Lorenzo edges Stoner in Malaysia

From motogp.com

A margin of 0.064 secs. separated Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner in Free Practice 1 of the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix weekend, as the Fiat Yamaha rider recorded the quickest time in the opening MotoGP session on Friday.

On the weekend in which Valentino Rossi could seal the 2009 World Championship title, it was his team-mate – who trails the Italian by 38 points in the standings – who set the pace in humid conditions, with the ambient temperature reaching an energy-sapping 31°C.

Lorenzo set a best lap of 2:02.180 in a tight session, with the top four riders – including Rossi – breaking the 2:03 barrier. It was the perfect start to the weekend for the Spaniard, whose crash at Phillip Island last weekend all but ended his hopes of wrestling the title from Rossi.

“I’m straight back on form, I’m comfortable on the bike and I feel great at this circuit right from the beginning,” stated an upbeat Lorenzo after the hour-long practice session. “Normally you have a bit of a doubt when you first arrive at a track but now I feel quick on the bike and my lap times were quite fast. It’s always good to start well on the first day.”

Contrasting the sweltering heat and humidity of the South East Asian venue with the conditions experienced last weekend at round 15, Lorenzo added, “Compared to Phillip Island the weather is the opposite. It was almost icy in Australia and now we have tropical weather so it is crucial to keep drinking water and energy drinks to be hydrated for the race.”

The talented Spanish youngster did add one note of concern however, as he revealed, “Unfortunately I have some pain in my finger where I hurt it on last weekend, it's not too bad but the cut is right on the knuckle, so it's a bit painful when I have to bend it to brake. Anyway, like I said on Sunday it could be a lot worse.”

Stoner followed Lorenzo closely, with Dani Pedrosa just over half a second further down at third in the order as Rossi came in fourth, registering a time 0.684 secs. off Lorenzo’s.

“I’m very happy with the way things have gone this weekend. Since the first session in Portugal we’ve basically been in the top two every time,” Stoner told motogp.com. “Today we started off a little bit weak, we weren’t feeling very good on the bike, but we slowly improved it as the session went on and everything started to feel a little bit more comfortable. Hopefully we can continue the rest of the weekend like this, but everyone else is going to be pushing real hard, that’s for sure.

“We’re struggling a lot with rear grip again, the same as we have been all year. Again the bike’s turning brilliantly, but we still need to work on that a little bit. We’re having some chattering problems which we really need to improve. With the rear grip, on the edge of the tire when we’re on full lean angle, we’re really struggling. We’ll see if we can improve that a little bit tomorrow and we should be quite happy if we can.”

Despite not being overly satisfied with his ranking in the session Rossi felt good on his bike, and was able to identify what needed fine tuning ahead of Saturday’s second practice and qualifying.

“The position is not fantastic. It’s because we worked with all the tires – we decided to do it like this, to try to understand the amount of grip after a lot of laps,” explained Rossi. “With this temperature the tire is under a lot of stress. We are quite happy with the setting and now we have to find some extra rear grip, especially for Sunday, when we have to do 22 consecutive laps.

“This weekend the training we do during the year will be very important. From now until the race we have to relax and drink a lot, because if on Sunday the temperature is more than 40°C it will become difficult.”

Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso completed the top five with a best lap of 2:03.142, while fellow Italian Loris Capirossi was just over 0.1 secs. behind him.

Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) were all inside the top 10.

Hiroshi Aoyama was the pace man in the 250cc class at Sepang on Friday afternoon, setting a fastest lap time of 2:07.875 in the first practice at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

After the frustration of a seventh-placed finish in the red-flagged race at Phillip Island, the Scot Honda rider received a confidence boost as he bids to hold on to top spot in the World Championship standings.

Alex Debon (Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens) was fractionally slower than Aoyama, with Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG) riding a great practice to finish a further 0.039 secs. behind with the third-quickest time.

The action commenced at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Friday with Bradley Smith setting the best time in 125cc Free Practice 1.

His time of 2:14.895 set the standard ahead of next quickest rider, Marc Márquez (Red Bull KTM), with Smith’s Bancaja Aspar team-mate and new World Champion Julián Simón third – a further 0.106 secs. behind Márquez.

MotoGP Practice Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2:02.180
2. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +0.064
3. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.578
4. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.684
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.962
6. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.073
7. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.114
8. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1.246
9. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.559
10. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.583
11. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +1.605
12. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.862
13. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +2.094
14. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +2.484
15. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +3.038
16. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +3.109
17. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Racing Ducati +3.156