Stoner sets scorching pace at Sepang - Motorbikes Reviews, News & Advice

Reigning world MotoGP champion Casey Stoner cleared the pack with the fastest time in a three-day test session at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Stoner used the final day to test the new Bridgestone spec tyres with his Repsol Honda RC213V and to work with the clutch to smooth out chatter issues.

He eventually topped the timesheet with a best lap of 1min59.607secs.

"It's been a good test in general, we only managed two out of the three days unfortunately but the weather has been really good to us and we've been able to do what we planned,” said Stoner. The day I missed hasn’t affected us too much and we’ve managed to complete our testing program, to be honest I think track conditions on the first day weren't that great anyway as the lap times were not so fast.

“I'm still not feeling great with my back but the bike is okay, so we've made progress in reducing the chatter a little more and trying a few different things, some small settings on the shock that we haven't tried before among other points.

“So far it's been pretty positive, we'll just have to wait and see what we have for the next test and hopefully improve a little more. Now I'm looking forward to getting home to Switzerland to see Adriana and await the arrival of our baby!”

Factory Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was second overall, 0.591 seconds off the lead pace of Stoner, while using the morning comparing various new settings on his M1. Team-mate Ben Spies had a crash while testing a new chassis, but the Texan was unscathed and managed the fourth fastest time of 2:00.495.

Dani Pedrosa was third fastest with a time of 2:00.256, the Spaniard working on comparing two different chassis on his Repsol Honda and testing suspension and tyre pressure settings to deal with chatter the heavier 1000cc bikes have many of the teams working on.

Valentino Rossi lapped his Ducati Desmosedici GP12 just under 0.4 seconds behind Pedrosa while still testing new parts on the bike. Team-mate Nicky Hayden is suffering some strength issues with his recovering shoulder, the American put in 16 laps and a time of 2:01.729 to rank 10th. Both Ducati Team riders are satisfied that the front end feel issues – or lack thereof --- they suffered in 2011 are largely resolved.

Hector Barbara climbed the ranks from yesterday with a best lap of 2:00.929 aboard the Pramac Racing bike while testing new Bridgestone tyre compounds. The Spaniard was 0.2 seconds ahead of Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who had a minor crash that set his thus far rapid progress back slightly.

Next in the rankings was Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso with a time of 2:01.257. The Italian was just ahead of Alvaro Bautista on the Honda of the Gresini Team, who is continuing to gather confidence on the Honda RC213V, his first 1000cc GP bike.

Moto2 world champion Stefan Bradl’s 2:01.894 on the LCR Honda put him 11th in the line-up, 0.4 seconds ahead of Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing).

NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards is still diagnosing chatter issues on his CRT machine. The Texan’s time of 2:04.722 put him 15th, while the Avintia Racing’s Ivan Silva and replacement rider Jordi Torres completed the times after recovering from their engine problems of the day before.

Test times
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 1'59.607
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2'00.198
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2'00.256
4. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2'00.495
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2'00.824
6. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2'00.929
7. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2'01.108
8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2'01.257
9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2'01.384
10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2'01.729
11. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2'01.894
12. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 2'02.218
13. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (JPN) Yamaha Factory Racing 2'02.334
14. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2'03.033
15. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2'04.722
16. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2'08.225
17. Robertino Pietri (VEN) Avintia Racing 2'09.640
18. Jordi Torres (SPA) Avintia Racing 2'10.184

Sepang Record Lap
C.Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2'02.108

Sepang Best Lap
V.Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2'00.518

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