 8th spot, his times well behind the Australian's. And behind Capirossi, the two Kawasakis edged into the top 10, Olivier Jacque finishing ahead of his younger team mate Randy de Puniet, both running consistent 1'55s. That won't be enough to challenge for the lead, but should keep them in contention for top 10 places.

Some big surprises further down the order, both good and bad. The positive surprise is Makoto Tamada up in 12th spot on the Dunlop-shod Tech 3 Yamaha. But the bad news is for the Hondas: World Champion Nicky Hayden could only manage a 17th time on the other factory Honda, ahead of Shinya Nakano and the Honda-powered KR212V of Kenny Roberts Jr in 19th and last place. In fact, 4 of the slowest 6 bikes were Hondas, starting with Marco Melandri in 14th position, and 5 of the 6 use the Honda powerplant, counting Roberts' KR212V. Something is very, very wrong at the richest, most powerful and most resourceful manufacturer.

The last item of note regards the tires. Only 3 Michelins in the top 10. It looks like Bridgestone have done their homework for the Istanbul Park track, alright. Qualifying practice this afternoon will reveal more.

Testing continued in much improved conditions today, the rain having disappeared, though the wind continued to cause a few problems. The field was rather depleted, with several teams and riders electing to skip the days testing, and head off home for a rest before the next race at Istanbul in 3 weeks time.

The Gresini Honda boys were fastest, both putting in fantastic times, ahead of Randy de Puniet, who found a problem to his rear traction problems, and Carlos Checa. Both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden set much slower times, but spent the day focusing on finding a decent setup, rather than the pursuit of a single fast lap. What effect the tests will have will become apparent at the next round in Turkey.

Excluded, for illegally changing machines in the pit lane: