Canepa on top again as Indianapolis test concludes

Repeating his achievement from Tuesday Ducati test rider Niccolo Canepa set the pace again on Wednesday at the newly laid out Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road racing track, topping the timesheet with a best effort of 1´43.007 as the test drew to a close.

`This morning we had some problems with the bike, so we went slower and did not do a lot of setup,´ Canepa said. `This evening I tried a long run on a full tank and I did a very good lap time on the first lap. We had some problems today, so we weren´t able to make the changes they wanted to do. I´m really happy though, like yesterday, but a little tired now. I want to come back soon because I like the track and the States in general.´

The Italian continued, `The IMS is a very good organisation, and everybody did everything possible to make it the best. This will be very important for the race and MotoGP. We had a problem yesterday with the grip, but today the track was a little better. I like it, and I´m happy with the job everyone has done here.´

American rider Ben Spies continued his good work for Suzuki, completing 124 laps and holding the top spot for most of the day. He eventually settled for second place overall, with a best lap of 1´43.091.

Honda´s Erwan Nigon was third fastest, Kawasaki´s Olivier Jacque was fourth, while William Costes (Yamaha-Michelin) and Wataru Yoshikawa (Yamaha-Bridgestone) were fifth and sixth respectively, as all the riders improved on their Tuesday times.

Although the MotoGP test has ended, the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup participants will be in attendance on Thursday from 10am-3.45pm, with the session being open to the general public, free of charge.

Indianapolis July 2008 MotoGP tyre test – day two – unofficial best lap times (number of laps in brackets):
1. N Canepa 1´43.007 Ducati-Bridgestone (98)
2. B Spies 1´43.091 Suzuki-Bridgestone (124)
3. E Nigon 1´43.627 Honda-Michelin (92)
4. O Jacque 1´43.818 Kawasaki-Bridgestone (87)
5. W Costes 1´44.068 Yamaha-Michelin (74)
6. W Yoshikawa 1´44.298 Yamaha-Bridgestone (108)