MotoGP Sepang test

xx CURVE xx · 02-05-2009, 08:29 AM

So it begins

MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Thursday
Full lap times from the opening day of 2009 MotoGP testing at Sepang in Malaysia.

Testing continues on Friday and Saturday.

1. Loris Capirossi ITA Suzuki MotoGP2mins 01.869secs
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2mins 02.038secs
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2mins 02.324secs
4. Chris Vermeulen AUS Suzuki MotoGP 2mins 02.803secs
5. Toni Elias ITA San Carlo Gresini Honda 2mins 02.886secs
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda 2mins 03.088secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2mins 03.254secs
8. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 2mins 03.312secs
9. Sete Gibernau ESP Onde 2000 Ducati 2mins 03.750secs
10. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 2mins 03.894secs
11. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team2mins 04.002secs
12. Alex de Angelis SMR San Carlo Gresini Honda 2mins 04.396secs
13. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Ducati 2mins 04.405secs
14. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2mins 04.502secs
15. Randy de Puniet ITA LCR Honda MotoGP 2mins 04.882secs
16. Toshihiko Fujiwara JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2mins 05.024secs
17. Yuki Takahashi JPN Scot Honda 2mins 05.098secs
18. Wataru Yoshikawa JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2mins 05.140secs
19. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Ducati 2mins 05.270secs

2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - 19/10/2008:

Pole position:
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 01.548sec

Fastest race laps by manufacturer:

Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 2min 02.249sec
Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 02.379sec
Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 02.759sec
Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 2min 02.927sec
Kawasaki: John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing (B) 2min 03.543sec

xx CURVE xx · 02-06-2009, 12:59 PM

MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Friday
Friday lap times after the second and final day of testing at Sepang in Malaysia.

Testing concludes on Saturday...

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 1.483 sec
2. Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.555 sec
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.626 sec
4. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.860 sec
5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Team Suzuki 2min 2.086 sec
6. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 2.232 sec
7. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 2.241 sec
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2min 2.434 sec
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 3.034 sec
10. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 3.056 sec
11. Sete Gibernau SPA Onde 2000 Ducati 2min 3.308 sec
12. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 3.518 sec
13. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 2min 3.774 sec
14. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 2min 4.021 sec
15. 'Bike #T' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.312 sec
16. Yuki Takahashi JPN Team Scot 2min 4.332 sec
17. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2min 4.507 sec
18. 'Bike #O' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.536 sec
19. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 4.597 sec

Fastest Thursday time:
Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.869sec

2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - 19/10/2008:
Pole position: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 1.548sec

Fastest race laps by manufacturer:
Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 2min 2.249sec
Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 2.379sec
Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 2.759sec
Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 2min 2.927sec
Kawasaki: John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing (B) 2min 3.543sec

smileyman · 02-06-2009, 01:07 PM

Gibbers seems to be enjoying hisself.

xx CURVE xx · 02-06-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smileyman

Gibbers seems to be enjoying hisself.

Not as much as Loris and Rossi

Rossi, Capirossi enjoy ‘battle’ at Sepang

For ten minutes on Friday afternoon at Sepang Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi recreated their 2006 victory battle at the Malaysian circuit, although this time it was purely for fun.

The two Italians found themselves on track together at 4pm and, after almost two days of riding against the stopwatch, couldn't resist dicing with each other (pictured).

The duel eventually came to an end when Rossi, riding with six stitches in his hand and another six in his foot, was forced to back off - leaving Loris to wave his hand in appreciation as he rode past.

Afterwards, Crash.net asked Rossi about the 'battle': “It was great fun! I am always very happy to fight with Loris because he is one of the old school - it is always exciting to try and fight with him.

“I think he enjoyed it a lot as well because he was faster than me. He overtook me in braking and it was like an old battle between us. Our 2006 battle here [won by Rossi] was a great race and today was very similar, except then Loris was on a Ducati.

“I am so happy that Loris is fast, because last year he had a bad injury and it looked like the Suzuki was not very fast, but this year with the new bike and with no injury he is competitive.

