Stoner finishes Qatar session on top

Added on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Casey Stoner blitzed the opposition at Losail on Tuesday as the penultimate MotoGP test before the new season drew to a close in Losail.

Stoner, who finished day two on top of the time charts, was almost a second faster that the next fastest rider Jorge Lorenzo on the final day of testing in Qatar, despite completing just 31 laps and crashing out midway through the session.

The 2007 world champion, who has fond memories of Losail, smashed the circuit’s record lap time of 1:56.528 that he set last year on his 22^nd lap, clocking at 1:55.744.

Stoner was then one of three riders to be caught out by the unseasonal conditions in Qatar, crashing out on turn two just after setting his best time. The Australian was however able to return to action within the hour.

Loris Capirossi and Niccolò Canepa crashed but again, without incident.

Lorenzo was followed in the time sheets by teammate Valentino Rossi and just 0.29 of a second separated Chris Vermeulen in fourth and Loris Capirossi in sixth.

Randy De Puniet was the fastest Honda rider on the circuit with a seventh fastest time of 1:57.401 – ahead of factory rider Andrea Dovizioso. Dani Pedrosa missed the session following his crash on day two to return to Barcelona.

MotoGP Official Test: Qatar, Day 3

Pos	Rider	Team	Time	Laps
1	Casey Stoner	Ducati	1:55.744	31
2	Jorge Lorenzo	Fiat Yamaha	1:56.733	82
3	Valentino Rossi	Fiat Yamaha	1:56.972	75
4	Chris Vermeulen	Suzuki	1:57.224	70
5	Nicky Hayden	Ducati	1:57.225	53
6	Loris Capirossi	Suzuki	1:57.253	42
7	Randy De Puniet	LCR Honda	1:57.401	77
8	Andrea Dovizioso	Repsol Honda	1:57.449	74
9	Colin Edwards	Tech 3 Yamaha	1:57.515	46
10	Alex de Angelis	Gresini Honda	1:57.591	61
11	Toni Elias	Gresini Honda	1:57.804	66
12	Mika Kallio	Pramac Ducati	1:57.938	54
13	Niccolo Canepa	Pramac Ducati	1:57.946	50
14	Yuki Takahashi	Scot Racing Honda	1:58.412	61
15	James Toseland	Tech 3 Yamaha	1:58.786	51
16	Marco Melandri	Hayate Racing Kawasaki	1:58.851	73