Rossi concludes official test in prime position

After a late start for the MotoGP riders present in Jerez, the second and final (half) day of the Official Test kicked into gear after 2pm local time. One-by-one the participants took to the drying track, left damp by overnight rain and cold temperatures, in the attempt to make the most of their last hours of testing for 2008.

2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi ended his title-winning year with the timesheet top spot on day two, snatching the placing from Dani Pedrosa in the final hour of the session. One of the last riders to emerge from the garage, Rossi joined Pedrosa as the only two men to record a time under the 1´40 mark, a 1´39.429 lap that was the fastest of the test. The Fiat Yamaha rider has been using both the 2008 and 2009 versions of the Yamaha M1, in order for the Japanese factory to be able to assemble the complete prototype for the coming year in January.

Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa was once again faster than his best race lap (a circuit record) from the 2008 Spanish round, and even managed to better his time from the opening day to place second on the chart. The Spaniard continued to work on the engine configuration of the RC212V, putting down a 1´39.447 lap in the process to end the day just 0.018 slower than Rossi.

Rossi´s teammate Jorge Lorenzo was again third on the timesheet, behind the Pedrosa-Rossi combination. He knocked over a second off his Wednesday time upon his afternoon arrival on track.

Also taking a sizeable chunk out of his previous best was Nicky Hayden, continuing his adaptation to the Ducati Desmosedici GP9. `The Kentucky Kid´ recorded the test´s sixth quickest lap on one of his typical marathon run-outs, although late charges from San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis moved them above the American.

All thirteen regular MotoGP riders were able to improve over the course of the Thursday run, their last opportunity to ride their 800cc machinery until February of next year. A testing ban comes into place on December 1st.

Click here to see the full results of the MotoGP Official Test at Jerez