MotoGP Official Testing Valencia

MotoGP Official Testing Valencia Jorge Lorenzo first Stoner and Honda second, Ben Spies third At Valencia Test

Yamaha Factory Racing Team riders Jorge Lorenzo and new team-mate Ben Spies completed a successful first day of the official MotoGP test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia today, topping the timesheets as only two of five riders to dip below the 1.33 minute mark . Rain in the morning saw the day's session delayed until the track had dried with all riders waiting until the afternoon before venturing out onto the circuit.

Reigning 2010 World Champion Lorenzo continued to show the form that delivered the world title this year, taking just five warm up laps to go straight to the top of the timesheets where he remained unbeaten for the entire session. The Mallorcan split his riding time between the 2011 prototype YZR-M1 and an updated version of his 2010 machine.

Taking his first outing as a Yamaha Factory rider, the 2010 ‘Rookie of the Year' Spies spent the majority of the afternoon riding the 2011 prototype YZR-M1. The American rider and his crew used their inaugural session to focus on the chassis settings of the new bike, moving quickly up the timesheets, delivering consistent fast laps to end as the third fastest rider of the day.

No.1 Jorge Lorenzo, 1st (1'32.012, 48laps)
"Today we tried the new chassis on the 2011 M1 which felt good, although it is still to early to say too much about it. We also tried the new Ohlins suspension which felt better to me on the track. The new engine seems to have less wheelie but we will see more tomorrow in the next session."

No.11 Ben Spies, 3rd (1'32.878, 42laps)
"For the first day of testing I'm super happy with the team, a lot of things are new including obviously riding the prototype bike. There are a lot of subtle changes from last year so I spent some time getting used to it along with working with a new Japanese engineer who is very, very good. I had a couple of new mechanics who were learning the ropes as well so it was a lot of learning today. I'm really happy, I can feel the potential of the bike and I think there's quite a bit more to come."

Former Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi started his testing on the 2011 Ducati Desmosedici, complete with a new fairing in black donned in plain black leathers, with his trademark 46 emblazoned in luminous yellow on his back.

The main focus of the two-day Test for the Ducati Team is the decision on whether to go with the screamer or big bang engine on the GP11.

Ducati Test rider Franco Battaini had warmed both versions of the bike up prior to Rossi’s run out, after which the rider completed a first run of eight laps to gain an initial feeling with the bike. Rossi re-emerged just after 1.00pm as he began a second testing session.

Results
1 Jorge Lorenzo 1'32.012
2 Casey Stoner 1'32.775
3 Ben Spies 1'32.878
4 Dani Pedrosa 1'32.912
5 Marco Simoncelli 1'32.919
6 Andrea Dovizioso 1'33.190
7 Colin Edwards 1'33.513
8 Alvaro Bautista 1'33.558
9 Nicky Hayden 1'33.716
10 Valentino Rossi 1'33.882
11 Randy De Puniet 1'33.914
12 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'33.953
13 Hector Barbera 1'34.110
14 Cal Crutchlow 1'34.314
15 Loris Capirossi 1'34.631
16 Toni Elias 1'35.058
17 Karel Abraham 1'35.076