Hopkins breaks record in testing
John Hopkins set a new unofficial lap record in post-race testing at Catalunya on Monday
The Rizla Suzuki rider's 1:41.400 lap was four-tenths of a second beneath Valentino Rossi's pole time from last weekend's race, and 1.2 seconds clear of second-fastest man Toni Elias.
The blisteringly hot conditions continued into Monday, but with this week's two-day session marking the last testing opportunity before Brno in August, the track was packed for most of the day, with 21 riders participating in the test.
Title rivals Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi were third and fourth quickest, ahead of Alex Barros.
The series regulars were joined by several test riders, as Andrew Pitt made his first appearance since Ilmor's departure, riding a fifth Yamaha to carry out tyre development work for Michelin. He was 19th fastest.
250cc rider Anthony West joined Randy de Puniet at Kawasaki, with Olivier Jacque still out of action after his Saturday practice crash.
The session saw a number of minor incidents, with Dani Pedrosa, Makoto Tamada and Shinya Nakano all falling without injury or significant delay.
Testing concludes today, with most of the field expected to stay on, although the factory Yamahas will not participate in the final day.
Monday's testing times:
Pos Rider Team Time 1. John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki 1:41.400 2. Toni Elias Honda Gresini 1:42.630 3. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro 1:42.680 4. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha 1:42.720 5. Alex Barros Pramac d'Antin Ducati 1:42.900 6. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki 1:43.000 7. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro 1:43.000 8. Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 1:43.000 9. Randy de Puniet Kawasaki Racing 1:43.050 10. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 1:43.120 11. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda 1:43.175 12. Colin Edwards Fiat Yamaha 1:43.410 13. Shinya Nakano Konica Minolta Honda 1:43.475 14. Alex Hofmann Pramac d'Antin Ducati 1:43.635 15. Carlos Checa Honda LCR 1:43.650 17. Makoto Tamada Dunlop Yamaha Tech3 1:43.900 18. Nobuatsu Aoki Suzuki MotoGP 1:44.200 19. Andrew Pitt Yamaha MotoGP 1:44.490 20. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing 1:44.730 21. Shinichi Itoh Bridgestone (Ducati) 1:47.000 All Timing Unofficial
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