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Pedrosa fastest in opening practice session

Posted by Staff

Friday, 06 June 2008

From InfoMotoGP

The fastest rider in the opening practice session, Dani Pedrosa made it two-from-two in the Friday MotoGP runs at the Circuit de Catalunya by further improving his times in the afternoon. The Spaniard began the preparations for his home race with a 1´43.017 lap of the tricky Barcelona track, which caught out half of the 18-rider field in one form or another.Pedrosa was among the participants to take a fall, crashing his standard engine-powered Repsol Honda RC212V with just over ten minutes to go in the second session, immediately after clocking the fastest time of the day. He was unhurt in the crash.

Second fastest in the combined standings was Loris Capirossi, continuing his upturn in form onboard the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. He trailed Pedrosa by just 0.006, with the top four covered by less than a tenth of a second. Capirossi ran off track twice in the afternoon run.

The remainder of the aforementioned top four were Fiat Yamaha´s Valentino Rossi and Ducati Marlboro´s Casey Stoner, after an eventful day for both riders. Rossi attracted attention for his special `Azzurri´ themed livery and leathers, whilst Stoner had early problems with the track that led to his crashing and running-off in the morning.

Alex de Angelis maintained his Mugello momentum with the fifth fastest time, ahead of Rizla Suzuki man Chris Vermeulen and his own San Carlo Honda Gresini teammate Shinya Nakano.

Learning the Catalunya circuit, James Toseland was eighth fastest, whilst the top ten was completed by American duo Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards.

The biggest crash of the afternoon befell Jorge Lorenzo, local rider and World Championship contender. He hit the ground from a highside at a lower altitude than that of his Shanghai spill, but his momentum made for a bumpy journey through the gravel trap. The Fiat Yamaha man was taken to the Clinica Mobile and took no further part in the afternoon session, with the latest news on his condition indicating a fractured right ring finger and an ankle contusion.

Another rider stopping early was John Hopkins, who completed just a handful of laps before a highside on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR, whilst Randy de Puniet had his second crash of the day in the afternoon outing.

If the Italians were dominant in Mugello, the Spaniards are holding their own thus far in preparations for the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya. With the 250cc riders last on track in the afternoon, Alvaro Bautista completed a Spanish clean sweep by taking provisional pole for Sunday´s race -joining MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa and 125cc top dog Pol Espargaro in heading the Friday timesheets.

Bautista recorded a quickest time of 1´46.547, putting himself in a prime spot for a third pole position of the year. He was two-tenths of a second faster than Marco Simoncelli, the man with whom he battled all the way to an unsatisfactory finale in Jerez and the winner of the last round at Mugello.

Also on the provisional front row are Hector Barbera –who has his own score to settle with Simoncelli after their controversial collision in Italy- and rookie title contender Mattia Pasini.

Hiroshi Aoyama led the KTM qualifying charge at what the Barcelona resident regards as a second home track, and put himself at the sharp end of the second row. Lotus Aprilia´s Alex Debon, World Championship leader Mika Kallio and JiR Team Scot rider Yuki Takahashi.

One of the riders favoured for victory at his home race in Catalunya, Pol Espargaro took provisional pole for the 125cc Barcelona showdown on Friday afternoon. The Belson Derbi rider was –as in Mugello- the fastest rider of the opening qualifying session, with a hot lap of 1´51.103.

Espargaro was two-tenths of a second quicker than second placed Mike di Meglio, aiming to regain the lead of the championship after conceding it in Italy. Bancaja Aspar riders Sergio Gadea and Gabor Talmacsi join the two frontrunners in pencilling in their names on the front row.

Raffaele de Rosa was the fastest KTM 125cc rider of the day, heading the provisional second row ahead of DeGraaf Grand Prix Aprilia´s Stevie Bonsey, Ajo Motorsport man Dominique Aegerter and a rider with plenty of experience in Barcelona, Polaris World´s Bradley Smith.

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