Valentino Rossi overcame Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to set the fastest lap-time during Friday practice for the San Marino MotoGP at a hot and sunny Misano.
Rossi hails from Tavullia, just 15km from Misano. The local hero had pushed the expectation on to Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa before the session - and his predictions were proved correct.
His rivals took it in turns to lead the timesheets from early in the hour to nine minutes from the end before Rossi nicked P1 by 0.026 seconds from Lorenzo. The reigning six-times MotoGP champion remained there until the chequered flag, improving his advantage over the young Spaniard to 0.126s with his final lap. Yahoo! Eurosport
Rossi may have been quickest but the reigning champion played down his chances.
He said: “It will be very difficult to try and stay in front of Jorge here - it is already a good target just to stay in front of Dani, because with all the acceleration points here the Honda and his riding style will be good.
“We will start aiming for the podium, because we need to take some important points for the championship, and then afterwards we will look at the other races.” The Press Association
Friday Practice Results
S.No. Rider Time Team 1 Valentino Rossi 1m 35.304 Fiat Yamaha Team 2 Jorge Lorenzo 1m 35.430 Fiat Yamaha Team 3 Dani Pedrosa 1m 36.080 Repsol Honda Team 4 Alex De Angelis 1m 36.096 San Carlo Honda Gresini 5 Andrea Dovizioso 1m 36.316 Repsol Honda Team 6 Colin Edwards 1m 36.350 Tech 3 Yamaha 7 Mika Kallio 1m 36.419 Pramac Racing 8 Loris Capirossi 1m 36.508 Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 9 James Toseland 1m 36.588 Tech 3 Yamaha 10 Nicky Hayden 1m 36.608 Ducati Marlboro Team 11 Randy De Puniet 1m 37.056 LCR Honda MotoGP 12 Toni Elias 1m 37.057 San Carlo Honda Gresini 13 Aleix Espargaro 1m 37.126 Pramac Racing 14 Chris Vermeulen 1m 37.134 Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 15 Niccolo Canepa 1m 37.306 Pramac Racing 16 Marco Melandri 1m 37.454 Hayate Racing Team 17 Gabor Talmacsi 1m 37.869 Scot Racing Team MotoGP
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