“And Loris is 36 years old now, so I have seven more years!” smiled Rossi, who finished the day third fastest, 0.143sec from fastest man Casey Stoner and 0.071sec behind the on-form Capirossi.

Capirossi confirmed that he had enjoyed the 'fight' just as much as Rossi.

"Yeah we played a little bit at the end, it was nice," smiled Loris, standing outside the Team Suzuki pit. "We enjoyed it a lot because he overtook me and I overtook him. Sometimes it is nice to ride like that and whenever I race with Valentino it is fun. For sure we hope to race like that again this season..."

xx CURVE xx · 02-07-2009, 08:03 AM

MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Saturday
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 1.043 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.137 sec
3. Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.262 sec
4. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 1.413 sec
5. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 1.560 sec
6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Team Suzuki 2min 1.666 sec
7. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.907 sec
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.955 sec
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 2min 2.386 sec
10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 2.497 sec
11. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 2.523 sec
12. Sete Gibernau SPA Onde 2000 Ducati 2min 2.727 sec
13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2min 3.418 sec
14. Yuki Takahashi JPN Team Scot 2min 3.474 sec
15. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 2min 3.901 sec
16. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 3.953 sec
17. 'Bike #T' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.328 sec
18. 'Bike #0' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.614 sec

Fastest Friday time:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro 2min 1.483sec

Fastest Thursday time:
Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.869sec

2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - 19/10/2008:
Pole position: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 1.548sec

Fastest race laps by manufacturer:
Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 2min 2.249sec
Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 2.379sec
Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 2.759sec
Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 2min 2.927sec
Kawasaki: John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing (B) 2min 3.543sec

Quick281 · 02-07-2009, 04:17 PM

Nice to see a little improvement among a couple people.

fnfalman · 02-07-2009, 05:20 PM

Seems like Nicky is consistently 1.5 seconds slower than Stacy Moaner. Consider that this is his first experience with the bike while it's Stacy's third season with the bike, that ain't bad.

Quick281 · 02-07-2009, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fnfalman

Seems like Nicky is consistently 1.5 seconds slower than Stacy Moaner. Consider that this is his first experience with the bike while it's Stacy's third season with the bike, that ain't bad.

I was also looking at that. For what ever reason I am feeling inclined to monitor Hayden's progress on the new bike.

Don't really feel like I need to monitor Rossi or Stoner.

smileyman · 02-09-2009, 10:55 AM

The big news to me is how close the times are on spec tires. 1.5 between first and 10th, only another 1.5 to the 15th spot. Good close racing to follow, I am sure of it. Maybe this will help them steal a bit of the excitment away from WSBK and the Spies V. Haga show.

And Edwards suprised me how well he swapped from Michelin to Bridgestones, despite losing his crew cheif from last year to his teammie, Toseland. Those 2 are going to rumble!

xx CURVE xx · 02-09-2009, 01:08 PM

LINK

Stoner beats Rossi hands down
Sepang Test: Day 3
(07/02/2009)

Former MotoGP world champion and current MotoGP 'tears at bedtime' champion Casey Stoner fired a warning shot to all his rivals whilst giving us, the drowsy followers, all the indications that the racing recession will continue deep into 2009.

It was all set to be a battle of the gammy hands as Stoner, fresh from an operation to cure an inherited Australian wrist injury usually aggravated by opening tins of beer and punching wives, took on the cut fingers of the clumsy curtain closing Rossi.
There were to be no words spoken and for safety reasons there'd be no congratulative back patting.
Feeling left out, however, worse the time he was invited to heroes convention was the undersized yet overrated Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. Dani had a gammy knee whereas his rivals had gammy hands. It was Michelin/Bridgestone saga all over again. In the spirit of MotoGP Pedrosa decided to quit and travelled home to see if Alberto could dream up a way to damage his wrist.

