Saturday PM - Hayden and Michelin write out the past
This was a day of testing on which everything you had learned about MotoGP from last year had to be binned.
Fastest rider: Nicky Hayden, on a Michelin-shod Repsol Honda. Second fastest: Randy de Puniet on LCR Racing's remarkable satellite Honda – again Michelin-shod. Valentino Rossi was virtually equal first on top speed, with a burst of 281kph (174.501mph) through the traps, instead of languishing several kph behind his rivals as last year.
Just as remarkable was the performance of MotoGP rookie James Toseland. He finished fifth fastest overall, in 1 minute 39.678 seconds on a qualifier, less than half a second behind Hayden, the 2006 world champion. This was a performance way beyond anything that anyone could have expected, and totally stifles critics who claimed that Yamaha Tech III chief Hervé Poncharal should have chosen a young 250cc strutter instead of a 27-year-old superbike rider.
Toseland put in 91 laps on the 2.75-mile circuit, the equivalent of three race distances in one day. How these riders maintain concentration and strength on these marathon test days will always be a mystery to ordinary mortals.
Toseland also achieved his fifth-fastest ranking despite having a bike that was only 19th fastest of 21 machines through the speed trap, according to Tissot's official timing. Hayden was quickest at 282kph/175.122mph. Rossi's best on the pneumatic-valve Yamaha was less than 1mph slower, while Toseland's valve-spring Yamaha 'trundled' through at a mere 272.8kph/169.408mph, 10kph slower than Yamaha's new kit.
The quickest of the four rookies was 250cc world champion Jorge Lorenzo, in third place on his Michelin-shod Fiat Yamaha.
Where was reigning MotoGP king Casey Stoner on the Marlboro Ducati? Trying race tyres all day, and finishing ninth fastest overall. The big prize could yet be his tomorrow when he unwraps those qualifying skins for the 40-minute thrash in which the fastest rider on track wins a BMW Z4.
Saturday PM - Silverstone Wants British MotoGP
MotoGP organisers Dorna are to consider moving the British round of the championship from its home at Donington Park since 1987 to Silverstone from 2010.
"We are talking with Silverstone, but we have not taken any decision," Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta revealed at Jerez during the MotoGP tests today. "Our contract with Donington goes to 2009. Donington has been our partner for many years and has priority. But at the end of this year or the beginning of next year we will talk about the possibility of staying at Donington or going somewhere else."
The 2.5-mile Donington circuit is a favourite with riders because of its sweeping curves and undulations. But it is notoriously slippery in the wet – fuel spills from aircraft operating from the nearby East Midlands airport is often blamed, rightly or wrongly – and fans frequently complain about traffic jams.
But the biggest problem with Donington, according to Ezpeleta, is its facilities. "The boxes have been renewed, but there are problems with the size of the paddock," he said. "Maybe Silverstone will be another way for MotoGP."
