Hayden fastest on final day

By John Hopkins

Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden topped the charts on the final day of MotoGP testing in Sepang, Malaysia today with a time of 2:00.326 set on Michelin qualifying tires.

After spending some time in the morning working with the new pneumatic valve engine in his RC212V the 2006 World Champion reverted to a conventional set-up in the afternoon to set his fast time.

The Kentuckian also recorded a 2:01.6 on race tires in the sweltering conditions, with temperatures again in the mid-30s Celsius.

“I used qualifiers for my fastest lap and they worked well,” said Hayden. “After that we did a batch of front tires because one of my weak points here is that sometimes I struggle when this track gets hot.

"I did the best lap I’ve ever done round here on race tyres on lap 18, a 2:01.6. At the end of three long days that wasn’t too bad. I used a 16.5 on that run but I’ve also been trying some 16 rears here. The first time I tried the 16 last year I liked it. I’m the one who really pushed Michelin to keep going and stay with it and I’m pretty happy they did."

Defending World Champion Casey Stoner was second quickest today for Marlboro Ducati with a 2:00.660 set on Bridgestone qualifiers. His best effort on race rubber, recorded late in the morning was a 2:00.964.

"We couldn't have started the year better," said the Australian, recovering from a shoulder injury. "My shoulder feels better every day and now I know I can get back to full training. This morning we tried some qualifying tires on only our second run out. We set a good lap time although I think if we'd have tried them a little later, when the track was warmer, we could have broken the two-minute mark."

Jorge Lorenzo of Fiat Yamaha was third fastest at 2:00.766 with Tech3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards next up with a time of 2:01.179. That effort just shaded Kawasaki's John Hopkins, who finished the day fifth with a 2:01.198.

Lorenzo suffered a fall during a race simulation run but was uninjured and continued his testing program.

Valentino Rossi was sixth on his Fiat Yamaha at 2:01.425.

Testing Times (courtesy Marlboro Ducati)
1. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 2:00.326; 2. Casey STONER (Ducati) 2:00.660; 3. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 2:00.766; 4. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 2:01.179; 5. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 2:01.198; 6. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 2:01.425; 7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 2:01.447; 8. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 2:01.745; 9. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 2:01.748; 10. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 2:01.778; 11. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 2:01.873; 12. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 2:02.032; 13. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 2:02.198; 14. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 2:02.725; 15. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 2:02.978; 16. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 2:02.995; 17. Olivier JACQUE (Kawasaki) 2:03.030; 18. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 2:03.628; 19. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati) 2:03.703; 20. Tamaki SERIZAWA (Kawasaki) 2:04.354