After a month of waiting, the third round of the MotoGP has begun. Marco Simoncelli topped both testing sessions today, beating out Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo.
Simoncelli has been one of the fastest riders on the track throughout the season, but he doesn’t have the points to show for it. Simoncelli was leading in Jerez when he crashed out, losing a chance to score prime points. But the Gresini Honda rider is on pace to challenge for the podium again this weekend.
Simoncelli scored a 1’38.032 lap in FP1, then bettered that time during the second free practice session as temperatures began to heat up, ending the day with a 1’37.663 lap time.
The first free practice session saw three Honda riders at the top, but Jorge Lorenzo was able to squeeze into second place during FP2. Lorenzo finished .06 seconds behind Simoncelli, and just .003 seconds ahead of Dani Pedrosa.
The Friday free practice session showed that Valentino Rossi was in good form. Rossi finished the second free practice session .439 seconds behind the leader. Casey Stoner finished with exactly the same time as the doctor.
Andrea Dovizioso, Colin Edwards, and Ben Spies also showed competitive lap times around the Portugal circuit, as each rider finished within a second of Simoncelli.
MotoGP - Estoril - FP1 Results
- Marco SIMONCELLI - San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'38.032
- Casey STONER - Repsol Honda Team
- Dani PEDROSA - Repsol Honda Team
- Jorge LORENZO - Yamaha Factory Racing
- Valentino ROSSI - Ducati Team
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO - Repsol Honda Team
- Colin EDWARDS - Monster Yamaha Tech 3
- Ben SPIES - Yamaha Factory Racing
- Hector BARBERA - Mapfre Aspar Team
- Randy DE PUNIET - Pramac Racing Team
MotoGP - Estoril - FP2 Results
- Marco SIMONCELLI - San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'37.663
- Jorge LORENZO - Yamaha Factory Racing
- Dani PEDROSA - Repsol Honda Team
- Valentino ROSSI - Ducati Team
- Casey STONER - Repsol Honda Team
- Colin EDWARDS - Monster Yamaha Tech 3
- Karel ABRAHAM - Cardion AB Motoracing
- Ben SPIES - Yamaha Factory Racing
- Nicky HAYDEN - Ducati Team
- Hector BARBERA - Mapfre Aspar Team
The MotoGP riders will have one more free practice session tomorrow before qualifying.
