In the opening free practice at the Sepang circuit in Mayasia it was Jorge Lorenzo who topped the time sheets followed by a very close Casey Stoner who was just 0.
064s from the Fiat Yamaha rider.
Dani Pedrosa took third place with a time of 2.
02.
758, 0.
578s from Lorenzo, while Valentino Rossi who’s looking to win his seventh World Championship (9th in his career) this Sunday, was only fourth and a massive 0.
684s from his team mate.
Rossi needs a fourth place or better to take the 2009 title.
Andrea Dovizioso took fifth and was the last rider to be within one second from Lorenzo.
Loris Capirossi took sixth and Toni Elias, who has signed with Pons’s Moto2 team next year, was seventh.
Nicky Hayden 8th and strangely enough Colin Edwards was 9th instead of his usual fifth and Chris Vermeulen closed out the top ten.
Aleix Espargaro who is substituting for injured Niccolò Canepa was last, but just 0.
047sec behind Gabor Talmacsi.
Rider quotes and free practice times after the jump.
Jorge Lorenzo:“I was riding quite aggressively today and I felt good on the bike right from the start, so I am very happy about this after what happened last weekend.
It’s very hot and it’s really hard work to ride out there, but I feel okay.
Unfortunately I have some pain in my finger where I hurt it on Sunday, 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! I love riding at this track despite the heat and our bike is working well so I am hopeful for a good weekend.
” Casey Stoner: “I’m happy with our pace and with my physical condition; even though it was hard work out there and I was tired by the end of the session, I don’t think I was any worse off than anybody else and it is a different world compared to the way I felt at hot races earlier in the year.
Having said that I didn’t feel at all comfortable with the setting on either bike.
Every time I went out there was a small problem holding us back – at first it was with the front chattering and folding, then we lost grip on the rear.
There was no use staying out there on a bike that needed to be set up better so I had to keep coming in, which disrupted our rhythm and didn’t give me chance to establish any kind of feeling.
We made progress step by step but we need a better base to start off with tomorrow in order to prepare properly for the race.
Dani Pedrosa:“I’m happy with how this first practice session has gone and we’ve established a good base for the weekend.
As expected, it was really hot out there and the first session for this grand prix is always the toughest because it takes a little time to acclimatise.
By Sunday, the heat will no problem.
The track was a little dirty which affected the grip, but that’s also normal for Sepang and it will improve through the weekend.
The lap times are already quite competitive because we test at this circuit and all the teams have plenty of set-up data even before we arrive.
I’m not worried about being half a second back from the fastest time at this stage – it’s not so important and we have some areas to work on to improve things.
To achieve good stability under braking is the key area for us and we’ll be working to make some improvements to the set-up for tomorrow.
”Valentino Rossi:I am quite happy about today, even if the time and the position isn’t perfect.
We worked mainly with old tyres to understand the nature of the bike when it’s sliding, which is important here, but actually my pace was very consistent and I think we can make another step tomorrow.
It seems that Bridgestone have brought good tyres here, they are working very well despite the very hot temperatures and the fact that the track is a little bit dirty today.
We still need to find a little bit more grip so we will look to improve the setting of the bike for this in the morning it’s going to be very important to be on the front row for Sunday.
I think the race will be very hard and we will have to take care to prepare properly and drink a lot of water because it is very, very hot.
”MotoGP – Sepang– FP1:01 Jorge LORENZO – Fiat Yamaha Team – 2′02.
18002 Casey STONER – Ducati Marlboro Team – 2′02.
24403 Dani PEDROSA – Repsol Honda Team – 2′02.
75804 Valentino ROSSI – Fiat Yamaha Team – 2′02.
86405 Andrea DOVIZIOSO – Repsol Honda Team – 2′03.
14206 Loris CAPIROSSI – Rizla Suzuki MotoGP – 2′03.
25307 Toni ELIAS – San Carlo Honda Gresini – 2′03.
29408 Nicky HAYDEN – Ducati Marlboro Team – 2′03.
42609 Colin EDWARDS – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 2′03.
73910 Chris VERMEULEN – Rizla Suzuki MotoGP – 2′03.
76311 Mika KALLIO – Pramac Racing – 2′03.
785 305.
08412 Alex DE ANGELIS – San Carlo Honda Gresini – 2′04.
04213 Marco MELANDRI – Hayate Racing Team – 2′04.
27414 Randy DE PUNIET – LCR Honda MotoGP – 2′04.
66415 James TOSELAND – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – 2′05.
21816 Gabor TALMACSI – Scot Racing Team MotoGP – 2′05.
28917 Aleix ESPARGARO – Pramac Racing – 2′05.
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