Brno MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa made a fast return to MotoGP action after the short summer break in Brno this morning, the Spaniard dominating the opening free practice session at the Czech Republic track.

After Marco Simoncelli made the early running in dry but overcast conditions, Pedrosa ended the 45-minute session with an impressive best time of 1.56.328.

That put the Spaniard a massive 0.966s clear of Repsol Honda team-mate Casey Stoner, who grabbed second with a 1.57.294. The Australian was the only rider to finish inside of a second of Pedrosa this morning.

San Carlo Gresini Honda rider Simoncelli finished third but suffered a late crash when he lost the front-end of his factory RC212V machine in a left-hand turn. He walked away unhurt and set a best time of 1.57.408.

Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo was fourth but he was a massive 1.259s behind compatriot Pedrosa.

John Hopkins impressed on the Suzuki GSV-R, the American clocking the seventh best time.

The current BSB title contender, who is making a wild card appearance for Suzuki in Brno, set a best time of 1.58.321 to finish 0.024s ahead of Suzuki regular Alvaro Bautista.

It was another nightmare session for Ducati with Valentino Rossi the fastest Bologna factory rider in a disappointing 11th.

The nine-times world champion could only manage a best time of 1.58.819 to finish 2.491s behind Pedrosa’s best pace.

The six Ducatis sat between 11th and 17th places with Nicky Hayden struggling in 14th.

1. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, Honda 299.5, 1'56.328
2. Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda Team, Honda 296.7, 1'57.294, 0.966 / 0.966
3. Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini, Honda 291.5, 1'57.408, 1.080 / 0.114
4. Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing, Yamaha 295.0, 1'57.587, 1.259 / 0.179
5. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda Team, Honda 295.2, 1'57.776, 1.448 / 0.189
6. Ben Spies, Yamaha Factory Racing, Yamaha 290.8, 1'57.903, 1.575 / 0.127
7. John Hopkins, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, Suzuki 293.0, 1'58.321, 1.993 / 0.418
8. Alvaro Bautista, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, Suzuki 294.4, 1'58.345, 2.017 / 0.024
9. Cal Crutchlow, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, Yamaha 292.3, 1'58.390, 2.062 / 0.045
10. Colin Edwards, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, Yamaha 292.4, 1'58.497, 2.169 / 0.107
11. Valentino Rossi, Ducati Team, Ducati 292.0, 1'58.819, 2.491 / 0.322
12. Randy De Puniet, Pramac Racing Team, Ducati 291.0, 1'58.927, 2.599 / 0.108
13. Hector Barbera, Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP, Ducati 297.8, 1'58.973, 2.645 / 0.046
14. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Team, Ducati 290.5, 1'58.975, 2.647 / 0.002
15. Hiroshi Aoyama, San Carlo Honda Gresini, Honda 296.5, 1'59.289, 2.961 / 0.314
16. Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing, Ducati 293.9, 1'59.334, 3.006 / 0.045
17. Loris Capirossi, Pramac Racing Team, Ducati 290.2, 1'59.706, 3.378 / 0.372
18. Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP, Honda 294.0, 2'00.201, 3.873 / 0.495

 

Great to see Hopkins back, and two Suzukis on the track. More like old times. Free practice is all about experiments. We'll see what it's all about tomorrow. Oops, I mean today [just seen the clock]. Plus, of course, Sunday morning's warm up is a big indicator of what is about to happen. How did the GP125 and Moto2 chappies go..?

 

unfortunately hopper crashed and broke his finger in free practice session 3

 

moto gp results

1 25 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 164.8 43'16.796
2 20 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 164.4 +6.532
3 16 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 164.3 +7.792
4 13 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 164.2 +8.513
5 11 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 164.1 +10.186
6 10 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 164.0 +12.632
7 9 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 163.3 +23.037
8 8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 163.3 +24.189
9 7 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 163.2 +25.202
10 6 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 162.5 +36.566
11 5 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 162.5 +36.679
12 4 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 162.5 +37.109
13 3 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 161.7 +48.911

 

Moto 2

1 25 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Speed Master Suter 157.3 41'13.255
2 20 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter 157.3 +0.161
3 16 65 Stefan BRADL GER Viessmann Kiefer Racing Kalex 157.3 +0.407
4 13 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM JIR Moto2 Motobi 157.2 +0.870
5 11 12 Thomas LUTHI SWI Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter 157.0 +4.225
6 10 40 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pons HP 40 Pons Kalex 156.4 +13.636
7 9 34 Esteve RABAT SPA Blusens-STX FTR 156.4 +13.647
8 8 77 Dominique AEGERTER SWI Technomag-CIP Suter 156.4 +14.365
9 7 3 Simone CORSI ITA Ioda Racing Project FTR 156.4 +14.617
10 6 54 Kenan SOFUOGLU TUR Technomag-CIP Suter 155.9 +21.383

 

125

1 25 11 Sandro CORTESE GER Intact-Racing Team Germany Aprilia 150.3 40'59.229
2 20 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Avant-AirAsia-Ajo Derbi 150.3 +0.397
3 16 23 Alberto MONCAYO SPA Andalucia Banca Civica Aprilia 149.6 +10.773
4 13 55 Hector FAUBEL SPA Bankia Aspar Team 125cc Aprilia 149.6 +10.794
5 11 33 Sergio GADEA SPA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Aprilia 149.6 +11.144
6 10 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Aprilia 149.6 +11.473
7 9 84 Jakub KORNFEIL CZE Ongetta-Centro Seta Aprilia 148.8 +24.720
8 8 15 Simone GROTZKYJ ITA Phonica Racing Aprilia 147.9 +39.982
9 7 63 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN MAL Airasia-Sic-Ajo Derbi 147.7 +42.887
10 6 53 Jasper IWEMA NED Ongetta-Abbink Metaal Aprilia 147.7 +43.023
11 5 3 Luigi MORCIANO ITA Team Italia FMI Aprilia 147.7 +43.183
12 4 99 Danny WEBB GBR Mahindra Racing Mahindra 147.7 +43.675
13 3 21 Harry STAFFORD GBR Ongetta-Centro Seta Aprilia 147.6 +43.764
14 2 77 Marcel SCHROTTER GER Mahindra Racing Mahindra 147.6 +44.076
15 1 96 Louis ROSSI FRA Matteoni Racing Aprilia 147.3 +50.240

 

Have seen the GP125 and Moto2 races, and they were crackers, but I haven't bothered with the MotoGP event. I'm saving it for a quiet moment.