New champ Lorenzo leads in Australia

From motogp.com

After a delayed start due to wet weather conditions the MotoGP class completed the opening practice of the Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on Friday, and newly-crowned World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was the quickest rider around the circuit.

Setting the standard with a time of 1:41.146 the Fiat Yamaha rider underlined his pre-stated determination to round off his title-winning 2010 campaign in winning style.

"Today was the first day on the bike after we won the title and I am still very happy. We can't stop now, we have to keep going and finish this season in the best way possible, working for the future,” said Lorenzo, who is keen to register his eighth win of the season this weekend.

“The conditions today were really hard – wet, cold and windy. I am very happy to be so fast in rain, because it didn't use to be this way, but we need to be prepared because it could be a hard weekend. I would like to ride in the dry, of course, but we will have to wait and see what happens. It seems the conditions will be more or less the same as now. For sure it will be a cold weekend and we have to be very careful not to make any mistakes.”

The 23-year-old last won in Brno and could still register the most podiums in a single season in the MotoGP class, score the highest number of points in a single season in the MotoGP class, and record the highest number of points-scoring finishes in a single season before the end of the campaign.

Casey Stoner was next up at 0.334 secs. down on Lorenzo’s time as the Australian, who has won at his home circuit for the past three seasons, brought his factory Desmosedici GP10 home ahead of Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden.

“The conditions were difficult today and obviously we had the big delay too, which is not the ideal way to prepare," Stoner said. "Also we would prefer a fully wet session but it started to dry towards the end and that denied us the opportunity to confirm the settings or get a full understanding of the conditions.

"Other than the wind, which made things very difficult, it was quite a successful day. We made a couple of changes and I feel we made a little improvement with the bike but again because of the conditions we weren't able to get much of a direction. Hopefully tomorrow we get consistent weather, whatever it may be, so that we can get a proper idea of our set-up in either the wet or the dry.”

The American was 0.151 secs. off Stoner as the riders began to see a dry line forming towards the end of the hour-long session.

“Those were nasty conditions... I mean nasty," Hayden said. "It wasn't so much the wet but the wind. It was really strong and for me it took a little while to get comfortable with being blown around so much.

"Other than that the bike worked well in the wet. We made a little bit of a change to help the bike turn, keeping some weight on the front, for the second run and I was able to go okay. My pace wasn't too bad. Obviously it could be all for nothing if the forecast is right and the conditions are dry from here on but at this track you have to be prepared for anything and take advantage of every situation.”

Marco Simoncelli was fourth in the order as the San Carlo Honda Gresini rookie battled rear grip to set a best time of 1:41.881, with his team-mate Marco Melandri fifth and the final rider to get within a second of Lorenzo.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) completed the top six.

Coming in seventh fastest was Valentino Rossi on his Fiat Yamaha M1, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) all in the top 10.

Back on track for the first time since he fractured his collarbone in Japan exactly two weeks ago Dani Pedrosa completed seven laps, before concluding his session just before the half-hour mark having posted a best time of 1:51.210.

Completing just three laps in the session and opting to avoid any unnecessary risks on a track on which he won a WSBK race last season was Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).

MotoGP Practice Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 1:41.146
2. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati 1:41.480
3. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati 1:41.631
4. Marco SIMONCELLI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 1:41.881
5. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 1:41.982
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda 1:42.271
7. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 1:42.626
8. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:43.013
9. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda 1:43.476
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki 1:43.984
11. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Ducati 1:44.179
12. Hiroshi AOYAMA (JPN) Interwetten Honda 1:44.704
13. Hector BARBERA (SPA) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:45.695
14. Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) Rizla Suzuki 1:46.160
15. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Ducati 1:48.127
Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda 1:51.210
Ben SPIES (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:58.613