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The third and final day of MotoGP tests ended
early at Sepang for Casey Stoner, who completed his 27th and final lap of the
Malaysian circuit with his GP8 at precisely 12:26pm. With his test programme
complete and some extremely fast laps under his belt - clocking a best time on
race tyres of 2'00.964 and a 2'00.660 on qualifiers - the World Champion and his
team decided to draw a line under the first session of 2008 and also give
Stoner's recovering shoulder a well-earned rest. Marco Melandri started the day
with a good pace, improving almost immediately by around half a second on
yesterday, before trying a variety of new ideas, none of which came up with the
desired result. The Italian youngster is, however, developing a good feeling
with the team and remains confident that the solutions to his current
difficulties will be resolved with continued hard work.
The Ducati
Marlboro Team now head to Phillip Island, Australia, for another three days of
testing from January 30 to February 1 inclusive.
Casey Stoner (Ducati
Marlboro Team), best time on race tyres: 2'00.964; best time on qualifiers:
2'00.660 (27 laps)
"We couldn't have started the year better! My
shoulder feels better every day and now I know I can get back to full training.
This morning we tried some qualifying tyres on only our second run out. We set a
good lap time although I think if we'd have tried them a little later, when the
track was warmer, we could have broken the two-minute mark. In fact, at the end
of the morning we set a 2'00.964 on race tyres, which is over a second inside
the lap record we set in September. It shows that we are working well and that
both the bike and tyres are improving. I'm leaving Sepang feeling really happy -
partly because my shoulder hasn't given me too many problems and partly because
I feel even more competitive than last season. Now we have to focus on this
season and on getting the best possible start, so I can't wait to continue
testing at Phillip Island. I also want to send my best wishes to Dani! I'm sure
this injury won't affect him too much. Back in 2006 I missed most of the winter
tests and I still started the season competitive so I'm sure he will too because
he was looking really strong out here."
Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro Team), best time:
2'02.725 (58 laps)
"This morning we started out on the right foot
and my lap times weren't bad. Then we decided to experiment with a few new
avenues to try and improve my feeling but we got a bit lost! It's a shame but at
least I'm getting to understand the bike and the way the team works more and
more each day. I feel really comfortable with my chief engineer and I'm sure
that we'll find the solutions to the problems we're having right now. I didn't
use a qualifier because if you're not ready for them there's no point. I did try
a new race tyre though and in my opinion it's a good step forward. I can't say
I'm happy but we'll keep working to find the best way forward for
me."
Sepang Circuit
Circuit
Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati - 2007) 2'02.108
Pole Record: Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha - 2006) 2'00.605
Unofficial lap
times 24/01/2008
1. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 2:00.326
2.
Casey STONER (Ducati) 2:00.660
3. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 2:00.766
4.
Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 2:01.179
5. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki)
2:01.198
6. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 2:01.425
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO
(Honda) 2:01.447
8. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 2:01.745
9. Chris
VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 2:01.748
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 2:01.778
11.
Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 2:01.873
12. Shinya NAKANO (Honda)
2:02.032
13. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 2:02.198
14. Marco MELANDRI
(Ducati) 2:02.725
15. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 2:02.978
16. Toni
ELIAS(Ducati) 2:02.995
17. Olivier JACQUE (Kawasaki) 2:03.030
18.
Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 2:03.628
19. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati)
2:03.703
20. Tamaki SERIZAWA (Kawasaki) 2:04.354
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