Ducati Occupies Top Three Places On Second Day Of Motogp Testing At Phillip Island

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After yesterday’s slightly premature end to testing due to a rainy late afternoon, sunny skies welcomed the premier class riders for day two of MotoGP’s first Australian excursion of 2007, where thirteen of the top talents on two wheels continued their adaptation to their brand new 800cc prototypes.

Traditionally strong runners at the Phillip Island circuit, Ducati took over on the second day ‘Down Under’, occupying the top three places on the timesheets. Repeating his impressive performance from yesterday, Alex Barros topped the board with a 1’30.01 lap. The Brazilian, who makes his return to MotoGP after a year away, was also a frontrunner last week in Sepang on the Bridgestone-shod Desmosedici GP7, and today undertook a race simulation.

Factory Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner occupied the second and third spots, with the former just over three tenths of a second slower than the flying Barros. At his home track, Stoner put in his fastest ride of the year so far, just five hundredths of a second off his veteran team-mate Capirossi.

The fastest Honda of the day was Dani Pedrosa, working on the set-up of the RC212V. The Spaniard was trailed by Alex Hofmann, who made it four Ducati riders in the top five.

Still on the mend after shoulder surgery at the end of 2006, World Champion Nicky Hayden was just a thousandth of a second behind Hofmann, on a bike that the American notes will have to have its geometry changed for his slightly larger frame. Honda will certainly have enough data to help with this development, after Hayden yesterday undertook 81 laps of the track and had an uninterrupted session on day two.

Honda satellite riders Marco Melandri and Carlos Checa were within a second of the fastest lap of the day, ahead of Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen at his home circuit. The GSV-R800 has not had as much success at Phillip Island as in Sepang, but with another session to go and riders Vermeulen and John Hopkins both looking for solutions, there is little reason for panic in the Suzuki garage.

All riders who tested yesterday were back on track, with four teams skipping the Australian test. The Factory Yamaha team, alongside their Tech 3 satellite, chose against a visit to Phillip Island and will next be in action at the second Sepang Test. Kawasaki likewise will return for the Malaysian visit, whilst Ilmor have also been absent from this week’s sessions.

Phillip Island Test - Day Two

Unofficial Times

1. Alex Barros - Pramac d’Antin 1’30.01

2. Loris Capirossi - Ducati MotoGP 1’30.34

3. Casey Stoner- Ducati MotoGP 1’30.39

4. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 1’30.45

5. Alex Hofmann - Pramac d’Antin 1’30.60

6. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda 1’30.61

7. Marco Melandri - Gresini Honda 1’30.74

8. Carlos Checa - Honda LCR 1’30.84

9. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 1’31.19

10. Shinya Nakano - Konica Minolta 1’31.35

11. Kenny Roberts JR - Team Roberts 1’31.55

12. John Hopkins - Rizla Suzuki 1’31.65


 
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