Friday February 25, 2011

Australian the first rider to dip under two minutes at Sepang

By LIM TEIK HUAT

SEPANG: After 12 years and tens of thousands of laps, the Sepang Circuit’s two-minute barrier for a MotoGP bike was broken yesterday as Australian Casey Stoner put his name in the history books as the first to do so.
The 2007 world champion saved his best for last as he became the first rider to dip under two minutes on the final day of the pre-season MotoGP test at the track.
Stoner, who is riding for Repsol Honda this season and the only rider to have won all three classes at Sepang, rode a blistering second lap in the morning session to post a stunning 1:59.665 around the 5.543km track.

Casey Stoner clocked the fastest lap time ever in 12 years on the 5.543km Sepang Circuit.

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa also underlined the awesome dominance of the Repsol Honda team by going under the two-minute barrier on his third lap.
However, the time was not fast enough to better Stoner’s timing. The Spaniard chalked 1:59.803 as both lap times stayed unchallenged for the rest of the session.
The grid enjoyed a third consecutive day of bright sunshine and clear skies except for the final 40 minutes when it started to drizzle in some parts of the track.
Another Honda rider Marco Simoncelli of San Carlo Honda Gresini and the fastest rider during the first test earlier this month, was third fastest with 2:00.163.
“Since coming into MotoGP, this test together with the 2006 winter test on the 990cc bike is the best pre-season.
“In 2006, I remember we had a very good last test that allowed us to face the first race well prepared and with a lot of confidence, and now it feels very similar.
“The bike is responding in the areas we need, although the first race is where you see clearly where you win and where you lose,” said Pedrosa, who has also won the 250cc world title at Sepang track before.
It was not a good day for the defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo who had to call it off after crashing on his Yamaha bike.
The Spaniard finished seventh fastest, covering 48 laps for the day.
Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi was back on track after skipping Wednesday’s session due to illness and finished the day 11th on the time-sheet. Rossi, riding for Ducati this season, clocked 2:01.469.