Dovizioso fastest in Catalunya test
Andrea Dovizioso topped the times for Honda at the end of the first mid-season MotoGP test of the year
Under this year's cost-cutting testing reductions, most of the formerly regular post-race test days have been cancelled, leaving only today's Catalunya session and one at Brno in August.
Riding a new Honda chassis that his team-mate Dani Pedrosa had been due to try until he decided to pull out on medical advice to rest his injuries, Dovizioso set a best time of 1m42.230s, 0.2 seconds quicker than the factory Yamaha pair.
Valentino Rossi took the morning off to rest after winning Sunday's astounding dice with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, then tried a version of the new 'long life' engine that Yamaha will introduce when the multiple-race engine rules come into effect at mid-season. The Italian out-paced Lorenzo by 0.012s with a late qualifying simulation run.
Mika Kallio took an impressive fourth on the Pramac Ducati, ahead of factory rider Casey Stoner, who limited his mileage as he continued to struggle with the illness that hampered his race. His team-mate Nicky Hayden was a further 1.4s slower and back in 14th.
"Right from the start I didn't have the same feeling as I had over the weekend," Hayden said. "I don't know why."
Kallio's team-mate Niccolo Canepa was another Ducati rider in trouble, crashing without injury during the afternoon. Hayate Kawasaki's Marco Melandri also fell late in the session, but was unhurt.
In addition to Pedrosa, Scot Honda's Yuki Takahasi also sat out the test having broken a finger when he crashed on the opening lap yesterday, and the Tech 3 Yamaha team decided not to participate.
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m42.230s 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m42.434s + 0.204s 3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m42.446s + 0.216s 4. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m42.637s + 0.407s 5. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m42.763s + 0.533s 6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m43.188s + 0.958s 7. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m43.247s + 1.017s 8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m43.299s + 1.069s 9. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 1m43.360s + 1.130s 10. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 1m43.391s + 1.161s 11. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m43.506s + 1.276s 12. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m43.708s + 1.478s 13. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati 1m43.819s + 1.589s 14. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m44.157s + 1.927s 15. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda 1m45.056s + 2.826s
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