Lorenzo tops MotoGP test

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the 2010 MotoGP season the 2011 preparations began at Valencia on Tuesday. Valentino Rossi completed his first day in action at Ducati in black and yellow. The Italian saw his Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo finish on top of the time sheets.

The 2010 World Champion was quickest ahead of Casey Stoner (Honda) and new Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies. Valentino Rossi made his much-awaited Ducati debut, whilst British rookie Cal Crutchlow continued his adaptation to MotoGP.

Assuming top spot on the timesheet at the Ricardo Tormo circuit as he had done on the podium on Sunday was factory Yamaha rider and 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, who led the 17-strong field of riders with a best time of 1’32.012 from 48 laps on his M1 machine – a little over two-tenths of a second off Casey Stoner’s pole position time from the weekend.

“Today has been a great day, we tried a new chassis for 2011 and while it doesn’t seem better it’s not worse. The most improved thing has been the Ã-hlins suspension, which gave me more confidence especially mid-corner. The new engine seems to make the bike wheelie less too," said Lorenzo.

“Tomorrow we will concentrate on confirming everything and understanding whether every new part is an improvement or not, and go over everything."

Results

1 Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha – 1'32.012
2 Casey Stoner – Honda – 1'32.775
3 Ben Spies – Yamaha – 1'32.878
4 Dani Pedrosa – Honda – 1'32.912
5 Marco Simoncelli – Honda – 1'32.919
6 Andrea Dovizioso – Honda – 1'33.190
7 Colin Edwards – Yamaha – 1'33.513
8 Alvaro Bautista – Suzuki – 1'33.558
9 Nicky Hayden – Ducati – 1'33.716
10 Valentino Rossi – Ducati- 1'33.882
11 Randy De Puniet – Ducati – 1'33.914
12 Hiroshi Aoyama – Honda – 1'33.953
13 Hector Barbera – Ducati – 1'34.110
14 Cal Crutchlow – Yamaha- 1'34.314
15 Loris Capirossi – Ducati – 1'34.631
16 Toni Elias – Honda – 1'35.058
17 Karel Abraham – Ducati – 1'35.076