Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa topped the time sheets in the first two practice sessions at the Motorland circuit in Aragon, Spain, overnight with Stoner leading the way in the opening dry session and Pedrosa in the second wet session.
With Motorland Aragon playing host to its first ever MotoGP, two 45-minutes sessions were the order of the day instead of the usual single one-hour session in order to give the riders a better chance to understand the new circuit. The two practices were run in very different conditions, with dry weather this morning giving way to steady rain this afternoon.
‰ÛÏIn the dry session this morning we were more or less happy with the setting," Stoner said.
"We had a little problem with the balance of the rear wheel that caused some chattering towards the end of the session otherwise I think we could have been a bit faster. Anyway, we were satisfied with how the morning went.
"We haven't had many wet sessions this year so I think everybody had a lot of work to do this afternoon but we made some progress and at this stage I am happy with the setting in both conditions. As for the circuit, it is quite technical and the last corner is quite different but other than that I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary," the Aussie concluded.
Pedrosa wasted no time in laying down his marker for the weekend by heading straight to the top of the timesheets and staying there for almost the entire 45-minute period, finishing a healthy 0.411s ahead of second placed rider Nicky Hayden.
‰ÛÏIn general this has been a good first day of practice for us at a brand new circuit for MotoGP. This morning we started well and got into a rhythm quickly, which was important because it makes a big difference going from the one hour practice sessions we‰Ûªre familiar with to 45 minutes," Pedrosa explained.
"It‰Ûªs necessary to stay out on track for longer runs and not spend too long in the garage, and this morning we did a good job to maximize our time. This afternoon in the wet we also started pretty well when it was raining properly, but then we had a small electrical problem with one bike and the other machine wasn‰Ûªt ready to go out, so we lost some time in the garage and I wasn‰Ûªt on track when the surface was improving at the end.
"The track is quite technical; it has some difficult turns and you really have to find a good line and also to set up the gearbox properly to be able to make a good lap time. The grip from the track surface feels good and the Bridgestone tyres are also working well so far. I hope we can continue in this positive way tomorrow," the Repsol Honda rider concluded.
Nicky Hayden was classified second fastest when the times were combined with the American another one giving the Spanish circuit the thumbs up.
‰ÛÏI think they've built a track they can be proud of. It's a nice facility, the layout is good and safe. There are some fun sections with blind entries, some fast corners and some slow ones... it's a nice mix. This morning we were second in the dry and then in the afternoon we were third in the wet so it's been a good day. Casey looks strong too so it's good for the team and everybody back at the factory, who are working hard to give us the opportunity to be competitive over the last six races. Hopefully we can pick up the kind of results that they deserve," Hayden said.
Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo settled in quickly as he prepares for the fourth GP on home soil for the Spaniard, the Fiat Yamaha rider was the third quickest for the session.
"I really like this track, it's so fun to ride and it is quite different, a new challenge," Lorenzo enthused. "It is interesting to ride the M1 here after coming here on an R1. We are lacking a bit of grip but I hope we can improve our setting more tomorrow so we can make another step. Unfortunately it rained this afternoon but it was good to get the chance to try our wet setting and it seems our bike was okay in these bad conditions. It was good to have two practice sessions today; even though the overall amount of time is the same over four days, four separate sessions makes it easier to get to know the circuit and what we need in order to be fast here," Lorenzo concluded.
Main Photo: Dani Pedrosa
Credit: Honda
Aragon - Free Practice - Combined Times
1 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'50.506
2 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 1'50.917
3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 1'50.928
4 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'51.195
5 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 1'51.768
6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'51.769
7 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 1'51.792
8 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 1'51.845
9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'52.027
10 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 1'52.141
11 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'52.321
12 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 1'52.340
13 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 1'52.752
14 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 1'52.822
15 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 1'53.190
