Jerez Test starts with Pedrosa fastest

After a thrilling race on Sunday at the Jerez circuit the MotoGP paddock was hard at work once more as the Official Test began on Monday morning. By 2pm local time, the halfway point of the day, Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was fastest round the circuit in a time of 1’39.425 – just 0.223s off his pole position time for the Gran Premio bwin de España over the weekend.

Working from the set-up used on his RC212V in the race, in which Pedrosa finished second, the Spaniard continued his fine progress and was 0.081s faster than race winner Jorge Lorenzo. The Fiat Yamaha rider is confirming the set-up used in Sunday’s race and is also working on an improved setting with a full tank as he seeks better race starts, with a new front Bridgestone tyre also on the work schedule.

The Ducati Marlboro pairing of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden occupied third and fifth spots on the timesheet respectively, as their team implemented the same settings from the race in a bid to further understand the race results of fourth for Hayden and fifth for Stoner.

Fourth quickest was Valentino Rossi, and the World Champion had a fall at 1.30pm local time as he lost the front end of his factory M1 machine going into Turn 2. A visit to the Clinica Mobile concluded with the diagnosis of a few scratches, as yesterday’s podium finisher escaped serious injury.

The final rider to come in under the 1’40” mark was Ben Spies, and his Monster Yamaha Tech3 crew are attempting to figure out the front end problem that forced the American to retire from the race after eight laps. His team-mate Colin Edwards is working on specific parts for Yamaha and preparing his set-up for Le Mans, whilst also testing a new front tyre.

Also inside the top ten times was Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), who is testing a new chassis and swingarm used by team-mate Pedrosa in the race. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri, concentrating on chassis and suspension work, and Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio completed the top ten on the timesheet by 2pm.

There will be a close-of-day report following the end of the Test, which concludes at 6pm local time. In the meantime you can follow the timesheet by clicking here.