The first installment of the official MotoGP night test in Qatar was unexpectedly halted by rain today as the Grand Prix paddock assembled at the Losail International circuit near Doha.
Shortly after the circuit opened at 6pm and the first riders had ventured out, a heavy shower brought proceedings to an abrupt halt. With no sun to dry the floodlit surface, wet patches remained on parts of the track until the end of the test at 12 midnight.
With lap times rendered largely meaningless, Repsol Honda pilot Dani Pedrosa - along with several other riders - elected not to ride today. His team-mate Andrea Dovizioso completed 15 laps to get a general feel for the Honda RC212V, as this was his first taste of the Losail track riding the MotoGP machine - though the Italian was not riding in the closing minutes of the test when the track was at its driest.
The factory Honda pair and their pit crews will return to the desert circuit tomorrow, looking to the skies and hoping for clear weather.
Official lap times
Nicky Hayden 2m 00.717s 31 laps
Marco Melandri 2m 00.867s 35 laps
Mika Kallio 2m 01.020s 29 laps
Alex De Angelis 2m 01.074s 15 laps
Niccolo Canepa 2m 01.328s 26 laps
Chris Vermeulen 2m 01.843s 6 laps
Yuki Takahashi 2m 03.221s 18 laps
Andrea Dovizioso 2m 03.233 s 15 laps
James Toseland 2m 03.417 s 7 laps
Randy De Puniet 2m 03.580s 18 laps
Colin Edwards 2m 03.652s 8 laps
Toni Elias 2m 08.637s 3 laps
Jorge Lorenzo 2m 24.832s 1 laps
Valentino Rossi 12m 31.872s 1 laps
Dani Pedrosa 0 laps
Casey Stoner 0 laps
Loris Capirossi 0 laps