San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli marks fastest pace on wet Assen circuit – MotoGP news
San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli has set the fastest pace on the wet Assen circuit in Netherlands.
The race weekend of the Iveco TT Assen Grand Prix has started in Netherlands with the first free practice session. The session was affected by rain which soaked the tarmac in just a few minutes.
This weekend holds a unique schedule as the race is due on Saturday, June 25, 2011 rather than the usual Sunday.
Super Sic returned to the track with full action but this time, despite of wet conditions he stood the fastest man on the final time sheet of the session.
Simoncelli gave the best lap time of 1:49.036 seconds with a top speed of 259.9 km/h. His temporary teammate at San Carlo Honda Gresini team Kousuke Akiyoshi was placed 16th by the end of the session. The HRC test rider made a good effort in wet
conditions.
The second place was covered by an unexpected, Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi with his best lap time of 1:49.396 seconds. The new GP11.1 was expected to be fast with new developments, and it did prove so. The GP12 inspired chassis has significantly made
the difference. Rossi’s teammate Nicky Hayden was placed ninth in the final time chart for the first free practice.
MotoGP championship leader, Casey Stoner was third fastest in the afternoon practice session. The Repsol Honda team duo, Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso were third and fourth at the final time list respectively. The Aussie’s best time was 1:49.527 seconds and
his teammate Dovizioso recorded 1:49.640 seconds for fourth place.
The third Repsol Honda rider, Dani Pedrosa’s replacement Hiroshi Aoyama was 12th on a factory Honda RC212V. His first experience on factory Honda was not complemented with good results.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider, Jorge Lorenzo was fifth with 1:49.995 seconds for his best lap time. Lorenzo was accompanied by Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Cal Crutchlow who returned after a severe fracture to his collarbone. With a strong effort, he was sixth
on the final time sheet. Karel Abraham, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies completed the top ten seats.
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