Lorenzo Leads Opening MotoGP Practice
The opening round of the 2013 MotoGP Championship began this evening at the Losail Circuit in Qatar. The first free practice wound up with Yamaha leading the class and dominating the top of the time sheets. Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was quick to find a set up on his YZR-M1 and spent the session challenging within the top few positions. As the track conditions improved in the last ten minutes so did the times, the Mallorcan taking the top spot in the last two minutes and increasing speed again to finish with an impressive 1’56.685.
Teammate Valentino Rossi’s first race weekend back on the YZR-M1 began in style this evening, the Italian nine-time MotoGP Champion took almost immediate possession of the number one spot on the timesheets and was only rarely troubled there throughout the session. Only teammate Lorenzo and fellow Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow were able to contend for the fastest time, with all three ending the session within one tenth of a second from each other.
Practice Results
Pos | Rider | Time | Nat | Bike | Team |
1 | Jorge Lorenzo | 1'56.685 | SPA | YAMAHA | Yamaha Factory Racing |
2 | Cal Crutchlow | 1'56.743 | GBR | YAMAHA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 |
3 | Valentino Rossi | 1'56.756 | ITA | YAMAHA | Yamaha Factory Racing |
4 | Marc Marquez | 1'57.276 | SPA | HONDA | Repsol Honda Team |
5 | Andrea Dovizioso | 1'57.538 | ITA | DUCATI | Ducati Team |
6 | Alvaro Bautista | 1'57.601 | SPA | HONDA & FTR | Go & Fun Honda Gresini |
7 | Stefan Bradl | 1'57.670 | GER | HONDA | LCR Honda MotoGP |
8 | Dani Pedrosa | 1'57.749 | SPA | HONDA | Repsol Honda Team |
9 | Aleix Espargaro | 1'57.843 | SPA | ART | Power Electronics Aspar |
10 | Nicky Hayden | 1'57.926 | USA | DUCATI | Ducati Team |
11 | Bradley Smith | 1'58.369 | GBR | YAMAHA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 |
12 | Andrea Iannone | 1'58.559 | ITA | DUCATI | Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team |
13 | Ben Spies | 1'58.575 | USA | DUCATI | Ignite Pramac Racing Team |
14 | Hector Barbera | 1'59.608 | SPA | FTR | Avintia Blusens |
15 | Randy De Puniet | 1'59.633 | FRA | ART | Power Electronics Aspar |
16 | Karel Abraham | 1'59.758 | CZE | ART | Cardion AB Motoracing |
17 | Colin Edwards | 2'00.341 | USA | FTR-KAWASAKI | NGM Mobile Forward Racing |
18 | Yonny Hernandez | 2'00.426 | COL | PBM | Paul Bird Motorsport |
19 | Hiroshi Aoyama | 2'00.563 | JAP | FTR | Avintia Blusens |
20 | Claudio Corti | 2'01.227 | ITA | FTR-KAWASAKI | NGM Mobile Forward Racing |
21 | Danilo Petrucci | 2'01.438 | ITA | IODA-SUTER | Came IodaRacing Project |
22 | Bryan Staring | 2'01.942 | AUS | HONDA & FTR | Go & Fun Honda Gresini |
23 | Lukas Pesek | 2'02.079 | CZE | IODA-SUTER | Came IodaRacing Project |
24 | Michael Laverty | 2'02.135 | GBR | PBM | Paul Bird Motorsport |