Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner leads into Saturday’s Qatar qualifying – MotoGP news
Casey Stoner has ended all three practice sessions as the top fastest rider on the grid of the upcoming Qatar GP.
Repsol Honda team has proved to the toughest competition for the 2011 MotoGP season. No other machine or rider has proved to hit down the RC212V, as previously it has been the fastest machine throughout the winter testing session, and even stealing
the FP sessions carried in preparation for the Sunday’s Commercialbank Gran Prix of Qatar on the Losail circuit.
Stoner hit a lap time of 1:55.457 seconds by his third lap during the Free Practice 2 session on Friday evening, it was 1.3 seconds short than his previous best lap time on Thursday’s Free Practice session. Continuing with his fast pace in to the third
and last Free Practice session Stoner marked the best time of the practices session this weekend, with a lap time of 1:55.035 seconds.
The second fastest rider on the Repsol Honda panel and including the MotoGP grid according to winter practice sessions, Dani Pedrosa was again the only person and teammate to follow Stoner in time sheet.
On the second Free Practice session he was 0.397 seconds off Stoner’s pace. Ben Spies was the Factory Yamaha Racing rider Ben Spies separated the Repsol Honda trio by being placed on the third place being 0.659 seconds off the leader. On the third
and final Free Practice session Pedrosa was 0.158 seconds slower than Stoner.
Andrea Dovizioso was leaning 0.715 seconds off his teammate Stoner, who was the leader on time sheet at the second Free Practice session. He was at fourth place following the Yamaha rider Ben Spies.
On the third Free Practice session he was even faster and hopped to third place on the time sheet completing the Repsol Honda trio, the fastest RC212Vs of the weekend.
The reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo was on fifth place by the end of FP2, due a problem in his M1 he was limited from performing fast times on the track, still it was two places better than FP1 session. Lorenzo improved at the FP3 and closed
it on the fourth place, followed by his teammate Ben Spies.
Alvaro Bautista of Rizla Suzuki, was having hard time with luck, when he was forced to an emergency medical treatment after a rash accident on turn 15, he was instantly feeling the harsh pain.
He was taken out from the track on a stretcher to the circuit’s medical facility where the medical staff of Clinica Mobile examined and had some X-rays done. Bautista was diagnosed with a femur fracture in his left leg, femur will be pinned. Thereafter,
the Spanish was taken to Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha for further examination. Whether to returns to Spain or gets operated in Doha will be decided later.
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