This contest is a fun media show for TV that may have little bearing on the outcome of the season. Last year
Valentino Rossi won the
BMW on a dry track, but thereafter he and his Fiat Yamaha were pummelled by
Casey Stoner's unexpected composure on the Ducati Desmosedici.
But when the track is wet for the BMW win-a-car show, it at least gives some of the midfield runners the chance to get some precious TV exposure.
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.