Hands up who's hand hurts the most. Stoner was again top of the list

So the battle was on – and despite Stoner's fanbase shrinking faster than Hodgson's bank balance it was transparently obvious that his confidence in his own ability was rapidly expanding. A bit like Foggy – only this was real life.

In the end Rossi had no answer to Casey's brilliance and had to settle for second which subsequently sent millions of yellow fans with '46' somewhere in their email address to post a torrent of messages claiming that testing means nothing and Stoner's bike was better.

Spurred on by the threat of Suzuki not making it to Mugello Loris Capirossi once again rode like his career and tax-problems depended on it finishing the day in an impressive third. Being on a pay-by-race scheme the Italian looked eager to earn his keep with the imminent threat of one of his houses being repossessed* on his mind.

Colin Edwards spectacularly dragged the midfield mediocrity all the way up to fourth one barbeque scented place ahead of Honda's prodigal simpleton Toni Elias.

On the 'it's only testing and it means nothing' end of the timesheet Sete Gibernau was finding out the hard way that greasy smiles, sneaky tests and oily handshakes are all fine up until the point where you have to prove your worth. And despite a comedy haircut few were laughing as the Jester of pack struggled to keep pace with big boys.

Saying at the blunt end de Puniet and Takahashi successfully proved that there'll be plenty of underachieving Hondas this season finishing one place ahead of the outclassed Niccolo 'King of the Sandwich, not of the track' Canepa.

But the biggest 'Pang loser was for sure James Toseland. After banging his head into b-flat in a 200kph crash on the opening day the Northern Dullard struggled to find focus and finished the final day as the last official rider…and only just ahead of the nameless Yamaha test drones brought in especially to make JT look good.

Sepang MotoGP test times - Saturday
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 1.043 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.137 sec
3. Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.262 sec
4. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 1.413 sec
5. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 1.560 sec
6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Team Suzuki 2min 1.666 sec
7. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.907 sec
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.955 sec
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 2min 2.386 sec
10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 2.497 sec
11. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 2.523 sec
12. Sete Gibernau SPA Onde 2000 Ducati 2min 2.727 sec
13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2min 3.418 sec
14. Yuki Takahashi JPN Team Scot 2min 3.474 sec
15. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 2min 3.901 sec
16. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 3.953 sec
17. 'Bike #T' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.328 sec
18. 'Bike #0' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.614 sec

* Either his official no-bedroom studio garage/home in Palermo or his million dollar villa in Monaco that, for tax reasons, he hardly ever visits. Honest.

02-05-2009, 08:29 AM	#1
xx CURVE xx SMELL MY LEVER Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Texas Moto: Tards Posts: 1,034	MotoGP Sepang test So it begins MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Thursday Full lap times from the opening day of 2009 MotoGP testing at Sepang in Malaysia. Testing continues on Friday and Saturday. 1. Loris Capirossi ITA Suzuki MotoGP2mins 01.869secs 2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2mins 02.038secs 3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2mins 02.324secs 4. Chris Vermeulen AUS Suzuki MotoGP 2mins 02.803secs 5. Toni Elias ITA San Carlo Gresini Honda 2mins 02.886secs 6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda 2mins 03.088secs 7. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2mins 03.254secs 8. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 2mins 03.312secs 9. Sete Gibernau ESP Onde 2000 Ducati 2mins 03.750secs 10. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 2mins 03.894secs 11. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team2mins 04.002secs 12. Alex de Angelis SMR San Carlo Gresini Honda 2mins 04.396secs 13. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Ducati 2mins 04.405secs 14. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2mins 04.502secs 15. Randy de Puniet ITA LCR Honda MotoGP 2mins 04.882secs 16. Toshihiko Fujiwara JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2mins 05.024secs 17. Yuki Takahashi JPN Scot Honda 2mins 05.098secs 18. Wataru Yoshikawa JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2mins 05.140secs 19. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Ducati 2mins 05.270secs 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - 19/10/2008: Pole position: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 01.548sec Fastest race laps by manufacturer: Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 2min 02.249sec Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 02.379sec Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 02.759sec Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 2min 02.927sec Kawasaki: John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing (B) 2min 03.543sec

02-06-2009, 01:07 PM	#3
smileyman White Trash Hero Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NW Arkansas Moto: Buell 1125R Porco Rosso Edition Posts: 4,895	Gibbers seems to be enjoying hisself. __________________ Arkriders.com To be the best you must first be willing to risk the worst!

