Stoner tops time charts on Day Two
Added on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Stoner tops time charts on Day Two
The top of the time charts had a familiar look to them on day two of the official MotoGP night test in Qatar as Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi jostled for position at the top.
After day one was effectively written off by a sizeable proportion of the paddock as the Losail International Circuit was hit by torrential weather, the big names all put in a solid shift on Monday night with Stoner coming out on top.
The Australian, who has a good record at Losail having won the Qatar Grand Prix last season and holding the circuits record lap time, posted a best of 1:57.139 from his 37 lap session – more than 0.6secs ahead of the defending champion Rossi who completed 51 laps.
The result will give both Stoner and Ducati plenty to be positive about, with the 23-year-old continuing his injury rehab and the Italian team trialling a new swingarm under the Losail floodlights.
Colin Edwards on the Tech3 Yamaha was third fastest whilst Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso completed the quartet of riders to dip under the 1:58 mark.
The Suzuki pair of Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi, who has been impressive in pre-season, made up fifth and sixth respectively.
At the other end of the scale, James Toseland’s nightmare off-season continued as he posted the slowest time of the night. The Brit, who is still struggling from the injury that plagued him in Sepang, was the only rider not to break the two minute barrier at 2:00.234 from 51 laps.
MotoGP Official Test: Qatar, Day 2
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | 1:57.139 | 37 |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | Fiat Yamaha | 1:57.747 | 51 |
| 3 | Colin Edwards | Tech 3 Yamaha | 1:57.817 | 41 |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | 1:57.879 | 60 |
| 5 | Chris Vermeulen | Rizla Suzuki | 1:58.018 | 24 |
| 6 | Loris Capirossi | Rizla Suzuki | 1:58.264 | 42 |
| 7 | Jorge Lorenzo | Fiat Yamaha | 1:58.400 | 63 |
| 8 | Alex De Angelis | Gresini Honda | 1:58.441 | 53 |
| 9 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | 1:58.577 | 54 |
| 10 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1:58.619 | 28 |
| 11 | Randy De Puniet | LCR Honda | 1:58.936 | 55 |
| 12 | Toni Elias | Gresini Honda | 1:59.036 | 56 |
| 13 | Yuki Takahashi | Scot Racing Honda | 1:59.153 | 65 |
| 14 | Marco Melandri | Hayate Racing Kawasaki | 1:59.195 | 63 |
| 15 | Niccolo Canepa | Pramac Ducati | 1:59.266 | 36 |
| 16 | Mika Kallio | Pramac Ducati | 1:59.764 | 48 |
| 17 | James Toseland | Tech 3 Yamaha | 2:00.234 | 51 |
