Rain shortens Valencia test

From motogp.com

There was far less action on Tuesday at the post-Gran Premio Parts Europe de la Comunitat Valenciana test than there was on Monday, due to the wet conditions on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, with new Ducati man Nicky Hayden the fastest of the seven riders who rode through the rain.

Hayden's time of 1:48.287 on the last of his 20 laps put him ahead of Italians Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Melandri on a shortened timesheet, with no action on track before 3pm. Hayden was typically the last rider remaining on track at the end of the session at 5pm and returned to the Ducati pit-box to the applause of both sides of the garage.

Keen to get more miles on the clock with their new teams despite the conditions Hayden, alongside Repsol Honda's Dovizioso (18 laps), Kawasaki's Melandri (26 laps), San Carlo Honda Gresini's Toni Elias (16 laps) and Alice Team pair Niccolo Canepa (25 laps) and Mika Kallio (26 laps) showed their commitment with outings on their new Bridgestone rain tires.

However, many of MotoGP's biggest names who were scheduled to make an appearance finally elected not to test, with 2008's top four riders Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha), Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) choosing not to get their leathers wet again at the end of a rain-sodden season.

Further MotoGP tests will take place next month at Phillip Island in Australia and Jerez in soutern Spain.

Day Two Results
1. N. Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1:48.287
2. A. Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 1:48.296
3. M. Melandri, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1:48.786
4. N. Canepa, Alice Team - 1:49.917
5. M. Kallio, Alice Team - 1:50.275
6. T. Elias, Team San Carlo - 1:54.057
7. L. Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 1:57.322