MotoGPMotorcycles

Stoner Leads Repsol Honda 1-2 On Day Three At Sepang

2 Mins read
Casey Stoner - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com

Casey Stoner - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com

 

Casey Stoner closed the second pre-season test on top after edging out Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa on Thursday in Malaysia. All four Honda riders missed yesterday's running as the Japanese manufacturer investigated an engine problem on Pedrosa's bike but Stoner was straight back on the pace, setting the quickest time of the week.

Apart from some minor chatter problems, the world champion was happy with the performance of his RC213V and his time of 2:00.473 put him a tenth ahead of Pedrosa who spent the day working on a number of different set-ups to overcome the same chatter issues.

The closest challenger came from Yamaha once again but this time it was Andrea Dovizioso who impressed for Monster Yamaha Tech 3. The Italian was just over three tenths off the pace and finished the test ahead of factory rider Jorge Lorenzo and teammate Cal Crutchlow. Hector Barbera completed the top six on the Pramac Ducati ahead of Alvaro Bautista while Wednesday pacesetter Ben Spies could only manage eighth after crashing in the morning.

Stefan Bradl was a solid ninth for LCR Honda which meant the factory Ducatis had to make do with tenth and eleventh. Valentino Rossi was the quicker of the two but admitted his concern with the number of riders ahead of him in the pecking order as well as the lack of progress made from the first test a month ago.

Behind Nicky Hayden in 11th came Franco Battaini while Colin Edwards led the trio of CRT runners. Yonny Hernandez got the better of Avintia Racing partner Ivan Silva but the gap to the leaders stood at six seconds.

 

Official MotoGP Test – Sepang (01/03/2012)

MotoGP Testing – Malaysia (Day Three Result)

Pos Rider Nat Bike Team Lap Time
1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda Repsol Honda Team 2:00.473
2 Dani Pedrosa SPA Honda Repsol Honda Team 2:00.648
3 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:00.802
4 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.877
5 Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:00.986
6 Hector Barbera SPA Ducati Pramac Racing Team 2:01.231
7 Alvaro Bautista SPA Honda San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:01.275
8 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Yamaha Factory Racing 2:01.432
9 Stefan Bradl GER Honda LCR Honda 2:01.492
10 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Ducati Team 2:01.550
11 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Ducati Team 2:01.609
12 Franco Battaini ITA Ducati Cardion AB Motoracing 2:03.490
13 Colin Edwards (CRT) USA Suter-BMW NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2:03.681
14 Yonny Hernandez (CRT) COL FTR-Kawasaki Avintia Racing 2:06.632
15 Ivan Silva (CRT) SPA FTR-Kawasaki Avintia Racing 2:06.785

 

Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
Circuit NewsMotorcycles

Pol Tarres breaks own bike altitude world record

1 Mins read
Yamaha’s rally raid ace Pol Tarrés set the world record for the highest altitude climb on a bike when he ascended 6,677 metres up Ojos del Salado on his Ténéré World Raid.
MotoGPNASCAR Cup Series

Trackhouse Racing Team entering MotoGP in 2024

1 Mins read
NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing will become a MotoGP team in 2024 as they partner with Aprilia to field bikes for Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.
Circuit NewsMotorcycles

FIM ban on Russians, Belarusians to continue into 2024

2 Mins read
As Moscow’s three-day war on Ukraine extends into its 651st day, its riders as well as Minsk’s will remain barred from competing in FIM-sanctioned events through at least the start of 2024.