Suzuki raskest på Sepang

12. april braker det løs med MotoGP. Da kjøres første runde på Losail-banen. Men allerede nå er «konkurransen» i gang i form av tester.

Suzuki-fører Loris Capirossi var raskest i dag, med Stoner/Ducati som nummer to og Rossi/Yamaha som nummer tre. Sistnevnte havnet på legevakten og måtte sy både hand og fot etter et uhell på hjemmefronten. Les hva han sier i en pressemelding etter dagens kjøring:

«I am very happy because I was able to ride the bike today, despite the stitches in my hand and foot, and I was fast. I am not 100% because of the pain, but I have no problem to ride. I am also pleased because the engine is better and I feel very comfortable with the new chassis. We are adapting our way of testing to the new tyre rule and it is not so bad so far, even though we have more work to do. The bike needs to be gentler with the tyres now; normally I prefer harder tyres but from now on we’re going to need to be ‘sweeter’ with them. For sure it will be good for the show, because everyone will be starting from the same level with tyres. This morning I had a small fall, when I was riding very slowly. It was not so wet, but some patches of the track are lacking grip and that one especially seemed to have non! e at all! I stopped quite early this afternoon because I wanted to keep myself in good shape for tomorrow and the day after. After some laps my finger was hurting and it was also beginning to swell up. Tomorrow we will try something new with the electronics and we will also have to change the engine, because the one I used today was the same one that we used at the Jerez test and its mileage is now over.»

Det bør bemerkes at Sete Gibernau er tilbake, og hadde niende beste tid i dag. Finske Mika Kallio var 13. raskest.

Her er bestetidene til førerne:

1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’01.869
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’02.038
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2’02.324
4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’02.803
5. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 2’02.886
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 2’03.088
7. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 2’03.254
8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 2’03.312
9. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando 2’03.750
10. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2’03.894
11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 2’04.002
12. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 2’04.396
13. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 2’04.405
14. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 2’04.502
15. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 2’04.882
16. Yamaha Test Rider 1 (JPN) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’05.024
17. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) Scot Racing Team 2’05.098
18. Yamaha Test Rider 2 (JPN) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’05.140
19. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Alice Team 2’05.270