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Saturday October 24, 2009

Spanish MotoGP sensation Rossi is fourth fastest

By LIM TEIK HUAT

SPANISH MotoGP sensation Jorge Lorenzo got straight down to business after last weekend’s disappointing outing at the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island by setting the fastest time in the first practice session of the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday.

Fellow Yamaha Racing team-mate Valentino Rossi, who is looking to wrap up the world title chase, was fourth fastest behind Ducati’s Casey Stoner and Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.

Lorenzo raced to the top of the timesheets with a sizzling 2:02.180 towards the end of a tight session with the top four riders, including reigning world champion Rossi, all dipping under the 2:03 barrier.

Despite still feeling some pain in his little finger, Lorenzo finished the practice session 0.064s ahead of Stoner to make a perfect start to the weekend after last Sunday’s first corner crash at Phillip Island, which all but ended his hopes of wrestling the title from Rossi.

The 22-year-old, who has won four races so far this year, was delighted to prevail with the fastest time despite the oppressive heat.

Daredevil: Valentino Rossi doing a wheelie during the practice session on Friday.

“I rode quite aggressively today (yesterday) and I felt good on the bike right from the start ... so I am very happy about this after what happened last weekend,” said the talented Lorenzo.

“It’s very hot and it’s really hard work to ride out there but I feel okay. Unfortunately, I have some pain in my finger, which I hurt last Sunday. It’s not too bad but the cut is right on the knuckle so it’s a bit painful when I have to bend it to apply the brake.

“Anyway, it could be a lot worse. I love riding on this track despite the heat and our bike is working well. I am hopeful of a good weekend.”

Stoner, who was the race winner here in his world-title winning year in 2007, is aware of what he needs to do to improve the bike’s setting.

“We are struggling a lot with rear grip again – as we have all year. Again, the bike’s turning brilliantly but we still need to work on that a little bit,” said the Australian.

Rossi, who currently has a 38-point lead in the standings and will claim a seventh world title in the premier class with a fourth-placed finish here, was happy with his performance yesterday.

“We worked mainly with old tyres to understand the nature of the bike when it’s sliding, which is very important here. My pace was consistent and I think we can make another step tomorrow (today),” said the Italian, who is a five-time winner at Sepang.

“We will look to improve the setting of the bike. It’s going to be very important to be on the front row for Sunday.”

Free Practice Times:

MotoGP: 1. Jorge Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha 2:02.180, 2. Casey Stoner (Aus) Ducati 2:02.244, 3. Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Honda 2:02.758, 4. Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 2:02.864, 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 2:03.142, 6. Loris Capirossi (Ita) Suzuki 2:03.253, 7. Toni Elias (Spa) Honda 2:03.294,8. Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 2:03.426, 9. Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 2:03.739,

10. Chris Vermuelen (Aus) Suzuki 2:03.763, 11. Mika Kallio (Fin) Ducati 2:03.785, 12. Alex de Angelis (Rsm) Honda 2:04.042, 13. Marco Melandri (Ita) Kawasaki 2:04.274, 14. Randy de Puniet (Fra) Honda 2:04.664, 15. James Toseland (Bri) Yamaha 2:05.218, 16. Gabor Talmacsi (Hun) Honda 2:05.289, 17. Aleix Espargaro (Spa) Ducati 2:05.336.

250cc: 1. Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 2:07.875, 2. Alex Debon (Spa) Aprilia 2:07.888, 3. Ratthapark Wilairot (Tha) Honda 2:07.927, 4. Mike Di Meglio (Fra) Aprilia 2:07.973, 5. Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Aprilia 2:08.159,

6. Hector Barbera (Spa) Aprilia 2:08.285, 7. Mattia Pasini (Ita) Aprilia 2:08.763, 8. Lukas Pesek (Cze) Aprilia 2:08.852, 9. Raffael De Rosa (Ita) Honda 2:09.120, 10. Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Gilera 2:09.137.

125cc: 1. Bradley Smith (Bri) Aprilia 2:14.895, 2. Marc Marquez (Spa) KTM 2:15.095, 3. Julian Simon (Spa) Aprilia 2:15.201, 4. Nicolas Terol (Spa) 2:15.520, 5. Jonas Folger (Ger) Aprilia 2:15.746,

6. Sandro Cortese (Ger) Derbi 2:15.753, 7. Joan Olive (Spa) Derbi 2:15.841, 8. Simone Corsi (Ita) Aprilia 2:16.126, 9. Esteve Rabat (Spa) Aprilia 2:16.186.

Selected: 24. Elly Idzlianizar Ilias (Mas) Aprilia 2:18.653, 29. Muhd Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Mas) Yamaha 2:22.194.

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