Picture from MotoGP.com
Casey Stoner again lit the world stage up in the first half of the Thursday testing session. He set a time under two minutes to show that he and the 1000cc Honda were still as quick as they were last season.
Changing Weather
It was slightly cooler than the day before and Stoner was testing the new Bridgestone tyres as well as working on the clutch trying to iron out some of the chatter issues he reported to the team the previous day.
It was back to normal in the MotoGP test as Stoner led from Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Spies, all within a second of the Australian. Spies having a crash around 12:30 but came out unscathed. Pedrosa, testing different chassis was also trying to remove the chatter; many of the MotoGP teams are working on the chatter that is produced by the bigger 1000cc bikes.
Ducati Working Better
Whilst still testing new parts for the Ducati, Rossi lapped four tenths slower than Pedrosa. Hayden, who is struggling with strength issues after his injury during the close season, put in 16 laps. Both the Ducati riders say that the front end issues that they were having last year have been greatly resolved.
Barbera climbed the rankings while Crutchlow fell down the rankings after he crashed just after 11:00 putting pay to the impressive start that he was having to the season. Dovizioso and Bautista were up next both becoming more comfortable with their new bikes.
Bradl and Abraham both tested the new ‘Bridgestone Rubber’ that has been handpicked by Capirossi for this season.
CRT
Again at the back of the field were the CRT bikes. Edwards, reporting chatter issues too, was the first of the CRT boys. The Avintia Racing Team had recovered from their engine problems and were at the back of the field.
