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MotoGP
MOTOGP: Third Quick But Still The Favorite
While Jorge Lorenzo posted the fastest time, a closer look reveals that Casey Stoner is still the man to beat. But what of Valentino Rossi and his GP12?
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner (Photo: HRC)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The 2012 MotoGP season opener from Doha, Qatar will air on SPEED on Sunday, April 8 at 3:00pm ET. Qualifying will air LIVE all season long on SPEED2. #SPEEDmoto
Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo ended free practice at the top of the timesheets with a fast 1'55.302, just ahead of the impressive pace of Briton Cal Crutchlow (Tech3 Yamaha M1).
But it is the defending world champion Casey Stoner who looks ominous. Although still reporting chatter issues with the Honda RC213V, Stoner was just 0.3s slower without using the soft option rear tire for a time attack.
"I stayed on the hard tire and I've done more than two race distances on a couple of tires so we are feeling confident," Stoner said. "The chatter is not gone but the really bad chatter from the first session we eased with a change in bike balance."
Stoner dismisses the concerns of late-race tire wear on the new 1000cc bikes expressed by some rivals. He claims a wider, smoother torque band actually helps ease the load on tires and, with throttle control, less wheelspin.
Outside of the frontrunners the real interest is the shape that Valentino Rossi and his Ducati, with the all-new aluminum twin-spar GP12, will be at the end of the Qatar race.
Rossi used a soft tire for a 1'56.535 to be 1.2s slower than Lorenzo and the great Italian continues to complain of "understeer," a problem that destabilized his 2011 season. Rossi forever has been a rider who has relied on his sublime front-end feel and skill to win races, hence his love affair with the smooth Yamaha M1.
But Ducati love top-end horsepower and the 1000s require more of rear wheel style.
" We have to understand this. We have a lion in the cowling and always to fight quite a lot and this creates some problem for us for put the horsepower on the ground, not to wheelie and slide and save the tire," Rossi said.
"Now at the end of the straight we are very fast. The Ducatis are first, second, third fourth and just Stoner is close. So maybe we can take out some power from the top and put on the bottom."
Alarmingly Rossi is talking about only qualifying on the second row and racing for a place in the top six.
Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo ended free practice at the top of the timesheets with a fast 1'55.302, just ahead of the impressive pace of Briton Cal Crutchlow (Tech3 Yamaha M1).
But it is the defending world champion Casey Stoner who looks ominous. Although still reporting chatter issues with the Honda RC213V, Stoner was just 0.3s slower without using the soft option rear tire for a time attack.
"I stayed on the hard tire and I've done more than two race distances on a couple of tires so we are feeling confident," Stoner said. "The chatter is not gone but the really bad chatter from the first session we eased with a change in bike balance."
Stoner dismisses the concerns of late-race tire wear on the new 1000cc bikes expressed by some rivals. He claims a wider, smoother torque band actually helps ease the load on tires and, with throttle control, less wheelspin.
Outside of the frontrunners the real interest is the shape that Valentino Rossi and his Ducati, with the all-new aluminum twin-spar GP12, will be at the end of the Qatar race.
Rossi used a soft tire for a 1'56.535 to be 1.2s slower than Lorenzo and the great Italian continues to complain of "understeer," a problem that destabilized his 2011 season. Rossi forever has been a rider who has relied on his sublime front-end feel and skill to win races, hence his love affair with the smooth Yamaha M1.
But Ducati love top-end horsepower and the 1000s require more of rear wheel style.
" We have to understand this. We have a lion in the cowling and always to fight quite a lot and this creates some problem for us for put the horsepower on the ground, not to wheelie and slide and save the tire," Rossi said.
"Now at the end of the straight we are very fast. The Ducatis are first, second, third fourth and just Stoner is close. So maybe we can take out some power from the top and put on the bottom."
Alarmingly Rossi is talking about only qualifying on the second row and racing for a place in the top six.
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