02-07-2009, 04:17 PM	#6
Quick281 Victim of Blazer Rapage Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Talkeetna, AK Moto: 06 GSXR 600 Posts: 1,707	Nice to see a little improvement among a couple people. __________________ -Alex- Resident TWFix Noob. My 06 GSXR 600 <-- Its Clickable Fools.

02-07-2009, 05:20 PM	#7
fnfalman Europhile Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SoCal Moto: Aprilia RS125, Aprilia SR50 Factory, Aprilia Tuono, BMW Rockster, KTM 990 Adventure Posts: 1,875	Seems like Nicky is consistently 1.5 seconds slower than Stacy Moaner. Consider that this is his first experience with the bike while it's Stacy's third season with the bike, that ain't bad. __________________ *Cogito Ergo Vroom - I think therefore I ride*

02-09-2009, 10:55 AM	#9
smileyman White Trash Hero Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NW Arkansas Moto: Buell 1125R Porco Rosso Edition Posts: 4,895	The big news to me is how close the times are on spec tires. 1.5 between first and 10th, only another 1.5 to the 15th spot. Good close racing to follow, I am sure of it. Maybe this will help them steal a bit of the excitment away from WSBK and the Spies V. Haga show. And Edwards suprised me how well he swapped from Michelin to Bridgestones, despite losing his crew cheif from last year to his teammie, Toseland. Those 2 are going to rumble! __________________ Arkriders.com To be the best you must first be willing to risk the worst!

02-06-2009, 12:59 PM	#2
xx CURVE xx SMELL MY LEVER Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Texas Moto: Tards Posts: 1,034	MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Friday Friday lap times after the second and final day of testing at Sepang in Malaysia. Testing concludes on Saturday... 1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 1.483 sec 2. Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.555 sec 3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.626 sec 4. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.860 sec 5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Team Suzuki 2min 2.086 sec 6. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 2.232 sec 7. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 2.241 sec 8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2min 2.434 sec 9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 3.034 sec 10. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 3.056 sec 11. Sete Gibernau SPA Onde 2000 Ducati 2min 3.308 sec 12. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 3.518 sec 13. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 2min 3.774 sec 14. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 2min 4.021 sec 15. 'Bike #T' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.312 sec 16. Yuki Takahashi JPN Team Scot 2min 4.332 sec 17. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2min 4.507 sec 18. 'Bike #O' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.536 sec 19. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 4.597 sec Fastest Thursday time: Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.869sec 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - 19/10/2008: Pole position: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 1.548sec Fastest race laps by manufacturer: Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 2min 2.249sec Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 2.379sec Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 2.759sec Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 2min 2.927sec Kawasaki: John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing (B) 2min 3.543sec

02-07-2009, 08:03 AM	#5
xx CURVE xx SMELL MY LEVER Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Texas Moto: Tards Posts: 1,034	MOTOGP » Sepang MotoGP test times - Saturday 1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 1.043 sec 2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.137 sec 3. Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.262 sec 4. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 1.413 sec 5. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 1.560 sec 6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Team Suzuki 2min 1.666 sec 7. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.907 sec 8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.955 sec 9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 2min 2.386 sec 10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 2.497 sec 11. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 2.523 sec 12. Sete Gibernau SPA Onde 2000 Ducati 2min 2.727 sec 13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2min 3.418 sec 14. Yuki Takahashi JPN Team Scot 2min 3.474 sec 15. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 2min 3.901 sec 16. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 3.953 sec 17. 'Bike #T' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.328 sec 18. 'Bike #0' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.614 sec Fastest Friday time: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro 2min 1.483sec Fastest Thursday time: Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.869sec 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - 19/10/2008: Pole position: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 1.548sec Fastest race laps by manufacturer: Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 2min 2.249sec Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (B) 2min 2.379sec Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 2.759sec Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 2min 2.927sec Kawasaki: John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing (B) 2min 3.543sec

