Stoner heads Catalunya test

From motogp.com

Casey Stoner was the fastest rider in Monday's post-race test in Catalunya, a date which saw the debut of the Desmosedici GP9 and the return of Honda´s pneumatic valve engine.

Two testing sessions in Barcelona have been pinpointed as a possible preview of the future of the premier class, due to some new developments placed on the working agenda by Honda and Ducati.

Said developments were the newly-updated RC212V pneumatic valve engine at the disposal of Catalunya race winner Dani Pedrosa and Repsol Honda teammate Nicky Hayden, and the Ducati Desmosedici GP9. Both were put through the paces in the opening five-hour session.

It was Stoner who ended the day as the fastest rider with a 1:41.533 lap recorded in the final hour of the session. Originally scheduled to wait until Tuesday to get his hands on next year´s Ducati prototype, Stoner instead had a run on the machine a day early. He was joined by regular test rider Vittoriano Guareschi in giving the bike its first test outside of Italy.

In contrast to Sunday, Stoner came in ahead of World Championship leader Valentino Rossi on the timesheets. The Fiat Yamaha man was again working solo, with teammate Jorge Lorenzo still recovering from his Catalunya concussion. After putting in a 1:41.857 time, plus a cool down lap, Rossi wrapped up his day and his visit to Spain.

Honda satellite rider Shinya Nakano recorded the third fastest time of the day, a 1:42.039 lap with his San Carlo Honda Gresini machine. The Japanese rider and teammate Alex de Angelis will also be resting up after the Monday run, with their names not appearing on the Tuesday participants list.

The long-delayed reappearance of the Honda pneumatic valve engine was in made with the Repsol Honda riders, one of the most talked about aspects of the test and indeed the season.

Pedrosa performed 32 laps with the pneumatic valve engine, mainly focusing on extended runs less than a quarter of race distance, but completed his re-acquaintance with the machine much as he had done at his final preseason test: in the gravel and nursing an injury. This time a crash at turn 2 was to blame, and the Spaniard will have a scan on his back to assess whether he will return to action on Tuesday.

Missing from the test were the aforementioned Lorenzo, Rizla Suzuki's injured veteran Loris Capirossi and Kawasaki's Anthony West, off to do some private testing in Japan to work on his 2008 difficulties.

Times Day 1
1. Casey STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team 1:41.533
2. Valentino ROSSI, Fiat Yamaha Team 1:41.857
3. Shinya NAKANO, San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:42.039
4. James TOSELAND, Tech 3 Yamaha 1:42.505
5. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:42.699
6. Nicky HAYDEN, Repsol Honda Team 1:42.721
7. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Alice Team 1:42.755
8. Randy DE PUNIET, LCR Honda MotoGP 1:42.775
9. Chris VERMEULEN, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:42.782
10. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1:42.818
11. Colin EDWARDS, Tech 3 Yamaha 1:43.127
12. Toni ELIAS, Alice Team 1:43.197
13. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team 1:43.552
14. John HOPKINS, Kawasaki Racing Team 1:43.630
15. Marco MELANDRI, Ducati Marlboro Team 1:44.326
16. Olivier JACQUE, Kawasaki Racing Team 1:44.927
17. Nobuatsu AOKI, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:45.011