On rain affected day two in AustraliaWorld Champion Casey Stoner was the fastest participant on day two of the second MotoGP test of 2008, with the early Thursday proceedings hampered by rain at Phillip Island, only for the sun to emerge later in the day.
The Ducati
Marlboro rider produced a best time of 1'29.938s on race tyres in the last hour of the day, on the 43rd of 45 laps, to improve on his quickest lap from Wednesday.
Once again impressive were 2008 MotoGP newcomers Alex de Angelis (Honda Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot) who concluded the day second and third respectively – De Angelis just over half a second behind Stoner and Dovizioso 1.136s behind the premier class title holder, both courtesy of hot times shortly before 6pm.
De Angelis' new team-mate Shinya Nakano appears to be enjoying life having also joined Honda Gresini this winter and he lapped fourth quickest, whilst Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden completed the top five.
The morning session was marked by some heavy early rain which left the riders with wet conditions to deal with for the first few hours of the day. By 11am only 11 riders had been out on track with the early starters including Rizla Suzuki pair Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen, Ducati Marlboro's Marco Melandri and Yamaha Tech3's James Toseland.
The ambient temperature of 16°C, track temperature of 19°C and the water on track gave the teams a chance to test wet settings and rain tyres, with lap times around 10 seconds off dry pace. Though the rain continued for most of the morning it became lighter as time passed.
There were a couple of crashes on the slippery surface with the red flag raised twice as Dovizioso crashed without consequence and John Hopkins had a tumble which resulted in a damaged groin muscle. The Kawasaki man visited the Phillip Island medical centre and then headed to a Melbourne hospital for a scan of the delicate injury, but his participation in Friday's final day of Australian testing has not yet been ruled out.
Between 1pm and 2pm there were no riders on track as the rain stopped and conditions became intermediate, with the teams taking a break for lunch and the timesheet displaying Casey Stoner's name in the familiar territory of first position courtesy of a 1'39.800s effort.
Towards 3pm the sunshine had replaced the rain clouds and with the track drying rapidly teams reverted to slick tyres as the lap times subsequently began to drop, with normal pace resumed by the late afternoon.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2008 winter test – day two – best lap times
1. STONER, DUCATI MARLBORO - 1'29.938 (45)
2. DE ANGELIS, HONDA GRESINI - 1'30.449 (54)
3.
DOVIZIOSO, JiR TEAM SCOT - 1'31.074 (60)
4. NAKANO, HONDA GRESINI - 1'31.316 (74)
5. HAYDEN, REPSOL HONDA TEAM - 1'31.373 (72)
6. TOSELAND, YAMAHA TECH3 - 1'31.451 (55)
7. MELANDRI, DUCATI MARLBORO - 1'31.478 (80)
8. CAPIROSSI, RIZLA SUZUKI - 1'31.545 (62)
9. DE PUNIET, LCR HONDA - 1'31.575 (72)
10. EDWARDS, YAMAHA TECH3 - 1'31.593 (44)
11. VERMEULEN, RIZLA SUZUKI - 1'31.774 (50)
12. WEST, KAWASAKI RACING - 1'32.242 (75)
13. ELIAS, ALICE TEAM - 1'32.246 (59)
14. GUINTOLI, ALICE TEAM - 1'32.431 (64)
15. HOPKINS, KAWASAKI RACING - 1'42.130 (27)
DORNA / CAPSIS International