02-09-2009, 01:08 PM	#10
xx CURVE xx SMELL MY LEVER Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Texas Moto: Tards Posts: 1,034	LINK Stoner beats Rossi hands down Sepang Test: Day 3 (07/02/2009) Former MotoGP world champion and current MotoGP 'tears at bedtime' champion Casey Stoner fired a warning shot to all his rivals whilst giving us, the drowsy followers, all the indications that the racing recession will continue deep into 2009. It was all set to be a battle of the gammy hands as Stoner, fresh from an operation to cure an inherited Australian wrist injury usually aggravated by opening tins of beer and punching wives, took on the cut fingers of the clumsy curtain closing Rossi. There were to be no words spoken and for safety reasons there'd be no congratulative back patting. Feeling left out, however, worse the time he was invited to heroes convention was the undersized yet overrated Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. Dani had a gammy knee whereas his rivals had gammy hands. It was Michelin/Bridgestone saga all over again. In the spirit of MotoGP Pedrosa decided to quit and travelled home to see if Alberto could dream up a way to damage his wrist. Hands up who's hand hurts the most. Stoner was again top of the list So the battle was on – and despite Stoner's fanbase shrinking faster than Hodgson's bank balance it was transparently obvious that his confidence in his own ability was rapidly expanding. A bit like Foggy – only this was real life. In the end Rossi had no answer to Casey's brilliance and had to settle for second which subsequently sent millions of yellow fans with '46' somewhere in their email address to post a torrent of messages claiming that testing means nothing and Stoner's bike was better. Spurred on by the threat of Suzuki not making it to Mugello Loris Capirossi once again rode like his career and tax-problems depended on it finishing the day in an impressive third. Being on a pay-by-race scheme the Italian looked eager to earn his keep with the imminent threat of one of his houses being repossessed* on his mind. Colin Edwards spectacularly dragged the midfield mediocrity all the way up to fourth one barbeque scented place ahead of Honda's prodigal simpleton Toni Elias. On the 'it's only testing and it means nothing' end of the timesheet Sete Gibernau was finding out the hard way that greasy smiles, sneaky tests and oily handshakes are all fine up until the point where you have to prove your worth. And despite a comedy haircut few were laughing as the Jester of pack struggled to keep pace with big boys. Saying at the blunt end de Puniet and Takahashi successfully proved that there'll be plenty of underachieving Hondas this season finishing one place ahead of the outclassed Niccolo 'King of the Sandwich, not of the track' Canepa. But the biggest 'Pang loser was for sure James Toseland. After banging his head into b-flat in a 200kph crash on the opening day the Northern Dullard struggled to find focus and finished the final day as the last official rider…and only just ahead of the nameless Yamaha test drones brought in especially to make JT look good. Sepang MotoGP test times - Saturday 1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 1.043 sec 2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.137 sec 3. Loris Capirossi ITA Team Suzuki 2min 1.262 sec 4. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 1.413 sec 5. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 1.560 sec 6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Team Suzuki 2min 1.666 sec 7. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 2min 1.907 sec 8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2min 1.955 sec 9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 2min 2.386 sec 10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 2.497 sec 11. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 2min 2.523 sec 12. Sete Gibernau SPA Onde 2000 Ducati 2min 2.727 sec 13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 2min 3.418 sec 14. Yuki Takahashi JPN Team Scot 2min 3.474 sec 15. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 2min 3.901 sec 16. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 3.953 sec 17. 'Bike #T' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.328 sec 18. 'Bike #0' JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2min 4.614 sec * Either his official no-bedroom studio garage/home in Palermo or his million dollar villa in Monaco that, for tax reasons, he hardly ever visits. Honest.