DOHA: World champion Jorge Lorenzo yesterday set the pace by clocking the fastest time for MotoGP riders in the first free practice session of the new season.
Lorenzo, who waited for the 16th lap for his top time, clocked 1min 56.685secs around Losail International Circuit bathed in artificial light.
The 25-year-old Yamaha rider from Spain was in the shadows for the first 15 laps as nine-time world champion and team-mate Valentino Rossi looked indomitable for most of the first free practice session.
However, Rossi eventually settled for the third fastest time (1’56.756) as Britain’s Cal Crutchlow clearly emerged as a man top watch out for in the new season that commences with the opening round on Sunday.
Crutchlow, the Monster Yamaha rider, clocked 1’56.743. The Briton recorded his fastest time on the 14 lap around the 5.38km race track.
Spain’s Marc Marquez, riding for Repsol Honda, touched his top speed of 338.7km/h on way to claiming the fourth spot with an impressive time of 1’57.276.
Italian Andrea Dovizioso, the Ducati rider, was fifth fastest, just .853secs adrift of the time set by Lorenzo.
Germany’s Stefan Bradl - the 2011 Moto2 world champion - was seventh fastest (1’57.670), a notch below Alvaro Bautista who was in sixth spot (1’57.601).
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa (1’57.749), compatriot Aleix Espargaro (1’57.843) and 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden (1’57.926) of the US finished the first practice season in eighth, ninth and 10th spots respectively.
Yesterday’s sole practice period for MotoGP not only launched the 2013 campaign, but also helped to mark the tenth weekend for the sport in Qatar.
For the first time ever, the session will have a direct bearing on qualifying; the combined top 10 from across the opening three practices will go on to make up the Q2 qualifying line-up tomorrow.
It looked as though Crutchlow was to retain the top spot yesterday, having also led the final pre-season test in Jerez, but Lorenzo moved ahead with a last-gasp effort in the last lap.
That separated the top three riders by just 71 thousandths of a second with Rossi looking highly confident after leading the way halfway through.
Reigning Moto2 world champion Marquez and Dovizioso – now riding for Ducati Team – completed the top five.
Due to the extremely dusty track surface and riders pushing to find the limits, an assortment of names found the run-off area at Turn 1.
However, this was nothing compared to Yonny Hernandez’s accident, as the Colombian lost the front end of his PBM-run ART bike which flipped across the gravel less than 10 minutes into the session; fortunately, the 24-year-old was able to walk away and ended his day in 18th place.
It was an encouraging start to the campaign for GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Bautista, competing the night in sixth spot from the LCR Honda MotoGP of Bradl. Behind, a low-key start for expected title challenger Pedrosa saw the Repsol man end up in eighth place, having run off the track twice.
As Hayden confirmed a double top-10 finish for Ducati Team, Espargaro raised eyebrows by ending his evening ninth quickest on the leading CRT bike of Power Electronics Aspar, just 1.1 seconds off Lorenzo’s leading time.
Oxford newcomer Bradley Smith – team-mate to Crutchlow at Tech 3 – was just outside the top ten, but ahead of Pramac Racing duo Andrea Iannone (who steps up from Moto2) and Ben Spies, still carrying an injury from his Malaysian Grand Prix crash of last year.
The rest of the 24-bike field was filled by CRT representatives, with Hector Barbera and Hiroshi Aoyama in respective 14th and 19th places for Avintia Blusens.
Between them were Aspar’s Randy de Puniet, Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards and the aforementioned Hernendez.
In Moto2, Takaaki Nakagami of Japan was the fastest rider (2’00.924) followed by Spain’s Esteve Rabat (2’01.016).
Spain’s Pol Espargaro (2’01.110) was third fastest over two free practice sessions. All three were riding Kalex bikes. In Moto3, Spain’s Luis Salom powered his KTM for the fastest time registered in the second free practice session. Salom clocked 2min 07.341secs.
In second place was Germany’s Jona Folger who was .292secs slower than Salom. Spain’s Alex Rins was third fastest, just .627secs adrift of Salom.
The Peninsula
