Jorge Lorenzo began his quest for a third MotoGP race victory in three weekends by leading Friday free practice for the Catalan round, at a scorching hot Barcelona.
Fiat Yamaha’s title leader, fastest in every track session last weekend at Assen, concluded the hour with a 0.153sec home advantage over Ducati’s Casey Stoner, with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa making it two Spaniards in the top three with a best lap 0.372sec from Lorenzo.
Pedrosa, who starts round seven 47 points behind Lorenzo, only just got the better of Italian team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.
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MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo Fastest in First Practice at Catalunya
Ben Spies underlined just why he is tipped to replace Valentino Rossi at the factory Yamaha team next season - should the injured champion leave for Ducati - with fifth place for Tech 3 at a track he hasn’t raced at. Yahoo! Eurosport
Pramac Racing’s Aleix Espargaro (Ducati) was sixth fastest, and top Ducati until Stoner’s run, with Frenchman Randy de Puniet a close seventh on the LCR Honda.
Ducati Marlboro’s Nicky Hayden leapt up the order near the end of the session to take the eighth fastest time. Like Stoner, Hayden struggled early in the session and took a bit longer to get up to speed. Hayden lapped in the 1:46s and 1:45s until his final two runs when he dipped into the 1:44s. His final lap of 1:44.440 was his best.
Hayden was followed in the order by Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), the last rider in the top 10. Cycle News
Pos. Num. Rider Team Time 1 99 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 1'43.259 2 27 Casey STONER Ducati Team 1'43.412 3 26 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1'43.631 4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSORepsol Honda Team 1'43.725 5 11 Ben SPIES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'43.854 6 41 Aleix ESPARGARO Pramac Racing Team 1'44.136 7 14 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 1'44.196 8 69 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1'44.440 9 5 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'44.551 10 58 Marco SIMONCELLISan Carlo Honda Gresini 1'44.634 11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'44.641 12 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'44.692 13 36 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing Team 1'44.745 14 33 Marco MELANDRI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'44.806 15 40 Hector BARBERA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1'45.004 16 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHIInterwetten Honda MotoGP 1'47.757 17 8 Wataru YOSHIKAWAFiat Yamaha Team 1'48.015
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