MOTOGP: Repsol Honda Duo Dominate Friday Practices
Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner led the way on the opening day of action at Jerez, with Pedrosa claiming the second session and Stoner posting the fastest time overall.
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner (Photo: Honda Pro Images)
Casey Stoner was the quickest rider on the opening day of the Gran Premio bwin de España at Jerez on Friday, as his time from the first practice session in the morning stood as the quickest of the day.
The Repsol Honda rider put down a best effort of 1’39.551 in FP1, with team-mate Dani Pedrosa the only other rider under 1’40” on day one, also during the first session. Indeed the top seven in MotoGP on Friday all set their best times in FP1, as strong wind during the afternoon’s second free practice made it hard to improve on lap times.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Jorge Lorenzo (Factory Yamaha Racing), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Ben Spies (Factory Yamaha Racing) were those who completed the top seven, with Dovizioso unaffected by a fall during the first session.
The sun was in full force on day one and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) both managed to improve on their lap times in the FP2 session to get into the combined top ten, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) tenth. John Hopkins, riding as a substitute for the injured Álvaro Bautista on the Rizla Suzuki team, made progress throughout the two sessions, eventually timing in 2.754s off the top time in his first competitive session MotoGP ride since Valencia 2008.
