Jorge Lorenzo - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Jorge Lorenzo set the pace on Tuesday in Malaysia as the MotoGP teams kicked off the first official test of 2012. At such an early stage, it's dangerous to read too much into the quickest times but the Spaniard will surely have been encouraged to be within two tenths of last year's pole position time on his 1000cc Yamaha.
Dani Pedrosa was the nearest competition in second for Repsol Honda while two more YZR-M1s completed the top four in the shape of Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow and Ben Spies on the second factory bike.
Ducati fans will have been nervously waiting to see where Valentino Rossi placed on the opening day and the initial signs were positive. This time last year, the Italian was the thick end of two seconds away from the pacesetters but the gap was only 0.735s this time, and his 2:02.392 was faster than he went at any stage at this track during October's GP weekend.
Hector Barbera took his Pramac Racing GP12 to seventh place, just behind Andrea Dovizioso while Alvaro Bautista ended up ninth after his first day on the Honda RC213V. The fit-again Nicky Hayden was tenth quickest ahead of Moto2 champion Stefan Bradl and Cardion Ducati's Karel Abraham but Casey Stoner was only 14th after an injured muscle whilst warming up restricted him to four laps.
Unsurprisingly, the three 'CRT' runners brought up the rear as they continued preparations for their debut MotoGP seasons. Forward Racing were the quickest thanks to Colin Edwards, albeit six seconds down on Lorenzo, while Jordi Torres and Ivan Silva were even further back on Avintia Racing's BQR-FTR machine.
MotoGP Testing – Malaysia (Day One Result)
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Bike | Team | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Yamaha | Yamaha Factory Racing | 2:01.657 |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 2:02.003 |
| 3 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:02.221 |
| 4 | Ben Spies | USA | Yamaha | Yamaha Factory Racing | 2:02.234 |
| 5 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Ducati | Ducati Team | 2:02.392 |
| 6 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:02.751 |
| 7 | Hector Barbera | SPA | Ducati | Pramac Racing Team | 2:02.773 |
| 8 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | JAP | Yamaha | Yamaha Factory Racing | 2:02.829 |
| 9 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Honda | San Carlo Honda Gresini | 2:02.869 |
| 10 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Ducati | Ducati Team | 2:03.151 |
| 11 | Stefan Bradl | GER | Honda | LCR Honda | 2:03.668 |
| 12 | Karel Abraham | CZE | Ducati | Cardion AB Motoracing | 2:03.781 |
| 13 | Franco Battaini | ITA | Ducati | Ducati Team | 2:04.986 |
| 14 | Casey Stoner | AUS | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 2:07.163 |
| 15 | Colin Edwards (CRT) | USA | Suter-BMW | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 2:08.240 |
| 16 | Jordi Torres (CRT) | SPA | BQR-FTR | Avintia Racing | 2:10.671 |
| 17 | Ivan Silva (CRT) | SPA | BQR-FTR | Avintia Racing | 2:11.267 |
