Dani Pedrosa topped the time sheets on the first day of testing at the Losail International Circuit on Qatar. The Qatar test will be the final test of the 2011 MotoGP preseason before the riders take to the track for the first race next week.
Pedrosa was joined at the top by his Repsol Honda teammate, Casey Stoner, who finished .143 seconds behind Pedrosa's quickest lap of 1'56.271.
A third Honda came in before the boys from Yamaha. Hiroshi Aoyama finished with a 1'54.444 lap time for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team.
Ben Spies finished fourth, before his teammate and 2010 MotoGP champion, Jorge Lorenzo.
Valentino Rossi and his Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden showed a lot of improvement since the last testing session, as both riders finished inside the top 10.
Rossi was more than a second behind the leaders the last time out, but has now cut the gap down to just .7 seconds.
The 2011 MotoGP season will start next week in Qatar.
MotoGP - Day 1 Test - Qatar
- Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team 1:56.271
- Casey Stoner - Repsol Honda Team
- Hiroshi Aoyama - San Carlo Honda Gresini
- Ben Spies - Yamaha Factory Racing
- Jorge Lorenzo - Yamaha Factory Racing
- Colin Edwards - Monster Yamaha Tech 3
- Andrea Dovizioso - Repsol Honda Team
- Valentino Rossi - Ducati Marlboro Team
- Nicky Hayden - Ducati Marlboro Team
- Randy De Puniet - Pramac Racing Team
