Casey / Qatar

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload...Stoner_800.jpg Casey Stoner isn't keen on the new format for Qatar

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Casey Stoner against extended Qatar MotoGP weekend

By Matthew Birt -
MotoGP
08 March 2011


Casey Stoner says he is against the new format for the season opening night race in Qatar, with the schedule extended to four days for 2011.

Five pratice sessions will take place on Thursday night including two for the 125 and Moto2 classes and one for MotoGP.

MotoGP will then have its second and third practice sessions run over 45-minutes on Friday night with all qualifying sessions taking place on Saturday evening.

The other notable change is that the 125 and Moto2 field will have their pre-race Warm-Up session on Saturday night, nearly 24 hours before they will race.

The changes are to ensure that the showcase MotoGP race takes places earlier on Sunday night after a series of complaints that conditions are too cold for the tyres.

The race has been moved forward to March 20, further increasing worries about the cold temperatures in the evening and subsequent moisture in the air that led to several crashes during testing at the spectacular Losail International Circuit last year.

But Repsol Honda rider Stoner, who crashed out of the lead in last year's race, said: "I don't like it. It is very difficult because at the time that we have to ride, late in the evening, the track conditions are very bad, cold and unpredictable. I would be better if we could ride a little earlier. But for a Grand Prix to last four days is too long. For me that's not the ideal, but everyone would be in the same situation, so we will go on as we have

Okay, so they first day of the final test at Qatar has been run with the following results:

Pos. Rider Team Bike Time
1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:56.271
2 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:56.414
3 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V 1:56.444
4 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:56.563
5 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:56.682
6 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:56.742
7 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:56.780
8 Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Ducati GP11 1:57.038
9 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati GP11 1:57.137
10 Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Ducati GP11 1:57.143
11 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V 1:57.226
12 Alvara Bautista Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R 1:57.302
13 Hector Barbera Aspar Team Ducati GP11 1:57.325
14 Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Ducati GP11 1:57.437
15 Karel Abraham Cardion AB MotoRacing Ducati GP11 1:57.499
16 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:57.737
17 Toni Elias LCR Honda Honda RC212V 1:58.250

Unsurprisingly, the Repsol Hondas of Pedrosa and Stoner were fastest and consistently fast in the 1:56's. Also, predictably, a Gresini Honda was in third, surprisingly though, it was Hiroshi Aoyama who was apparently also quite consistently fast and not just a couple of quick laps on soft tires. Spies finished higher than Lorenzo again confirming his speed and ointy end credentials, though Lorenzo apparently had better consistent speed. Edwards and Dovizioso continued their solid pre-season form and the factory Ducatis have improved over Sepang to at least be within the ballpark but still with front-end problems and much work to do.
The biggest disappointment for me is Toni Elias. I know that he is much maligned for being very up and down in the past but this pre-season he's only been down now that he no longer gets a special front tire. The lad has talent, I just hope they can find a solution where he can show it.

From testing times so far, it looks like the Honda is the quickest bike, followed by the Yamaha, and then the Ducati. The Duc is slowwwly inching its way up there, but it's still not clear, because anyway Qatar has always suited them, or at least Casey. This year looks like a gobsmacking all out war between Pedrosa and Stoner, with maybe Spies and Lorenzo in the mix and probably Rossi getting the odd victory.

Even though it's still early times, and we won't know at least by mid-season, but it seems that the lack of setup expertise of JB and Rossi is already hurting Yamaha. The M1 was built and designed and set up around Rossi, and it pretty much evolved with Rossi over the years. However, they still have a strong base from last year to work on, so I'm guessing on some circuits they still would have an advantage over the Honda. BUT next year is gonna be very interesting, with the 1000 cc engines coming back into the mix, which I think would prompt a complete redesign of the bikes, how are all the three big factories going to cope? I'd say out of the big boys only Rossi and JB have any real experience in racing and setting up a 1000 cc MotoGP bike.

Nah, that Yamaha isn't suffering yet. The M1 will be very strong around the less horsepower dependant European circuits, similar to their competitive speed at the flowing Qatar circuit. They still have Edwards for development if Lorenzo isn't much good. Anyway, seems that Jorge set the most sub 1:57 laps with Stoner just behind him, 13 and 12 respectively. Pedrosa had the overall fastest lap but only set two 1:56 laps. They should be the regular top 3 with Spies always nipping at their heels and then a bunch of guys who will be a bit up-and-down within the top 10. Ducati? Who knows. They seem to take one step forward and another step back.