MotoGP: Final Pre-Season Testing, Day 2: Stoner Beats Rossi Hot

The last testing event before the beginning of the MotoGP season has taken place, and Valentino Rossi lost his dominant hold on the field. Rossi, who had the best times at both tests in Sepang, and the fastest time at last nights practice test, was edged out today by Casey Stoner.

Stoner, who is riding for Ducati Marlboro, set the best lap at 1’55.353 under the giant lights at the Losail International Circuit. Stoner’s day two test time gives him the overall best time at Qatar. After he set the fastest lap for the day, Stoner took a fall on his Desmosedici GP10, but no injuries resulted.

Rossi, Fiat Yamaha, came in second for the day, just 5 hundredths of a second behind Stoner, and drops to second in the overall scores.

“This has been another good day. We've concentrated mostly on the race preparation and it feels like we're now ready for the first race. Now that testing is over I am very excited about the season,” said Rossi. “We've been strong throughout the six days of practice and it feels good to have been fast here also, where we have struggled in the past. My M1 feels great and I'm looking forward to racing!”

Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso improved his lap time by nearly a second during Friday’s testing session. Riding the newly unveiled, Honda RC212V, Dovizioso and his team showed continued improvement, and finished with a best lap of 1’55.880, just .528s behind the best time.

“I’m really satisfied with these two days of testing because we took another significant step forward,” said Dovizioso. “I’m pleased to have the third fastest time today because we improved both consistency and pace, which is a result of the hard work done by Honda and by my team.”

Ben Spies, who impressed a lot of people on the first night at Qatar, failed to beat his opening time. The MotoGP rookie had the fastest time among rookies, and was the fourth and final rider to finish under the 1’56” mark.

Jorge Lorenzo, who arrived at Qatar with a bandaged hand from a super cross injury, fought through another night of pain to score a time of 1’56.504, placing him in the 7th position overall.  http://www.allaboutbikes.com/sport-mainmenu-34/motogp/1743-motogp-final-pre-season-testing-rossi-fastest-again

Day 2 Results

Overall Results