MotoGP test Qatar. Day one of three day test2009-03-01 20:13The 2009 MotoGP teams returned to pre-season testing with a three-day session at the Losail Circuit at Doha, Qatar, venue for the opening round of the 18 round world championship. The Qatar event is unique as it is run under a state of the art floodlighting system. Despite its desert location weather conditions on the opening day were less than ideal heavy wind had deposited sand on track top. Difficulties were compounded when light rain began to fall on the dirty track surface and only 10 riders took to the track when it opened, four of them completing three laps or less! The sand-rain combination saw the riders return to their pit boxes where they remained until the track conditions improved late in the session but little was achieved on day one at Qatar. Consequently the teams will now have to cram three-day of testing into the two remaining days. Honda rider quotes and lap times. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 4th. 2m 01.074s - Laps15. "I only did 2 exits this evening but the track conditions were not good and the tyres were spoiled after five laps. Anyway, it was important to get the feeling again and be ready for tomorrow." Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team Honda: 7th. 2m 03.221s - Laps18. "We started with the same setting we had in Malaysia to check the feeling and see the differences but unfortunately the track conditions were not good. The track had no grip and I didn't want to push too much, it was better not to risk for the first day with these conditions." Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 8th. 2m 03.233s - Laps 15. "It was a strange day: finding rain conditions in the desert is very unusual. It was a pity. We only did a few laps even if the track conditions were not good, but I wanted to gather some data and be ready for tomorrow. This is a demanding track, with long turns and it is important to test here, especially in preparation of the championship and the first race." Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 10th. 2m 03.580s - Laps 14. "I can go to sleep with a good feeling. In fact I was not happy when I left Sepang because I hadn't found the right position on the bike. This evening we only did 18 laps because of the rain, but they were enough for finding a good position on the bike, so I'm confident for tomorrow." Toni Elias, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th. 2m 08.637s - Laps 3. "We decided not to test because the track was dirty, so we decided to spare the tyres for tomorrow. We hope tomorrow it will be fine and we can use the whole session at its best." Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Did not test. MotoGP Official Night Test at Qatar - Day One 1. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 2'00.717 (29 laps) 2. Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team - 2'00.867 (31) 3. Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing - 2'01.020 (27) 4. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 2'01.074 (15) 5. Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing - 2'01.328 (21) 6. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP - 2'01.843 (5) 7. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team - 2'03.221 (18) 8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 2'03.233 (15) 9. James Toseland, Tech3 Yamaha - 2'03.417 (6) 10. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 2'03.580 (14) 11. Colin Edwards, Tech3 Yamaha - 2'03.652 (5) 12. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 2'08.637 (3) 13. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 2'24.832 (1) 14. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team N/A (0) 15. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda N/A (0) 16. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team N/A (0) 17. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP N/A (0) Source: Honda Pro Image Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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