Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner topped the timing sheets on day one of the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya, setting the quickest times in both the first and second practice sessions of the day. He set a fastest time of 1’42.940 in the latter part of the second practice. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli followed Stoner’s lead, finishing behind the Australian in both sessions with his fastest time 0.528s behind Stoner.
Andrea Dovizioso of the Repsol Honda team nicked a last minute third place away from Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) in the last minutes of FP2.
The Yamaha Factory Racing riders were third and fourth quickest, with reigning World Champion and current points leader Jorge Lorenzo producing a fourth fastest time of 1’43.810, followed by Texan teammate Ben Spies just 0.207 seconds behind the Spaniard.
Colin Edwards landed the sixth spot during the second session of the day, but later crashed and sustained a broken right collarbone. Fellow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow finished behind Edwards in seventh.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) was the quickest Ducati in both sessions, finishing in eighth overall while teammate Valentino Rossi completed the day with the ninth fastest time. Both Ducati machines were behind the fastest lap set by Stoner in the second session by 1.859s and 1.904s respectively.
Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) ended his day in tenth place, unable to better his FP1 time of 1’45.332.
Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing), who had seen his name at the top of the timing during the rainy second practice session, finished thirteenth with a time of 1’46.126. Álvaro Bautista’s return to full fitness continued with the 11th best time on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R machine, whilst home rider Toni Elías (LCR Honda) was 12th.
Moto2
Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) stole the top spot of the day from Swiss rider Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) at the end of a heated Moto2 practice session at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) finished third fastest followed by Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing).
With the weather clearing from the earlier rainy conditions, FP1 leader Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) looked set to claim the fastest time of the final session of the day, but it was Simone Corsi who grabbed the top spot in the dying moments of FP2, beating the FP1 leader by 0.121s.
Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) secured the third fastest with a lap of 1’47.513, followed by last year’s race winner, Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing). Bradley Smith (Tech 3) fell out of the top three in the last minutes of practice to finish fifth, moving him up seven positions from his FP1 finish.
Smith finished in front of Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing), who was just 0.012s behind him in sixth. Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) was a close seventh with a time of 1’47.612. The top seven all produced faster FP2 times than the earlier practice session.
Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40) was not able to keep his earlier momentum from FP1 and scored the eighth fastest position, four-tenths of a second slower than his FP1 time. Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) and Italian rider Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) finished outside the top ten.
Reigning 125cc world champion Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) who won the previous Moto2 race in Le Mans pushed for a fast time, but a previous crash in FP1 seemed to have slowed him down at his home track, where he finished twelfth with a time of 1’47.857.
125cc
Current 125 Championship leader Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar) set the fastest time of the day in the first practice session for the category, as only a few riders improved their efforts in a wet afternoon FP2. German rider Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) had the second fastest time in both sessions, one spot ahead of Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo).
Terol entered the weekend leading the championship by 36 points, ahead of Sandro Cortese. Therefore, it was no great surprise to see his name appear at the top of the timesheets in first practice with a best time of 1’53.001, finishing 0.467s ahead of Cortese. The top riding times were set in the first practice session of the weekend, as the second session was declared wet and times were slower.
Sergio Gadea (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team) set the fourth fastest time with a 1’53.973, followed by Adrián Martín (Bankia Aspar) with a time of 1’54.050, more than three seconds faster than his FP2 effort. Viñales followed in sixth with a best of 1'54.060 and Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar) was behind him by 0.644s.
Completing the top ten were Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) in eighth and Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) in ninth. In tenth was the Brit Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) who set a time of 1'54.768 in the first session.
RESULTS