The 2012 Jerez pr-eseason MotoGP test session has finished predictably, with Casey Stoner fastest ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, while Valentino Rossi found some improvement.

2012 Jerez Pre -Season MotoGP testing

The 2012 Jerez pre-season MotoGP test session has finished predictably, with Casey Stoner fastest ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, while Valentino Rossi found some improvement to finish 6th fastest.

The top 4 were business as usual, both pairs of factory Hondas and Yamahas.

Rider Quotes from Jerez:

1st Casey Stoner, 1:38.780, Repsol Honda – 61 laps

“Today we were really pleased with the lap times we’re running but I think we can still improve the bike quite a bit before the race here. Anyway we feel like we’ve made some progress on a track like this for us. Towards the end of the day we had some chattering but we have an idea what caused this and it’s not the same as in Sepang.

We did a lot of laps and a longer run to get a little more understanding of fuel consumption and things like this and in general we’re satisfied with how the whole test has gone for us. Now we can go racing which is what we really enjoy”.

2nd Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Racing, 1’38.953 – 84 laps

“I’m really happy because we tried to make some good lap times so we put new tyres on the rear this morning to make the 1’38.9 which is a good time. This afternoon we improved the bike for a race simulation which went really well. In general we are very happy, it’s not just me, Ben is also very close to the competition as are Cal and Andrea. We need to improve our braking a little, if we can do that we could gain some more tenths of a second.”

3rd Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, 1:39.157 – 73 laps

“We’ve been working a lot with the chassis in the morning to prepare the race simulation. But by the time we were ready, we had to stop twice in the box for an issue with the rear brake. Finally, on my third exit, I could make it. I did the full race distance, 27 laps, and I’m quite satisfied with the result, the lap times were pretty good even though it was very windy in the afternoon, it’s also been also good physical training for me.

In general, I think we’ve done a good pre season, we only need to improve a little more on braking and corner entry, it would help us for the first race of the season”.

4th Ben Spies, Yamaha Racing, 1’39.495 – 61 Laps

“I’m happy with how the test went. Both Jorge and I worked really methodically on getting through a number of different things, I think we’re quite happy with the bike going to Qatar, it’s been good here and good in Sepang. A couple of the areas where we had problems last year seem to be a lot better. We can’t say if they are completely fixed until we go to more tracks but we are happy with the balance of the bike and I think we have a very competitive bike for 2012.”

5th Cal Crutchlow, Tech3 Yamaha, 1.39.585 – 83 laps:

“I’m really happy to finish this test in the top five with a very fast pace because we worked through a lot. Today I only used three sets of tyres in 83 laps, yet I was fast and consistent all day, so it shows we are getting good endurance from the soft and the hard options. The different electronic set-up also helped in acceleration, so it was a very positive and productive day after the rain washed out yesterday.

The good thing is we know the bike works very well on a completely different track. The tests in Sepang were crucial but we needed to come to a completely different circuit like Jerez to understand if the bike has a goo d base level for a tighter and shorter track. Yamaha has done a great job because the YZR-M1 works very well. Finishing behind Stoner, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Spies is obviously good for my confidence and now I’m looking forward to going to Qatar and racing. I feel ready and much better prepared than last year.”

6th Valentino Rossi, Ducati Team, 1:39.733 – 90 laps

“Today went much better than Friday, and I’m pleased… we’re pleased. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes at Sepang 2 chasing a bad setup, and we paid for that a bit on Friday because we started from that base. Then Saturday’s rain cost us an entire day, but today we finally worked well all day long. Step by step, we arrived at our current potential: I’m sixth, and I did a 1:39.7, which is a good time considering that we’ve only really ridden this bike for six or seven days.

We changed the setup, first the rear and then the front, and now I enter the corners pretty well again. I’m able to lean and I can ‘risk’ a bit more. Although we know very well that we still have a long road ahead, if we look at the gap to the front we can say we’re ready for the first race.”

Results – 2012 Jerez MotoGP test.

1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 1’38.780
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1’38.953
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1’39.157
4. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1’39.495
5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 1’39.585
6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 1’39.733
7. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 1’39.860
8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 1’39.919
9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 1’40.017
10. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 1’40.098
11. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 1’40.287
12. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 1’40.579
13. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Power Electronics Aspar 1’40.601
14. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Power Electronics Aspar 1’41.645
15. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came Iodaracing Project 1’41.926
16. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 1’42.057
17. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’42.073
18. Mattia Pasini (ITA) Speed Master 1’42.184
19. Michele Pirro (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’42.212
20. James Ellison (UK) Paul Bird Motorsport 1’42.437
21. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 1’42.446
22. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 1’42.906