Pedrosa leads Honda charge in Qatar
Added on Monday, March 14th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Pedrosa leads Honda charge in Qatar
Honda’s dominance in pre-season testing shone through the night in Qatar as Dani Pedrosa led the time sheets on day one of the final MotoGP test before the start of the new season.
Pedrosa headed the time sheets ahead of new teammate Casey Stoner and Gresini’s Hiroshi Aoyama, posting a time of 1:56.271.
The Yamaha duo of Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo were fourth and fifth fastest respectively whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards completed the top six.
The Ducati duo of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden has a more positive time in Losail than in previous testing sessions, finishing eighth and ninth respectively, just below Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso.
Randy de Puniet recovered from two crashes to finish in the top ten.
MotoGP Qatar Test, Day One:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | 1:56.271 | 41 |
| 2 | Casey Stoner | Repsol Honda | + 0.143 | 32 |
| 3 | Hiroshi Aoyama | San Carlo Honda Gresini | + 0.173 | 59 |
| 4 | Ben Spies | Yamaha Racing | + 0.292 | 38 |
| 5 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha Racing | + 0.411 | 60 |
| 6 | Colin Edwards | Monster Tech 3 Yamaha | + 0.471 | 42 |
| 7 | Andrea Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | + 0.509 | 56 |
| 8 | Valentino Rossi | Ducati | + 0.767 | 57 |
| 9 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | + 0.866 | 57 |
| 10 | Randy de Puniet | Pramac Ducati | + 0.872 | 39 |
| 11 | Marco Simoncelli | San Carlo Honda Gresini | + 0.955 | 57 |
| 12 | Alvaro Bautista | Rizla Suzuki | + 1.031 | 61 |
| 13 | Hector Barbera | Aspar Ducati | + 1.054 | 69 |
| 14 | Loris Capirossi | Pramac Ducati | + 1.166 | 56 |
| 15 | Karel Abraham | Cardion AB Ducati | + 1.228 | 49 |
| 16 | Cal Crutchlow | Monster Tech 3 Yamaha | + 1.466 | 51 |
| 17 | Toni Elias | LCR Honda | + 1.979 | 65 |
